A COMMUNITY SUPPORTED ORCHESTRA
Verdi Requiem
August 1, 2018 7 pm at the DCR’s Hatch Shell Boston Landmarks Orchestra VIOLIN I BASS TRUMPET Gregory Vitale, concertmaster Robert Lynam, principal Dana Oakes, principal Christine Vitale Barry Boettger Jesse Levine Pattison Story Kevin Green Greg Whitaker Heidi Braun Hill John Shiu Bruce Hall Tera Gorsett Joseph Foley* Stacey Alden FLUTE Richard Kelley* principal Colin Davis Lisa Hennessy, Mary Lynne Bohn* Teresa Patton Lisa Brooke *off-stage VIOLIN II FLUTE/PICCOLO Iva Milch TROMBONE Paula Oakes, principal Robert Couture, principal Melissa Howe OBOE Hans Bohn Maynard Goldman Andrew Price, principal John Faieta Robert Curtis Lynda Jacquin Olga Kouznetsova TUBA Jessica Amidon CLARINET Donald Rankin, principal Steven Jackson, principal VIOLA Margo McGowan TIMPANI Kenneth Stalberg, principal Jeffrey Fischer, principal Donna Jerome BASSOON PERCUSSION Jean Haig Michael Mechanic, principal Robert Schulz, principal Don Krishnaswami Gregory Newton Noriko Futagami Sally Merriman Maynard Goldman, Ashleigh Gordon Margaret Phillips Personnel Manager CELLO HORN American Sign Language Aaron Zelkowicz, principal Kevin Owen, principal (ASL) Team Patrick Owen Jane Sebring Kristin Johnson Jolene Kessler Whitacre Hill Adrianna Neefus Melanie Dyball Nancy Hudgins Christopher Robinson Naomi Steckman The bass drum used in the Verdi Requiem is on loan from Chorus of Westerly (http://chorusofwesterly.org). Many thanks to their Executive Director, Ryan Saunders, and our own Robert Schulz for making this happen.
Tonight’s program features a prelude (at approximately 6:20 pm) by the North End Music & Performing Arts Center Children’s Choir: Nika Brozek-Wright Julia Scott Carey, piano Keira Finn Alexandra Dietrich, Music Director and Conductor Helena Fountas Sherri Snow, Executive Director Gabby Guadagno-Kaluski Samantha Markey Stephanie Scarcella Linus Schaefer-Goulthorpe Selections include: “Light Your Lamps”, “There's Just One Place Where Beauty Grows”, and “Look at the Stars” from The Little Prince, by Rachel Portman “He Will Gather Us Around” from Dead Man Walking, by Jake Heggie “Evening Prayer” from Hansel and Gretel, by Engelbert Humperdinck “Victory Chorus” from Brundibár, by Hans Krása “Va pensiero” from Nabucco, by Giuseppe Verdi Verdi Requiem Boston Landmarks Orchestra | Christopher Wilkins, Music Director Meredith Hansen, soprano Ann McMahon Quintero, mezzo-soprano Yeghishe Manucharyan, tenor Nathan Stark, bass-baritone Boston Landmarks One City Choir Back Bay Chorale | Scott Allen Jarrett, Music Director
Overture to Semiramide Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)
Messa da Requiem Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) I. Requiem and Kyrie (chorus, soloists)
II. Dies irae Dies irae (chorus) Tuba mirum (chorus) Mors stupebit (bass) Liber scriptus (mezzo-soprano, chorus) Quid sum miser (soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor) Rex tremendae (soloists, chorus) Recordare (soprano, mezzo-soprano) Ingemisco (tenor) Confutatis maledictis (bass, chorus) Lacrimosa (soloists, chorus)
III. Offertory Domine Jesu Christe (soloists) Hostias (soloists) INTERMISSION IV. Sanctus (double chorus)
V. Agnus Dei (soprano, mezzo-soprano, chorus)
VI. Lux aeterna (mezzo-soprano, tenor, bass)
VII. Libera me (soprano, chorus) Libera me Dies irae Requiem aeternam Libera me
This performance is dedicated to the memory of Robert Honeysucker (1943-2017). His sonorous voice and expressive musicianship graced our stage many times, including our 2008 performance of the Verdi Requiem at the Hatch Shell, and our memorable Beethoven’s 9th at Fenway Park. He was not only one of America’s finest baritones, he was a true friend of Boston Landmarks Orchestra from our very beginning, and he is truly missed. Boston Landmarks One City Choir SOPRANO Emily Achtenberg (Jamaica Plain) Gay Smith (Wellesley) Dina Ali (Brighton) Sheryl Stockless (Framingham) Heidi Ashih (Cambridge) Donna Stratford (Belmont) Linda Ayoub (West Roxbury) Eileen Sweeney (Newton) Elizabeth Bell (Somerville) Brenda M. Ulrich (West Roxbury)* Kristen Benjamin (Fenway-Kenmore)* Nicole Werther (Somerville)* Yu-Fang Chang (Brookline) Elizabeth Wharff Jennifer Daley (Windham, NH) Janet Wolfe (Newton)* Betsy Draper (Roxbury) Wenqiong Xue (Medfield) Patricia Driscoll (Roslindale)* Chen Yan (Ayer) Ann Ferentz (Arlington) ALTO Rose Filipp (Back Bay)* Pamela J. Aldred (Billerica) Sarah Fitzpatrick (Reading) Diane Baden (Cambridge) Claire Folini (Westfield) Holly Batchelor (Newton) Beth Goldman Galer (North Easton) Mary Bewig (Somerville) Abigail Gertner (Arlington) Candace Brooks (Medford) Barbara Piper Green (East Boston) Susan Burnett-Halling (Wenham) Melissa Glenn Haber (Somerville)* Alexandra Cok (Cambridge) Sophia Halling (Wenham) Barbara Cone (Brookline) Kathryn Hess (Cambridge) Hannah Davis (Dedham) Kai-Yin Hsu (Lexington) Jane Dreskin (Cambridge) Mimi Huntington (Cambridge) Margaret Evans (Brookline) Abigail Jackson (Cambridge)* Lisa Ferrante-Walsh (Newton) Christine Jesoraldo (Lynn) Lisa Fitzgerald-McKeon (Walpole) Liya Kang (Watertown) Linda Frayling (Back Bay) Megan Kemp (Cambridge) Lisa Geoghegan (West Roxbury) Kathryn Kirshner (Brookline) Valerie Gordeski (Somerville)* San San Lee (Newton Centre) Nadja B. Gould (Watertown) Rebecca Lefroy (Cambridge) Catherine Haines (Somerville) Marjorie Hilton (Cambridge) Li-Han Lily (Allston) Janet Hobbs (Cambridge) Angel Long (Jamaica Plain) Jin Hong (Ayer) Jean MacGowan (West Roxbury) Amanda Hooge (Arlington) Judith Mason (Brookline) Marie A. Huhta (South End) Kelly McMullin (West Roxbury)* Jacqueline Kann (Brookline) Lisa Micali (Beacon Hill) Barbara Kellman (Brookline) Sarah Milt (Winchester)* Carol Kountz (Jamaica Plain) Tammy Ngai (Brookline) Terry Lane (Newton) Myrna R. Offen (Chestnut Hill) Joanne LaPlant (Allston) Maria Jose Padilla (Medford) Becky Leifer (Malden) Sarah Peterson (Brookline) Kristine Lessard (Somerville) Dottie Pitt (Dorchester)* Linda Luke (Hingham) Liana Raberg (Allston) Martha MacMillin (Sharon) Beth Ratay (Somerville)* Cathryn Marks (Billerica) Lynn Raymond (Chestnut Hill) Susan Maxwell ( Needham) Surya Reis (South Boston) Molly McCleary (Jamaica Plain) Peg Schadelbauer (Waltham) Susan Meurling (North End) Amanda Simeone (Allston) Cynthia Welch Moriarty (Amherst) Ludovica Mottura (Brookline)* German Parada (Cambridge) Aislinn O’Keefe (Brighton) Gary Price (Jamaica Plain)* Lucia Papile (Cambridge) Paul Rabin (Jamaica Plain)* Patricia Pepper (Watertown) Joseph Reid (Winchester)* Vivian Phelan (Brighton) Jennifer Rochow (Cambridge) Etta Pisano (Cambridge) Timothy Rodriguez (Brookline) Joan Regan (West Roxbury)* Lucas Sanders (Cambridge) Kathleen Reine (Cambridge) Larry St. Clair (Wellesley)* Susan Grose Rioff (Cambridge)* Jonathan Tannenhauser (Cambridge) Sandy Sachs (Jamaica Plain) Kevin Tu (South Waltham) Tammy Sadok (Needham) William Tuttle (West Roxbury)* Mariflor Salas (Newton) Raghuvir Viswanatha (Brookline) Kirie Santos (Medfield) James Wang (Sharon) Ellen Scerbo (Downtown)* Thomas Yan (Lexington) Molly Schen (Roslindale)* BASS-BARITONE Molly Coyle Shibley (Natick) David Ames (Newton Centre)* Sharon Shriver (Medford)* Stephen Bart (Newton) Kimberlee Sing (Arlington) Michael Baum (Brookline)* Beverly St. Clair (Wellesley)* Michael Edson (Sharon) Jennifer St. Pierre (Malden) Kamil Ekinci (Cambridge) Sarah Stankowicz (Fenway-Kenmore)* Jack Elder (Brookline) Charlotte Swartz (Medford) Bob Goldsmith (Carlisle) Jane Tenenbaum (Cambridge) Mike Halling (Wenham) Carol Tong (Arlington) Yigal Hochberg (Acton) Rikki Tracy (Cambridge)* Nathan Huey (Fenway-Kenmore) Pooja Usgaonkar (Cambridge) Charles Huhta (South End) Anja van Ommering (Cambridge)* Mark Iredale (Cambridge) Linda Velgouse (Watertown) Tyson Kamikawa (Winchester) Anja von Vacano (Cambridge) John Kramer (Dorchester) Jeanne Walsh (Brighton) Bill Kuttner (Charlestown) Kathryn Wang (Cambridge) Alan Lawson (Brighton) Elizabeth Wenger (Brookline) Andrew Light (Roxbury)* Natasha Westland (Carlisle) Jonathan Litt (South End)* Elizabeth Williams (Medford)* Jayson Madara (Medford) Yian Xiao (Brookline) Daniel Malis (Methuen) TENOR Fernando Martinez (Brookline) Bayani B. Anastacio Jr. (Malden) Martin Pierce (Lincoln)* Helen Bakeman (Belmont) Chris Pitt (Dorchester) George Batchelor (Newton)* Nathaniel Pulsifer (Ipswich) Dennis Brett (Winchester) Abby Reichlin (Back Bay)* Michael Chien (Cambridge) Thomas R. Rowen (Peabody) Christopher Chin (Wollaston) Norman Roye (Quincy)* Bradley