NOV 2, 3 & 4, 2018

THE SAINT PAUL CHAMBER ORCHESTRA CATHEDRAL OF SAINT PAUL, ORDWAY CONCERT HALL

Jonathan Cohen, conductor Nicholas Mulroy, tenor (Evangelist) | Matthew Brook, bass (Jesus) | Joélle Harvey, soprano Tim Mead, | Nick Pritchard, tenor | William Berger, baritone (Pilate) The Singers – Minnesota Choral Artists, prepared by Matthew Olson and Matthew Culloton

BACH (1685–1750) Saint John Passion, BWV 245 For the lyrics to Saint John Passion, please see the insert to this program at the Nov 2, 3 & 4 concerts.

Part I (42 min) Chorus: Herr, unser Herrscher Aria: Von den Stricken meiner Sünden Recit: Jesus ging mit seinen Jüngern Recit: Simon Petrus aber folgete Jesu nach Chorus: Jesum von Nazareth Aria: Ich folge dir gleichfalls Recit: Jesus spricht zu ihnen Recit: Derselbige Jünger war dem Hohenpriester bekannt Chorus: Jesum von Nazareth Chorale: Wer hat dich so geschlagen Recit: Jesus antwortete Recit: Und Hannas sandte ihn gebunden Chorale: O große Lieb Chorus: Bist du nicht seiner Jünger einer Recit: Auf daß das Wort erfüllet würde Recit: Er leugnete aber und sprach Chorale: Dein Will gescheh Herr Gott, zugleich Aria: Ach, mein Sinn Recit: Die Schar aber und der Oberhauptmann Chorale: Petrus, der nicht denkt zurück

INTERMISSION (20 min)

Part II (72 min) Chorale: Christus, der uns selig macht Recit: Spricht Pilatus zu ihnen Recit: Da führeten sie Jesum Chorus: Wir haben keinen König Chorus: Wäre dieser nicht ein Übeltäter Recit: Da überantwortete er ihn Recit: Da sprach Pilatus zu ihnen Aria: Eilt ihr angefochtnen Seelen Chorus: Wir dürfen niemand töten Recit: Allda kreuzigten sie ihn Recit: Auf daß erfüllet würde das Wort Chorus: Schreibe nicht: der Jüden König Chorale: Ach großer König Recit: Pilatus antwortet Recit: Da sprach Pilatus zu ihm Chorale: In meines Herzens Grunde Chorus: Nicht diesen, sondern Barrabam Recit: Die Kriegsknechte aber Recit: Barrabas aber was ein Mörder Chorus: Lasset uns den nicht zerteilen Arioso: Betrachte, meine Seel Recit: Auf daß erfüllet würde die Schrift Aria: Erwäge, wie sein blutgefärbter Rücken Chorale: Er nahm alles wohl in acht Recit: Und die Kriegsknechte flochten eine Krone Recit: Und von Stund an nahm sie der Jünger Chorus: Sei gegrüßet, lieber Jüdenkönig Aria: Es ist vollbracht Recit: Und gaben ihm Bachenstreiche Recit: Und neiget das Haupt Chorus: Kreuzige, kreutzige Aria: Mein teuer Heiland, laß dich fragen Recit: Pilatus sprach zu ihnen Recit: Und siehe da, der Vorhang im Tempel zerriß Chorus: Wir haben ein Gesetz Arioso: Mein Herz, indem die ganzel Welt Recit: Da Pilatus das Wort hörete Aria: Zerfließe, mein Herze Chorale: Durch dein Gefängnis, Gottes Sohn Recit: Die Jüden aber, dieweil er der Rüsttag war Recit: Die Jüden aber schrieen und sprachen Chorale: O hilf, Christe, Gottes Sohn Chorus: Lässet du diesen los Recit: Darnach bat Pilatum Joseph von Arimanthia Recit: Da Pilatus das Wort hörete Chorus: Ruht wohl, ihr heiligen Gebeine Chorus: Weg, weg mit dem Chorale: Ach Herr, laß dein lieb Engelein

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24 THE SPCO 2018.19 SEASON SHARE YOUR CONCERT EXPERIENCE: @THESPCO #SPCOLIVE PROGRAM NOTES | NOV 2–4

