CHRISTMAS STORY Artistic Direction by David Fallis, with Guest Tenor Charles Daniels
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2019-2020: The Fellowship of Early Music Schütz’s CHRISTMAS STORY Artistic Direction by David Fallis, with guest tenor Charles Daniels DECEMBER 13, 14 & 15, 2019 2019-2020 Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St.Paul’s Centre Season Sponsor THANK YOU! It is with sincere appreciation and gratitude that we salute The Spem in Alium Fund for its generous support of this production. THANK YOU! It is with sincere appreciation and gratitude that we salute Kevin Finora for generously sponsoring Cory Knight. Join us at our Intermission Café! The Toronto Consort is happy to offer a wide range of refreshments: BEVERAGES SNACKS PREMIUM ($2) ($2) BAKED GOODS ($2.50) Coffee Assortment of Chips Assortment by Tea Assortment of Candy Bars Harbord Bakery Coke Breathsavers Diet Coke Halls San Pellegrino Apple Juice Pre-order in the lobby! Back by popular demand, pre-order your refreshments in the lobby and skip the line at intermission! PROGRAM Lobet den Herrn Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672) Symphonium sacrum II, Op. 10, SWV 350, 1647 Verbum caro factum est Johann Hermann Schein (1586-1630) Cymbalum Sionium, Cantiones Sacræ, 1615 Quem vidistis, pastores? Hans Leo Haßler (1564-1612) Sacri concentus (No. 3), 1601 Auf dem Gebirge Schütz Geistliche Chor-Musik, Op. 11, SWV 396, 1648 Quem vidistis, pastores? Schein Cymbalum Sionium, Cantiones Sacræ, 1615 Das Wort ward Fleisch Schütz Geistliche Chor-Musik, Op. 11, SWV 385, 1648 Alleluja! Lobet den Herren Schütz Psalmen Davids, SWV 38, 1619 INTERMISSION – Join us for the Intermission Café, located in the gym. Historia von der Geburt Jesu Christi, SWV 435, 1664 Heinrich Schütz Introduction Intermedium I – The angel to the shepherds in the field Intermedium II – The multitude of angels Intermedium III – The shepherds in the field Intermedium IV – The Magi from the East Intermedium V – The high priests and the scribes Intermedium VI – Herod Intermedium VII – The angel to Joseph Intermedium VIII – The angel to Joseph in Egypt Conclusion Tonight’s Performers are: Staff & Administration Michelle Knight, Managing Director David Fallis*, Conductor & organ (Christmas Story) Adam Thomas Smith, Director of Charles Daniels, tenor & Audience Engagement and Education Evangelist (Christmas Story) Nellie Austin, Bookkeeper Chris Abbott, Graphic Designer SINGERS Yara Jakymiw, Season Brochure Graphic Designer Joel Allison, bass & Herod (Christmas Story) Martin Reis, Derek Haukenfreres, Box Office Rebecca Claborn, mezzo Peter Smurlick, Database Consultant Michele DeBoer*, soprano Gordon Baker, Stage Manager Katherine Hill*, soprano & Angel Cecilia Booth, Front of House, Volunteer Coordinator (Christmas Story) Gordon Peck, Technical Director Cory Knight*, tenor Ann Blennerhassett, CD Sales and Event Assistant John Pepper*, bass Laura Pudwell*, mezzo Bud Roach, tenor PLAYERS Board of Directors Cornetto – Étienne Asselin, Alexandra Opsahl Dulcian – Dominic Teresi Heather Turnbull, President Harpsichord, organ – Paul Jenkins* Harry Deeg, Treasurer Recorder – Alison Melville*, Colin Savage Frances Campbell, Secretary Sackbut – Peter Christensen, Catherine Motuz Jason Bernardon Theorbo – Lucas Harris, Esteban La Rotta* Jennifer Bryan Viola da gamba – Margaret Little, Stephanie Butler Rosamund Morley Anita Nador Violin – Patricia Ahern, Cristina Zacharias Andrea Whitehead Violone – Joëlle Morton Gavin Winter Paul Jenkins, ex officio * denotes an Artistic Associate of The Toronto Consort Michelle Knight, ex officio Alison Melville, ex officio The Toronto Consort is a Proud Member of Follow us on Facebook and Instagram! @TorontoConsort 427 Bloor Street West, Toronto ON M5S 1X7 Box Office 416-964-6337 Admin 416-966-1045 | [email protected] bloorstculturecorridor.com TorontoConsort.org ABOUT US Top Row: Paul Jenkins, David Fallis, Laura Pudwell, Esteban La Rotta, John Pepper, Cory Knight Bottom Row: Katherine Hill, Michele DeBoer, Alison Melville, Ben Grossman Photo Credit: Bruce Zinger Since its founding in 1972, The Toronto Consort from dedicated music-history aficionados has become internationally recognized for its to occasional or first-time patrons. excellence in the performance of medieval, Each year, the Consort presents a five- renaissance and early baroque music. Led by production, twelve-concert series in the beautiful a collective of Artistic Associates, the group’s acoustic of Jeanne Lamon Hall at Trinity-St. members are amongst Canada’s leading early Paul’s Centre, located in downtown Toronto’s music specialists, including both singers and Bloor Street Cultural Corridor. The Consort tours instrumentalists on early plucked and bowed regularly, having been to Europe and Great Britain, strings, flutes, keyboards, and percussion. across