M. Dunkin (Medford)* Peter Rutten (Arlington) Paul Garver (Acton) Tony Santos (Medfield) Chris Haimendorf (South End) Ronald D. Segal (Back Bay) Michael Harnett (Belmont)* Sean Shen (Methuen) Josh Howe (Cambridge) Peter Smith (Roslindale)* Austin Klipp (Charlestown) Robert Tuttle (Fitchburg) Michael Levin (Brookline) Fiat Vongpunsawad (South End) John E. Meurling (North End) Martin J. Newhouse (Winchester) *Back Bay Chorale member Justin Mazzola Paluska (Cambridge) The BOSTON LANDMARKS ORCHESTRA performs free outdoor concerts in the City of Boston throughout the summer, delighting thousands on a weekly basis. The Orchestra—made up of some of Boston’s most accomplished professional musicians—uses great symphonic music as a means of gathering together people of all backgrounds and ages in joyful collaboration. It regularly collaborates with a range of cultural and social service organizations to ensure participation across ethnic, economic, and cultural divides. The Orchestra is committed to BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS to access for people with disabilities. It offers braille, large-print, and text-to-speech programs, assisted listening devices, and ambassadors to assist people at a handicapped drop-off point. It works with American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters as performers at select concerts. CHRISTOPHER WILKINS was appointed Music Director of the Boston Landmarks Orchestra in 2011. Since then he has reaffirmed founder Charles Ansbacher’s vision of making great music accessible to the whole community, emphasizing inclusive programming and collaborative work. Mr. Wilkins also serves as Music Director of the Akron Symphony. As a guest conductor, he has appeared with many of the leading orchestras of the United States and abroad. Previously he served as Music Director of the San Antonio Symphony and the Colorado Springs Symphony. He also served as Resident Conductor of the Youth Orchestra of the Americas. Born in Boston, he earned his bachelor's degree from Harvard in 1978 and his master’s from the Yale School of Music in 1981. As an oboist, he performed with many ensembles in the Boston area including the Tanglewood Music Center, and the Boston Philharmonic under Benjamin Zander. The NORTH END MUSIC AND PERFORMING ARTS CENTER (NEMPAC) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization based out of the North End of Boston founded in 2001 by a group of local mothers who were seeking arts enrichment programming for their children. The organization worked with the City of Boston and Mayor Thomas Menino to acquire and renovate an old, abandoned 1940s washhouse in the heart of the North End. This building today, a total of 590 sq. feet, is home to NEMPAC’s administrative offices and four private studios, which is where NEMPAC truly began to flourish. Today, the organization is serving over 1,255 students per week through its educational programs and school partnerships as well as producing between 22 to 30 professional concerts and community events per year. Led by Executive Director Sherri Snow, the NEMPAC organization continues its mission to enrich the lives of the North End and surrounding communities through accessible, quality music education and performing arts programs. nempacboston.org Soprano MEREDITH HANSEN has been hailed “a standout” (Boston Herald) for her performances in the United States and abroad. Ms. Hansen's 2017-18 season included a concert of arias (Mimi, Norma and Luisa Miller) with Boston Bel Canto Opera, and Frasquita in Carmen (Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra). Ms. Hansen returned to The Metropolitan Opera in the 2016-17 season for Francesca Zambello’s Cyrano de Bergerac. Engagements in 2015-16 included a double bill of Serafina in Il Campanello and Suzel in L’amico Fritz (Boston Midsummer Opera); Trainbearer in Strauss’ Elektra with Boston Symphony Orchestra (Boston Symphony Hall, Carnegie Hall), and Donna Anna in Don Giovanni (Opera in Williamsburg). Other recent performances include Musetta in La bohème (Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre); soloist in Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy (Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood); First