the intimacy of the Saint John Passion is with notable ensembles and orchestras, Saint John Passion, finally getting its due, thanks to decades of including Monteverdi Choir with Sir John BWV 245 (1724) scholarship and historically-informed per- Eliot Gardiner, BBC Philharmonic, formance practice that have stripped back Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH oversized choruses and orchestras, coming Koelner Akademie, Staatskapelle Dresden, closer to the sound and spirit of the lean Copenhagen Philharmonic and Australian From 1723 until his death in 1750, ensembles Bach would have squeezed into Chamber Orchestra. Bach held the demanding position of the tiny choir lofts of Leipzig’s churches. Thomaskantor, directing music for the Mulroy is particularly renowned for his principal churches of Leipzig and training An ornate chorus, “Herr, unser Herrscher” early music performances. His recent the young choristers at the church school. (Lord, Thou our Master), begins the first highlights include Evangelist in Bach’s In his early years he wrote new cantatas part of the Passion. With the recitative that Saint John Passion at the BBC Proms, for weekly services at an astounding pace, follows, we meet the Evangelist, a tenor Schütz at the Edinburgh International and he took special care with music for soloist who narrates the story with lines Festival and Monteverdi Vespers through- the all-important Vespers service on Good drawn verbatim from Martin Luther’s out the USA and Europe. He also has an Friday, which always featured a rendition German translation of the Bible. The extensive and award-winning discography, of the Passion—the account of Jesus’ last drama pauses for points of reflection in most recently recording Piazzolla’s remark- days, from his arrival in Jerusalem to his the form of solo arias, with texts assem- able ‘tango operita’ María de Buenos crucifixion, as recounted in the Gospels of bled by an unknown librettist. Other key Aires with Mr McFall’s Chamber. Further Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. anchor points are the familiar Lutheran recordings include a Gramophone Award- chorales that Bach’s congregation would winning Messiah, Bach’s Passions and Not many years earlier, the congregation have known well, including the hymns Christmas Oratorio on Linn, Gavin Bryars’ would simply recite the Passion liturgy that bookend the break between Part I and Petrarch Sonnets on Delphian, Easter in an unadorned, plainchant style. The Part II, marking the point in the service Oratorio and Actus Tragicus on SDG. idea of presenting the Passion as a dra- when the sermon would be delivered. matic oratorio only took hold around (bass, Jesus) 1712, when the poet Barthold Brockes MATTHEW BROOK In the second part, Jesus appears before Matthew Brook published a libretto that was soon set to Pontius Pilate, with the chorus standing music by Telemann and Handel among has appeared in at times for the inflamed crowd. Again widely as a solo- other early adopters. It caught on first in arias magnify the richest emotions, with more progressive cities like Hamburg and ist and has support from obbligato counter-lines worked exten- Frankfurt, and within a few years even assigned to various solo instruments. conservative Leipzig warmed to the idea. sively with con- The chorus that precedes the final hymn, ductors such as beginning with the invitation to “Rest Bach probably attempted some sort of Sir John Eliot well,” underscores the sweet and humble Passion setting earlier in Weimar, but the Gardiner, Richard Hickox, Sir Charles essence of the Saint John Passion. work that stands as his first great achieve- Mackerras, Harry Christophers, ment in the new style was the Saint John — © 2018 AARON GRAD Christophe Rousset, Paul McCreesh and Passion from 1724, offered during his first Sir Mark Elder, and many ensembles yearlong cantata cycle for Leipzig. He was including the Philharmonia, LSO, the St. probably hoping to follow the next year Petersburg Philharmonic, the RPO, the with a setting of the Gospel of Matthew, but English Baroque Soloists and the Royal that even larger composition did not appear Northern Sinfonia. until 1727; the Good Friday service in 1725 ARTIST PROFILES instead featured a revised version of the Saint JONATHAN COHEN (conductor) Recent and future highlights include Bach’s John Passion, including some music that was Artistic Partner profiles appear on pages 8–9. Magnificat and Brahms’ Triumphlied with later redirected to the Saint Matthew Passion. the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Il Re di Scozia (King of Scotland) in Ariodante Bach brought the Saint John Passion back NICHOLAS MULROY several more times, making musical adjust- (tenor, Evangelist) with the Staatstheater Stuttgart, Bach’s B minor Mass at the Al Bustan Festival ments along the way, until he directed the Born in and with Les Violons du Roy, Mozart’s work for the last time in 1749. Liverpool, Requiem with the Fryderyk Chopin Nicholas Mulroy Institute in Warsaw, a tour of Bach canta- The Saint John Passion is smaller in studied at Clare tas with the Nederlandse Bachvereniging, scale than its sibling work, and it has not College a tour of Bach’s Saint Matthew Passion enjoyed quite the celebrated status that Cambridge and with the Orchestra of the Age of the Saint Matthew Passion has had ever Royal Academy Enlightenment, and the roles of Herod and since Felix Mendelssohn resuscitated that of Music, Father in Berlioz’s L’Enfance du Christ with work (and Bach’s reputation in general) London. He performs at the world’s leading the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. with a landmark performance in 1829. But concert halls, opera houses and festivals

