Graun's Der Tod Jesu (The Death of Jesus)
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Calvary Presents… The Promise of the Passion: Graun’s Der Tod Jesu (The Death of Jesus) Music for Good Friday Concert Series A Benefit Performance for the Shalom Scholarship Fund Calvary Baptist Church 755 8th Street. NW Washington, DC 20001 April 6, 2012 7:30 p.m. The Chalice Singers & Ensemble Cheryl Branham, Conductor Concerti Singers Natalie Barrens Soprano Susan Sevier Mezzo-Contralto Dwayne Pinkney Tenor Rameen Chaharbaghi Baritone Ripieni Singers Rachel Barham Soprano Marguerite Toscano Alto Terrance Johns Tenor Kyung Kok Bass-Baritone Instrumentalists Pamela Lassell Violin Lisa Cridge Violin Evelyn Harpham Viola Danielle Cho Cello Eric Seay Contrabass Gary Davison Organ Special Note: Tonight, Gary Davison plays a portative organ built in 1986 by Karl Wilhelm, a beautiful one-manual, 4-stop instrument in the Germanic tradition incorporating 8' Gedackt, 4' Rohrflote, 2' Principal, and 1-1/3' Quinte. We are indebted to Washington DC organist William Neil, who owns this fine instrument. Tonight’s concert is a production of Serate Musicali LTD and the Calvary Presents… concert series. The proceeds from this performance benefit the Shalom Scholarship Fund, a scholarship created to help students in El Salvador continue their education. There, public education ends at the 8th grade. With the assistance of Shalom, future leaders without the means to do so can finish high school and go on to college. Program Der Tod Jesu (1755) Music: Carl Heinrich Graun (1704-1759) Text: Karl Wilhelm Ramler (1725-1798) 1. Choral: Du, dessen Augen flossen Ensemble 2. Tutti: Sein Odem ist schwach Ensemble 3. Recitative: Gethsemane! Gethsemane! Ms. Barrens 4. Aria: Du Held, auf den die Köcher Ms. Barrens 5. Choral: Wen hab' ich sonst als dich allein Ensemble 6. Recitative: Ach mein Immanuel! Ms. Sevier 7. Aria: Ein Gebeth um neue Stärke Ms. Sevier 8. Recitative: Nun klingen Waffen Mr. Pinkney 9. Aria: Ihr weichgeschaffnen Seelen Mr. Pinkney 10. Tutti: Unsre Seele ist gebeuget zu der Erden Ensemble 11. Choral: Ich will von meiner Missethat Ensemble 12. Recitative: Jerusalem voll Mordlust ruft Mr. Chaharbaghi 13. Aria: So stehet ein Berg Gottes Mr. Chaharbaghi 14. Tutti: Christus hat uns ein Vorbild gelassen Ensemble 15. Choral: Ihr werde Dir zu Ehren alles wagen Ensemble 16. Recitative: Da steht der traurige Ms. Sevier 17. Duetto: Feinde, die ihr mich betrübt Ms. Barrens Ms. Sevier 18. Recitative: Wer ist der Heilige Ms. Barrens 19. Aria: Singt dem göttlichen Propheten Ms. Barrens 20. Tutti: Freuet euch alle Ihr Frommen Ensemble 21. Choral: Wie herrlich ist die neue Welt Ensemble 22. Recitative: Auf einmal fällt der aufgehaltne Schmerz Mr. Chaharbaghi 23. Accompagnement: Es steigen Seraphim Mr. Chaharbaghi 24. Choral: Ihr Augen, weint! Ensemble 25. Chor: Hier liegen wir Ensemble Please NO APPLAUSE due to the sacred nature of the performance and in reverence to the meaning of Good Friday. Join us in Woodward Hall, to the left as you exit the sanctuary, for a reception if you wish to express your appreciation to the performers. Donations for the Shalom Scholarship fund will be collected as you leave the Sanctuary and in Woodward Hall. Program duration: approximately 1 hour 20 minutes. Biographies Natalie Barrens, soprano, a native of Albuquerque, New Mexico, received her Bachelor’s degree in Music from Southern Methodist University’s Meadows School of the Arts and her Master’s degree in Vocal Performance from Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music. Ms. Barrens is a current member of The Friday Morning Music Club and a former member of The 7 Sopranos. She is the Soprano soloist for Calvary Baptist Church, located in DC's Chinatown. Ms. Barrens has performed the role of Tituba in Robert Ward’s The Crucible where she worked with Mr. Ward, the Second Lady (Die Zauberflöte), as well as part of the Second Prisoner in the North American premiere of Bruno Rigacci’s Ecuba, she has also performed the roles of Oberto (Alcina) and Illia (Idomeneo) in the California MusicFestival. Ms Barrens varying range of roles includes Sally Brown in You're A Good Man CharlieBrown to Lakmé and Fiordiligi. She was featured as a soloist with the Montgomery CountyCollege Choir and Orchestra and most recently sang the soprano solo in Brahms’ German Requiem in Silver Spring, Maryland. In addition to numerous appearances in the Northern California, New York, Western Massachusetts and Philadelphia areas, Ms. Barrens has given recitals in her native Albuquerque (www.nataliebarrens.com). Susan Sevier, contralto, equally at home in oratorio, opera, and theatrical musicals, with repertoire from Handel to Wagner to Sondheim, receives general acclaim for her sacred music performances: for her recent performance of Haydn’s rarely performed Stabat Mater, the Concertnet.com critic said: “Contralto Susan Sevier is always a joy to hear. A ‘true’ contralto of enormous depth and range, she conveyed a great sense of pathos and sorrow in her singing”, and, for her performances in the Opera Bel Canto production of Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle , the Washington Post critic called her performance of the “Agnus Dei” as “eloquent”. Recent opera performances include Wagner’s Das Rheingold Erda with the Washington National Wagner Society and the West End Opera in NY, and as Rossweisse in Act III of Die Walküre, featuring James Morris as Wotan and Christine Brewer as Brunhilde at Baltimore’s Meyerhoff Symphony Hall; as “The Witch” in Humperdinck’s Hansel & Gretel , and as Acuzena in Verdi’s Il Trovatore with the Maryland Opera Society; as Marcellina, in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro at the Tuscia Opera Festival (Italy); and as Verdi’s Amneris in Aida, Acuzena in Il Trovatore, and as Mozart’s Dritte Dame with the Bourgas Philharmonic and Opera Society (Bulgaria). Her musical theatre credits include appearances as the Duchess of Plaza Toro in the Mt. Vernon Players production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s Gondoliers; Bloody Mary in South Pacific at the Ashlawn Summer Festival; and Frau Peachum in the Brecht/Weill Three Penny Opera at the Theatre Project in Baltimore, for which Baltimore’s City Paper review cited her “excellent performance”. Ms. Sevier appears courtesy of Serate Musicali, Ltd. (www.seratemusicali.org). Dwayne Pinkney, tenor, is a native of Washington, D.C. From a young age he was interested in singing and ultimately attended the Duke Ellington School for the Arts in Washington, D.C. Upon graduation, Mr. Pinkney decided to attend Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland. During his time at Morgan, he performed with the nationally acclaimed Morgan State University Choir, the Opera Workshop and various other organizations on campus. Mr. Pinkney has served as President, Vice President and Secretary of the Pi Eta Chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America Inc. and was also given the honor of being Mr. Senior for the 2009-2010 school year. In May of 2010, Mr. Pinkney received his Bachelors of Arts in Music from Morgan State University. Dwayne has studied with Samuel Bonds, Lorriana Markovic and James Bailey. Mr. Pinkney plans to pursue a Master of Arts in Teaching degree in early childhood education. Also outside of school, Mr. Pinkney has had the opportunity to work with Opera Vivente and the Handel Choir of Baltimore. Mr. Pinkney is currently working as a paraprofessional with The District of Columbia Public School System, serves as the tenor section leader at Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, DC, sings with Thomas Chircle Singers, a professional chorus in Washington, DC and applying to graduate school in hopes to be in school and a lead teacher in the fall of 2012. Rameen Chaharbaghi, Baritone, is known for his nuanced singing and his polished stage presence, has sung numerous operatic roles, including Dr. Falke (Die Fledermaus) with Victorian Lyric Opera Company, Papageno (Die Zauberflöte) with Bel Cantanti Opera Summer Festival, Malatesta (Don Pasquale) and Belcore (L’elisir d’amore) with Repertory Opera Theater of Washington, and Ben (The Telephone) at the University of Maryland. Rameen has also appeared in Maryland Opera Studio’s productions of Il barbiere di Siviglia, Eugene Onegin, and Così fan tutte. Outside of the operatic repertoire, Rameen excels in a multitude of genres, including chamber music, art song, oratorio, and theater. He has sung Barber’s chamber work Dover Beach in San Francisco and in Maryland, and has appeared as the bass soloist at the University of Maryland in performances of several Bach Cantatas. His singing has earned him several awards, including first place at the state level of the National Association for Teachers of Singing student auditions, the Presser Foundation Scholarship, and the Stringer Foundation Scholarship. Rameen received his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education at the University of Maryland. In his studies to become a teacher, he discovered that his true passions were performance and composition, and he premiered several of his own compositions, including the song cycles Strange Boy and Ahanghaye Rudaki, set to classic Farsi poetry. He also performed with Maryland’s renowned choirs, including the Chamber Singers and University Chorale, under the baton of Ed Maclary. Rameen is also a recent alumnus of the OperaWorks Advanced Artist Program in Los Angeles. This summer, Rameen will be attending the CoOPERAtive training program in New Jersey, where he will perform in solo concerts and receive training from some of the industry’s most knowledgeable professionals. He currently lives in Silver Spring, Maryland. Gary Davison, Organist, is an internationally acclaimed musician of diverse talents. His work as a keyboard artist, composer, and conductor has been described by various critics as "seductive and spirited...smooth, flexible and clear, allowing the music to shine from within" (Hamburger Abendblatt, Germany), "persuasive ...imaginative and polished... sumptuous and engaging" (The Washington Post), as well as "breathtaking and exquisite" (The Journal of the Association of Anglican Musicians).