Lady in The Magic Flute and Donna Anna (Boston Lyric Opera), and featured soloist (Tatyana, Countess Almaviva) at the Hatch Shell with the Landmarks Orchestra. www.meredithhansen.com ANN McMAHON QUINTERO returns to the Boston area where she is frequently engaged. This season she was heard in Boston Baroque’s Mozart Requiem; concerts with The Defiant Requiem Foundation in a Holocaust remembrance; soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra in Messiah; the Old Lady in Bernstein’s Candide at Arizona Opera; Verdi’s Requiem with the South Bend Symphony and soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. She has been honored as a Sara Tucker Study Grant winner from the Richard Tucker Music Foundation; the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation; George London Foundation; Sullivan Foundation, Plácido Domingo’s Operalia and was a Grand National Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. www.annmquintero.com YEGHISHE MANUCHARYAN has performed at the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Opera Boston, Boston Concert Opera, Minnesota Opera, San Diego Opera, Tulsa Opera, Toledo Opera, Baltimore Opera, Knoxville Opera, Tanglewood Festival, Teatro San Carlo of Naples, Italy, Wexford Festival in Ireland, Armenian National Opera, New York Choral Society, Opera Orchestra of New York, Masterworks Chorale, Caramoor International Music Festival, Dallas Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Boston Modern Orchestra Project and Orquesta Sinfonica del Estado de Mejico. He has appeared as Alfredo in La Traviata, Rodolfo in La Boheme, Cavaradossi in Tosca, Lykov in Tsar’s Bride, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Lensky in Eugene Onegin, the Duke in Rigoletto, Cassio in Otello, Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Tito in La clemenza di Tito, and Saro in Anoush. He has performed the Berlioz Requiem, Verdi Requiem, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis and 9th Symphony, Dvorak Stabat Mater, Bruckner’s Te Deumand and Lukas Foss' Griffelkin. www.yeghishemanucharyan.com Praised by the Washington Post as having a voice of "unearthly power," American bass-baritone NATHAN STARK has performed on operatic, concert and recital stages throughout the United States, Europe, and China. His engagements in the 2018-19 season include Pasha Selim in The Abduction from the Seraglio with Opera San Jose, General Audebert in Kevin Puts’ Silent Night with Arizona Opera, performances in California of Defiant Requiem (conducted by Murry Sidlin), and his return to Boston Baroque as soloist in Messiah (following his debut last season as Rocco in Fidelio). He has performed as soloist with Boston Symphony Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera, Houston Symphony, Cincinnati Opera, and Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Recent engagements include performances of Defiant Requiem in Chicago and Detroit, King Marke in Tristan und Isolde with Winnipeg Symphony, Missa solemnis with University Musical Society, and Verdi’s Requiem with the orchestras of Atlanta, New Haven, Greenville, and Dayton. www.nathan-stark.com/ The BACK BAY CHORALE is a 120-member auditioned chorus drawing experienced singers from the Greater Boston area. From its inception, the Chorale has committed to sharing music in the community with repertoire that ranges from Renaissance to contemporary. Musician, minister, and social activist Larry Hill founded the Chorale in 1973 at Boston’s Church of the Covenant to create a musical ministry that would bring meaning to both singers and their audience. In the years since Hill’s death in 1989, the Chorale has continued to grow in stature and is now regarded as one of Boston’s premier nonprofessional choruses. www.backbaychorale.org SCOTT ALLEN JARRETT is one of North America’s most exciting and versatile musicians, sought after as a conductor, keyboard artist, and teacher of conducting. He serves as Music Director of the Back Bay Chorale, Resident Conductor of the Handel and Haydn Society chorus, Artistic Director of the Bach Akademie Charlotte, and Director of Music at Boston University’s Marsh Chapel. He is a frequent guest conductor at Trinity Wall Street in New York City.