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JOÉLLE HARVEY (soprano) NICK PRITCHARD (tenor) THE SINGERS — Joélle Harvey’s Nick Pritchard’s MINNESOTA CHORAL ARTISTS performances in highlights to Founded in 2004, the 2018.19 sea- date include The Singers orga- son include King Arthur for nization is dedi- Beethoven’s 9th the Early Opera cated to giving Symphony with Company, world-class per- the Utah Bach's Mass in B formances of the Symphony, minor with the finest choral liter- Mahler’s 2nd Symphony with the Monteverdi Choir, Bach’s Saint Matthew ature. The Singers, Cleveland Orchestra and the Toronto Passion with the SPCO, Bach Cantatas a professional choir of 40 members, exists Symphony, and the Saint John Passion with with Ensemble Pygmalion, Matthew in to serve as artists, educators and advocates the SPCO. She joins the Philadelphia Mark Simpson’s Pleasure for , of the choral art. Recognized nationally for Chamber Music Society for their Emerging and Prologue The Turn of the Screw for their innovative programming, commit- Voices concert series, North Carolina Opera Holland Park. Recent and future ment to new music and peerless artistic Symphony for a program of Schubert engagements include: Lysander A quality, The Singers made their debut at the songs as well as Mozart’s Mass in C Minor, Midsummer Night’s Dream for the renowned Ravinia Festival in June 2013, performs a joint recital with pianist Allen Aldeburgh Music Festival, Amphinomus and have made subsequent returns in 2014, Perriello at Carnegie Hall, sings Barber’s The Return of Ulysses for 2015 and 2016. Knoxville: Summer of 1915 and Mahler’s House, Ferrando Così fan tutte for Opera 4th Symphony with the San Diego Holland Park, Henry Crawford Mansfield The Singers and Matthew Culloton are very Symphony, Bach’s Coffee Cantata with Park for The Grange Festival, Acis Acis engaged in educational collaborations that Music of the Baroque, and Mozart’s and Galatea for the London Handel pair the choir with school choirs around Requiem with the New York Philharmonic Festival, Charpentier’s Te Deum with the Minnesota. The Singers have premiered and the Handel & Haydn Society. She also Early Opera Company, Bach’s Saint John and commissioned nearly 80 new works by appears with for a concert of Passion with the BBC National Orchestra composers including Stephen Paulus, Tesfa Handel, Bach and Buxtehude. of Wales, Polyphony and the OAE and Wondemagegnehu, Timothy Takach, Linda with the Instruments of Time and Truth. Kachelmeier, Abbie Betinis, Jocelyn Hagen, TIM MEAD (countertenor) Joshua Shank, Craig Carnahan and con- Countertenor WILLIAM BERGER (baritone, Pilate) ductor Matthew Culloton. Tim Mead is Baritone (artistic director) praised for his William Berger, MATTHEW CULLOTON “alluring” and described as Matthew Culloton “consistently “one of the best is the Founding excellent” inter- of our younger Artistic Director pretations (The baritones” of The Singers. He New York (Gramophone), holds a Bachelor Times). Highlights of his 2018.19 season is making a of Music from include Endimione in Cavalli’s name for himself in concert halls and Concordia College for Teatro Real Madrid, Bertarido in opera houses on both sides of the and a Master of Handel’s for Opera de Lille, Atlantic. In concert, Berger has performed Music plus Doctor of Musical Arts from Oberon in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s at leading venues including the Royal the University of Minnesota. Aside from Dream for Opera of Philadelphia, and a Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Wigmore his duties with The Singers, Culloton is major European recital tour with Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Choirmaster at House of Hope Presbyterian Emmanuelle Haim and Le Concert d’Astree. Zellerbach Hall and Los Angeles’ Disney Church in Saint Paul and adjunct faculty at Concert Hall, with orchestras and ensem- the University of Saint Thomas, Graduate Recent highlights include his debut at bles including the London Philharmonic Music Program. He has received the MN the Opéra National de Paris as Hamor in Orchestra, City of Birmingham ACDA Outstanding Young Choral Handel’s Jephtha, Oberon in Britten’s A Symphony Orchestra, English Consort, Conductor of the Year Award and the Midsummer Night’s Dream at Glyndebourne Handel & Haydn Society and VocalEssence/ACDA of Minnesota Creative Festival Opera and Bergen National Opera, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. Programming Award. He has been com- the title role in ’ Akhnaten and missioned to compose for the Dale Ottone in Handel’s at Opera Berger’s 2016 CD, Duet (Delphian), was Warland Singers, Choral Arts Ensemble of Vlaanderen, a reprisal of the role of Boy/ named an “Editor’s Choice” (BBC Music Rochester and MMEA All-State Choir. Angel in George Benjamin’s Written on Skin Magazine). His debut recital album, at the Bolshoi and he recently appeared Insomnia: A Nocturnal Voyage in Song To learn more about the musicians performing on this program, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the was named one of the “Top 10 Classical visit thespco.org/roster Hollywood Bowl. Albums of 2012” (The Guardian).

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