Canada, and into the United States. The Toronto Consort specializes in rarely The Toronto Consort also offers free audience- heard repertoire from roughly 1100 AD to 1650 AD, engagement activities, such as pre-concert lectures, frequently presented in collaboration with other high school education concerts and learning artists, such as actors, dancers, visual and workshops, and the Early Music Collaboration Lab for multi-media artists, and guest specialists. The Seniors and Youth, and runs development programs collaborative nature of its creative process for Emerging Artists and Board of Directors Training. has led to diverse productions enthusiastically To contact or learn more about The Toronto received by varied modern audiences, Consort, visit TorontoConsort.org. PROGRAM NOTES In 1664, the publisher Wolfgang Seyffert of is written in the Stylo Recitativo (recitative style, Dresden issued a musical work entitled Historia, a term used by the latest Italian composers of Der Freuden= und Gnadenreichen Geburth Gotts opera), and that this publication is, as far as he und Marien Sohnes/ Jesu Christi, Unsers Einigen knows, the first time recitative has appeared in Mitlers/ Erlösers und Seeligmachers (Story of print in Germany. He goes on to advise that “the the Joyous and Gracious Birth of Jesus Christ, intelligent director will choose for the Evangelist’s the Son of God and Mary, our sole Mediator, part a good, bright tenor voice, to sing the words Redeemer and Saviour). The music was by solely in the metre and tempo of intelligible Heinrich Schütz, the recently retired, still speech, without any time-beating with the hand.” emeritus, Kapellmeister at the court chapel of Johann Georg II, the Elector of Saxony in The word historia does indeed mean a Dresden. In fact, the work was commissioned story, but in 17th-century musical usage, the by the Elector himself: the title page states, term had a more specific meaning: it was a “Set to music for voices and instruments at the musical work which told a sacred story using most gracious command of the Serene Elector words exclusively from the Bible, eschewing of Saxony, etc. Johann Georg the Younger”. freely composed poetry (such as is found in the historia’s close musical relative, the The work, known in English as Schütz’s oratorio). The favourite subject matters for Christmas Story, was a remarkable new historie were the Christmas, Passion and Easter masterpiece by Germany’s most important stories. Traditionally, German historie had the composer, now well over seventy years of Evangelist chant the Biblical words without any age. The publication includes a fascinating accompaniment to a reciting tone, just as one afterword, directed “to the gracious reader into might have heard the Bible passages read at whose hands this copy may come”. In it, Schütz a regular Sunday service. That Schütz should explains that the work is divided into two groups replace this recitation with recitative, but ask (or choirs, as he calls them), one consisting that it should have the freedom and attention to of the Evangelist’s choir (organ, violone and text that unaccompanied recitation always had, tenor), the other a “choir concertizing with shows the decided influence of Italian opera, still accompaniment”. The Evangelist’s part receives a new and innovative musical genre in Europe. particular attention, because Schütz says that it We know that Johann Georg II was a great In designing the first half, I was inspired lover of Italian music, and when he succeeded by one of the most moving moments in the his father as Elector in 1656, he combined the Christmas Story, the brief passage of expressive traditional electoral chapel with his own better recitative at the moment when the Evangelist equipped princely chapel. This allowed for relates the terrifying and deeply troubling part sacred music at court to have a large group of the Christmas story known as the slaughter of professional players and singers at its of the innocents. While the murder of the boys disposal, such as could be found in major Italian is horrifying, the writer of Matthew also sees it chapels and churches. The Christmas Story as a fulfillment of the prophecy of Jeremiah: “A displays this wonderful variety, and picks up on voice is heard in Rama, lamentation and bitter another innovation of Italian opera, the use of weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; instruments to represent different characters. she refuses to be comforted for her children, The shepherds sing with two recorders and because they are no more.” Schütz himself bassoon, Herod the king is accompanied by must have felt strongly about this picture of regal cornettos, the angel who appears to an inconsolable mother because he sets the Joseph is joined by treble viols, together with an words as a separate extraordinary motet in undulating