PODIUM NOTE:
Tonight’s program begins with Gioachino Rossini. So does the history of the Verdi Requiem. Following Rossini’s death in 1868, Verdi wrote to a friend, “A great name has disappeared from the world! His was the most widespread, the most popular reputation of our time, and it was a glory of Italy!” Verdi proposed a Requiem Mass in Rossini’s memory, to be performed on the first anniversary of the composer’s death. Verdi’s plan envisioned a collaborative work created by “the most distinguished Italian composers.” Verdi’s motives were altruistic but the stipulations he put on the project were impractical; the performance never took place. The portion of the work that Verdi contributed, however—the Libera me—was the starting point for what would eventually become his Messa da Requiem. In 2016 the Landmarks Orchestra gave the New England premiere of the Libera me of 1869 with the One City Choir, Back Bay Chorale, and celebrated English soprano Jane Eaglen. On that occasion the North End Music and Performing Arts Center Youth Choir joined us, as they have each of the past four seasons. We are pleased to present them again tonight in their own mini-recital. For seven years, the One City Choir has symbolized the Landmarks Orchestra’s desire to bring people together from every neighborhood of Boston. Once again a record number of choristers have signed up—so many that we have had to place them both behind and in front of the stage. They are under the brilliant leadership of Scott Allen Jarrett, Music Director of one of our most prized partner organizations, the Back Bay Chorale. Semiramide (pronounced Seh-mee-RAH-mee-deh), based on a tragic novel by Voltaire, was Rossini’s thirty-fourth opera. At just thirty-two years of age, he was already the most performed composer in operatic history. Audiences lapped up his music like champagne, to which his sparkling creations were often compared. Indeed, Rossini had a nose for the delectable, like a gourmet chef, which he also decidedly was. Dozens of culinary dishes were named after him. According to the New York Times, “If you want a phrase that summons all the voluptuous pleasure of haute cuisine in its heyday, ‘Tournedos Rossini’ does the trick.” Characterizing Rossini’s music is sometimes like describing food or drink: enticing melodies, bubbly rhythms, pungent orchestrations, and the hearty character of its structure. Rossini’s Semiramide Overture begins with his signature move: the “Rossini crescendo.” A quartet of horns then introduces a stately theme. After an excited response from the whole orchestra, the horn theme returns in the woodwinds, adorned by pizzicato lines in the strings. A second crescendo leads to the main Allegro and a series of effervescent phrases. With the timing of a superb comic, Rossini puts a stop to this excitement just as it gets underway. When the music halts for a second time, a jovial second subject launches in the woodwinds. The four horns return, though this time in their traditional hunting guise, ushering in a full recapitulation of the main section ahead of a rousing coda. In the same letter in which Verdi expressed how deeply affected he was by the loss of Rossini, he linked Rossini’s name to another: “When the one other glory that is like unto it [Rossini] exists no longer… what will remain of us?” The “other glory” was the poet and novelist, Alessandro Manzoni. Verdi admired Manzoni’s work not only for its literary merits, but also for the crucial role it played in the Italian Risorgimento, the mid-nineteenth century movement to unify Italy into one kingdom. Manzoni helped establish, for example, a modern linguistic style based on spoken Tuscan speech rather than the antiquated usage of the eighteenth century. Less than five years after Rossini died, Verdi received news of Manzoni’s death. It was to honor the memory of Manzoni that Verdi dedicated his own Requiem Mass, the Messa da Requiem. Verdi sets the requiem text as a series of dramatic scenes, in music that is profoundly moving and at times extraordinarily visual. Yet, while Verdi’s approach is dramatic throughout—even theatrical—he wished to distance the Requiem from the world of opera. “One must not sing this Mass in the way one sings opera, and therefore phrasing and dynamics that may be fine in the theater won’t satisfy me at all, not at all.” He wished for purity in delivery, and for a beauty of vocal line that is the hallmark of Italian music. We are blessed with a solo quartet tonight—Meredith Hansen, Ann McMahon Quintero, Yeghishe Manucharyan, Nathan Stark—who I believe embody the qualities Verdi took pains to describe. The text of the Requiem derives from the liturgy of the Mass for the Dead in the Roman Catholic tradition. It is a variant of the text of the mass Ordinary—the portions of the mass text that are the same for every mass. Yet the text of the Mass for the Dead was not always a set thing. Throughout the first millennium of the church, the service for the dead was largely joyful in nature, its main purpose being to celebrate the promise of the Resurrection. But by the late fifteenth century, hell and damnation had become popular themes with the public. The church finally acceded to popular pressure and allowed the poem Dies iræ to be included in the service. At about the same time, the predominant color at memorial services changed from white to black. I. Requiem e Kyrie The music begins with cellos intoning a simple descending line, as if bowed in prayer. The chorus half-whispers the opening ‘Requiem… requiem aeternam’ (‘Rest… eternal rest’) as if praying together. At the words ‘et lux perpetua luceat eis’ (‘and may eternal light shine upon them’) the music brightens from minor to major. The chorus now sings a hymn in antique style. The music of the opening returns and unexpectedly transitions into the Kyrie where for the first time solo voices emerge, then join with the full chorus in Verdian splendor. II. Dies iræ The Dies iræ is by far the longest portion of the Requiem. It represents about a third of the music and half of the text. The poem comprises eleven separate sections in Verdi’s setting, each flowing directly into the next. (1) The Dies iræ begins with massive full-orchestra hammer blows as if delivered by the Supreme Judge. When these chords are repeated ten bars later, thunderous strokes in the bass drum are inserted, adding a Shakespearean “crack of doom.” Downward hurtling gestures in the strings and lower brass leave no doubt as to the fate of the damned. (2) No sooner has the chorus forecast the “terror [that] will be when the Judge shall come” than eight trumpets signal that the terrible day is upon us. Four onstage trumpets are answered by four offstage. A feeling of dread builds inexorably as we are confronted with our own impending doom. By the time the chorus enters, all hell has broken loose. (3) The catastrophic clamor leads to one of the great tension-filled silences in all of music. No one dares move. ‘Death and nature will be stunned,’ the bass soloist stammers. In the first extended passage for solo voice, the alto proclaims that a book shall be brought forth by which the world is to be judged. The choir quakes in the background, leading to (4) a partial reprise of the opening Dies iræ music. (5) Saving the sound of the lowest male voice for the following section, Verdi now presents the work’s first ensemble, ‘Quid sum miser,’ a trio for soprano, alto, and tenor. The tone is more intimate and the text shifts to the first person singular. The mood becomes increasingly apprehensive until (6) the basses address the King of Dreadful Majesty directly, in music reminiscent of some of the great curses of Verdi opera. Individuals plead for mercy in a thrilling passage that eventually leads the soprano to the first of her two high C’s in the Requiem. (7) In the soprano-alto duet, ‘Recordare,’ the text turns to Jesus for the first time. “Recall,” they plead, “that I was the reason for Your journey.” Woodwinds quietly reiterate the rhythm associated with “Salva me” (“Save me”) from the previous section. The vocal lines are at once consoling and unsettled, with a meandering cadenza for the soloists at the end. (8) The tenor aria, ‘Ingemisco,’ is the most personal passage of the Requiem. The voice of the supplicant is tinged with guilt, but gradually it strengthens in the hope of joining the flock and being placed at the right hand of God. (9) In the ‘Confutatis’ the bass invokes the fires of hell once again, but then pleads to be called among the blessed. (10) The opening music of the Dies iræ returns now for the third time (we will hear it a final time at the end of the Requiem). (11) A descending line in the violins leads to the ‘Lacrymosa,’ music originally composed for Don Carlos. It suggests the suffering of all mankind, but begins with the alto, who may represent the weeping of the Virgin Mary at the cross. An unexpected harmony on the final ‘Amen’ causes more uncertainty than comfort. III. Offertorio The Offertory begins with an invocation and a prayer for deliverance from the terrors of hell. The soprano enters to express the hope that the archangel Michael will deliver the faithful into the holy light; she is accompanied by high luminous violins. The reference to Abraham and his seed is traditionally set to the self-proliferating form of a fugue, as Verdi does here. The ‘Hostias,’ begun quietly by the tenor, is imbued with sweet religious feeling. The fugue returns, now delivered more forcefully than the first time, before a final reminder of the opening plea for mercy. IV. Sanctus A mere two-and-a-half minutes in length, the Sanctus is ablaze in light. The complexity of the counterpoint is created by a double chorus, with Verdi writing here for eight separate choral parts rather than four. V. In the Agnus Dei, soprano and alto spin out a gentle chant-like melody. It is answered by the chorus, and then repeated by the soloists in minor. When it returns for one more responsorial treatment, a single word extends the text to specify that the rest should be eternal. A final rising gesture in the violins points heavenward. VI. A constant interplay of light and darkness animate the Lux æterna. The music for three soloists suggests, in alternation, the radiance of perpetual light and the shadows of death. Again the soprano soloist is held in reserve, awaiting her prominent role in the final movement. VII. We end where Verdi began, when he first conceived this Libera me as the concluding section of the Requiem for Rossini. With panic in her voice, the soprano cries out to be delivered from damnation on that day when the earth shall move. The chorus mutters its own fearful response. The hammer blows of the Dies iræ mount one last assault. The chorus sings—without accompaniment—the music the strings had played at the very opening of the Requiem. A choral fugue reveals the desperation of the gathered throngs with such vehemence that they seem “intent on achieving salvation by violence,” in Francis Toye’s characterization. All forces come together on the words ‘Domine, libera’ in music that echoes other passages in Verdi associated with the Risorgimento and political liberty. In a final dramatic gesture, the soprano rises for the second time to a ringing climax on a high C, before falling in exhaustion before the terror of the unknown. The chorus is left to utter a colorless monotone on ‘Libera me,’ as the orchestra offers the hope of a major chord. But the outcome has never been more in doubt. Verdi—ever the skeptic—seems to return the question of salvation back to the listener. - Christopher Wilkins Translations will be tweeted live during the Verdi Requiem. Follow @LandmarksNotes to receive real time translations as you enjoy the performance! The full text/translation is available on our mobile app and a limited number of printed copies are available at the Info Tent. Support Boston’s only summer series of FREE orchestral concerts with a gift today!
The Boston Landmarks Orchestra is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization funded through the generosity of foundations, corporations, and individuals. The Orchestra was founded in 2001 by conductor and community advocate Charles Ansbacher to bring free classical music to the people of Greater Boston. Since 2007, the Orchestra has presented its main concert series at the DCR’s Hatch Shell on Wednesday nights from mid-July to late August, carrying on the tradition of free concerts on the Esplanade started by Arthur Fiedler in 1929. Please consider a suggested contribution of $20 to the Boston Landmarks Orchestra to help us continue this summertime tradition for many years to come, adding immeasurably to the quality of life in Boston. You may return the enclosed reply envelope and your contribution to one of our volunteers in blue t-shirts or drop it off at our Information Tent. Visit www.landmarksorchestra.org/donate to donate securely online. Contributions may also be mailed to: Boston Landmarks Orchestra 214 Lincoln Street, Suite 331 Boston, MA 02134
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! Boston Landmarks Orchestra Donors & Sponsors (Gifts received within last 12 months at the Contributor level and above) Corporate, Foundation & Government Support Anonymous • Arbella Insurance Foundation • The Paul and Edith Babson Foundation • Boston Cultural Council • The Boston Foundation • Cabot Family Charitable Trust • Edmund and Betsy Cabot Charitable Foundation • Century Bank • Cogan Family Foundation • Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation • Free for All Concert Fund • Stella and Charles Guttman Foundation • Haddad Family Charitable Trust • Highland Street Foundation • John Hancock Financial Services • Klarman Family Foundation • Liberty Mutual Foundation • Massachusetts Cultural Council • Music Performance Trust Fund • Israel and Mollie Myers Foundation • Bessie Pappas Charitable Foundation • The Plymouth Rock Foundation • Rockland Trust • Lawrence and Lillian Solomon Fund • Women’s Philharmonic Advocacy Music Director’s Society Music Director Benefactor David Arnold and Ann Moritz • Barbara and Amos Hostetter • Lia and William Poorvu • Allison K. Ryder and David B. Jones • Stephen and Alicia Symchych Music Director Platinum Eileen and Jack Connors Jr. • Laura Connors and Brian O’Connell • Michael and Karen Rotenberg • Epp Sonin Music Director Gold Richard and Nonnie Burnes • Jo Frances and John Meyer • David G. Mugar • Michael Yogman and Elizabeth Ascher
Music Director Silver Rev. Susan Esco Chandler and Alfred D. Chandler III • Cynthia and Oliver Curme/Lost & Foundation • Gene and Lloyd Dahmen • Katherine and Neil Diver • Alan and Lisa Dynner • Richard and Rebecca Hawkins • Jeryl and Stephen Oristaglio • Kitty and Tony Pell • Laura Roberts and Edward Belove • Wendy Shattuck and Samuel Plimpton • Anne Symchych • Edwin and Joan Tiffany Music Director Bronze Harron Ellenson and Roger Snow • Peter and Dieuwke Fiedler • Andrew J. Ley and Carol P. Searle • Sharon and Brian McNally • Kyra and Coco Montagu/Alchemy Foundation • Mitchell and Cynthia Neider • Susan and Frederick Putnam • Jan and Stuart Rose • David and Marie Louise Scudder • Stephen Spinetto and Alice Krapf • Debra and Mark Stevens • Donna and Robert Storer Benefactors Chris Baldwin and Sally Reyering • Michael Boyson and Nancy Grant • Paul and Catherine Buttenwieser • Ronald G. Casty • John Chambliss and Polly Whiteside • Saul and Naomi Cohen • Julie Crockford and Sheridan Haines • Corinne Dame • Mary E. Darmstaetter • Joseph and Eden Davies • Newell and Kate Flather • Howard Gardner and Ellen Winner • Sarah Grandfield and Nathaniel Adams • Brent Henry and Minnie Baylor-Henry • Elizabeth and Paul Kastner • Anne Linn • Jeff D. Makholm and Roberta Parks • Elizabeth and Joseph Marconi • Priscilla McMahon • John Curtis Perry and Sarah Hollis Perry • Suzanne Priebatsch • Michael Rubenstein and Elizabeth Skavish • Jean Scarrow • Andrea Schein and Angelo Veneziano • Eileen Shapiro and Reuben Eaves • Kathy and Gary Sharpless • John Shields and Christiane Delessert • Marilyn Smith and Charles Freifeld • Fredericka and Howard Stevenson • David and Megan Szabo • Benjamin and Katherine Taylor • Deborah Thaxter and Robert Adkins • Henry D. Tiffany III/Control Concepts • Robert and Suzanne Walters • Christopher Wilkins • Douglas and Laura Wilkins • Herbert and Angela Wilkins • Milton Wright • Benjamin Zander Supporters Anonymous • Gerald and Corinne Adler • Ted Ansbacher and Barbara Nash • Sally Cassells • Katherine DeMarco • Paul and Gail Devine • Fay Donohue and Cary Armistead • Michael and Kitty Dukakis • David and Anne Gergen • Richard and Jean Gran • Mark and Mia Halfman • Jonathan Hecht and Lora Sabin • Richard Howe and Betty Ann Limpert • Frederic Johnson • Carole and Robert Kay • Rona Kiley • Robert Krim and Kathlyne Anderson • Steven Levitsky • Kristin Mortimer • Alan Pafenbach • Michael Peluse • Megan and Alkes Price • Suzanne and Bernard Pucker • Watson and Juliette Reid • Kathy Ripin and Leonard Sayles • Arthur Rishi and Kimberly Howe Rishi • Abby and Donald Rosenfeld • Maureen and Michael Ruettgers • Harborne Stuart and Cathy Tankosic • Joan and Bernard Sudikoff • Beverly J. Tangvik • Richard Trant • Phyllis Vineyard • Renata von Tscharner and Peter Munkenbeck • Susan Weiler • Craig and Catherine Weston Contributors James Alexander and Thomas Stocker • Robert and Gudrun Ashton • Diane Austin and Aaron Nurick • Martha and Robert Berardino • Maria and Andrew Burtis • Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Casendino • Gabrielle and Richard Coffman • Alvin and Victoria Davis • Catharine-Mary Donovan • Glenda and Robert Fishman • Patricia Freysinger • Linda Grasso • Marcia and Edward Katz • Jane Lauridsen • Mark and Kimberly Luiggi • C. Bruce Metzler and Carol E. Simpson • Leo Pierre Roy and Perry Russell • Robert H. Rubin • Tedd and Ella Saunders • Diane and Richard Schmalensee • Sally Withington
Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this list as of the print deadline. Please contact Jim Murray, Manager of Development & Communications, at [email protected] regarding any inaccuracies or omissions. BOSTON LANDMARKS ORCHESTRA BOARD OF TRUSTEES BOARD OF OVERSEERS Laura Connors, Chair Myran Parker-Brass, Chair Susan Putnam Gene D. Dahmen David B. Arnold III Laura Roberts Peter Fiedler Smoki Bacon Diana Rowan Rockefeller Richard Hawkins Richard M. Burnes Jan Rose B. J. Krintzman Richard Concannon Anthony Rudel Mitchell Neider Conrad Crawford Maureen Ruettgers Jeryl Oristaglio Julie Crockford Andrea Schein Myran Parker-Brass, ex officio Corinne Dame Eileen Shapiro Katharine M. Pell Joseph P. Davies John Shields J. Brian Potts Katherine DeMarco Epp Sonin Michael Rotenberg Katherine Diver Debra Stevens Allison K. Ryder Priscilla H. Douglas Donna Storer Stephen Spinetto Newell Flather Beverly J. Tangvik Stephen Symchych Howard Gardner Angelo Tilas David Szabo David Gergen William Walczak Edwin Tiffany Sean Hennessey Douglas Wilkins Milton L. Wright Jr. Paul Kowal Arthur Winn Michael Yogman Robert M. Krim Steven Levitsky Alfred D. Chandler III, Andrew J. Ley Trustee Emeritus Anne Linn Charles Ansbacher, Sharon McNally Founder David G. Mugar
STAFF Jo Frances Meyer, Executive Director Arthur Rishi, Artistic Administrator Michelle Major, Chief Financial Officer Jim Murray, Manager of Development & Communications Joanne Barrett/JBPR, Public Relations Adele Traub, Social Media Coordinator Stephanie Muñoz, Education & Outreach Coordinator Melissa Rorech, Volunteer Coordinator Samuel Hawkins, Grant Yosenick, Interns; Shuang Fan, Conducting Intern PRODUCTION Emerson Kington, Technical Director Audrey Dunne, Production Manager & Librarian Cate Gallagher, Production Assistant Steve Colby, Sound Design & Audio Mix MJ Audio, Audio Production Mackenzie Skeens, Nassim Zamor, Stage Crew Diego Elias, Brian Gomez, Francisco Perdomo, Amari Vickers, MLK Summer Scholars Michael Dwyer, Photography Jesse Ciarmataro, Graphic Design VERY SPECIAL THANKS Boston Cares Mass Cultural Council UP Initiative The Boston Globe One Brick The Boston Metro Boston University Office of Disability Services Greenough JCDecaux WEDNESDAYS AT 7PM GREAT MUSIC FOR FREE AT THE DCR’s HATCH SHELL
August 8, 2018 LONGWOOD SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA If it is raining on the 8th, the concert will be cancelled. August 15, 2018 SOUNDS OF THE SEA If it is raining on the 15th, the concert will be postponed to the 16th at the Hatch Shell o r Emmanuel Church. August 22, 2018 SYMPHONIC DANCES If it is raining on the 22nd, the concert will be postponed to the 23rd at the Hatch Shell or an indoor location TBD. August 29, 2018 MERCURY ORCHESTRA If it is raining on the 29th, the concert will be cancelled. If inclement weather is in the forecast on the day of a concert, please check www.landmarksorchestra.org or call 617-987-2000 after 4 PM for any changes to the date or venue. Download our mobile app to receive weather alerts, notifications, and special offers. NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERT: THE BIRTH OF JAZZ SUNDAY, August 12 at 6PM Pinebank Promontory, Jamaica Plain
214 Lincoln Street, Suite 331 Boston, MA 02134 617-987-2000 www.landmarksorchestra.org These programs are supported in part by grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the Boston Cultural Council, a local agency which is funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council and administered by the Mayor’s Office of Arts + Culture for the City of Boston.