MENDELSSOHN CLUB OF PHILADELPHIA Paul Rardin, Conductor ! Honegger ! KING DAVID Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral APRIL 29 20 17 Kiera Duffy, soprano 4pm | 8pm Maren Montalbano, mezzo soprano Sumner Thompson, tenor Dan Kern, narrator Jillian Harris, choreographer Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia MCCHORUS.ORG Welcome to the final self-produced concert of Mendelssohn Club’s 143rd sea- son. Under Paul Rardin’s artistic leadership, our organization has continued to champion new and underperformed choral works, as well as those which have been favorites for centuries. In following this path, we have endeav- ored to bring fresh perspectives to these pieces. In the words of one of our slogans from past seasons, “the new informing the old informing the new...”. We have also been fortunate this year to combine forces with several area music organizations, including the Keystone State Boychoir, Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Working with the members of these groups has added synergy and excitement to our artistic efforts, and we look forward to many such col- laborations in the future. Your support of arts organizations such as ours is extremely important, especially in light of uncertain government funding in recent times. As Steven Sondheim has written in Sunday in the Park with George, “Art isn’t easy.” To put on productions such as the one you will experience today requires a great deal of cooperation among all the “moving parts”: chorus, orchestra, soloists and dancers. We hope that you will enjoy today’s performance, and continue to support Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia by attending future concerts. If you are so inclined, monetary gifts of any size are welcomed and help show funding institutions the impact we have on our audiences. Many of us in Mendelssohn Club have been singing for almost as long as we remember, and we are mindful of the gift we have been given. Although learning and refining great choral music in rehearsal is a crucial part of the process, moments such as today’s King David performances are the highlight of our choral experience. We look forward to continuing to make thrilling and interesting musical experiences for you and for ourselves in the years to come. Best, Mark Pinzur Chorus President 1 Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia Paul Rardin, Artistic Director Paul Rardin, conductor Kiera Duffy, soprano Maren Montalbano, mezzo-soprano Sumner Thompson, tenor Dan Kern, narrator Jillian Harris, choreographer Sophian Moore, Julian Darden & Danzel Thompson Stout, dancers and co- choreographers Mendelssohn Club Chorus Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia John Curall, lighting designer Heidi Barr, costume designer Arthur Honegger King David A Symphonic Psalm Narration by René Morax English Translation by Edward Agate Part I 1. Introduction 2. The Song of David, the Shepherd 3. Psalm: All praise to Him 4. Song of Victory 5. March 6. Psalm: In the Lord I put my faith 7. Psalm: O, had I wings like a dove 8. Song of the Prophets 9. Psalm: Pity me, Lord 10. Saul’s Camp 11. Psalm: God, the Lord shall be my light 12. Incantation of the Witch of Endor 13. March of the Philistines 14. Lament of Gilboa 2 Part II 15. Song of the Daughters of Israel 16. The Dance before the Ark Part III 17. Song: Now my voice in song upsoaring 18. Song of the Handmaid 19. Psalm of Penitence 20. Psalm: Behold, in evil I was born 21. Psalm: O shall I raise my eyes unto the mountains? 22. The Song of Ephraim 23. March of the Hebrews 24. Psalm: Thee will I love, O Lord 25. Psalm: In my distress 26. The Crowning of Solomon 27. The Death of David The performance runs approximately 1 hour, 15 minutes. Saturday, April 29, 2017 4 & 8 pm The Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral 23 S. 38th Street Philadelphia Special thanks to The Presser Foundation and The Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia for grants supporting this project, and to WRTI 90.1FM for their media partnership in support of today’s performances. The use of recording or photographic equipment during this concert is strictly prohibited. Please silence audible cell phones and alarms. 3 program notes There are few Biblical narratives which offer the dramatic possibilities of the story of Saul and David. It is a study in contrasts: Saul, the reluctant king who found that he had an unexpected talent and taste for leadership, and the rash, impetuous David, whose deeply personal relationship with the Lord sustained him through a reign marred by troubles, largely of his own mak- ing. The playwright René Morax turned to that story for his epic play Le Roi David, and he enlisted the relatively unknown Arthur Honegger to provide the incidental music. Honegger responded with a remarkable score which matched the dramatic sweep and energy of the story and firmly established him as a major composer. Today’s performance features Honegger’s original scoring for chorus and an instrumental ensemble of 17 players. In addition, the performance also features choreography for three professional dancers and the chorus, developed by Jillian Harris in collaboration with the dancers. In 1908, Morax had founded the Théâtre du Jorat along with his set designer brother Jean and composer and conductor Gustave Doret. It was located in the Swiss village of Mézières, just outside Lausanne. Its rural location was part of the experience – Morax considered the wildflower-strewn meadows as the theater’s ante-room, and the entire structure was constructed out of wood to harmonize with its surroundings. It seated nearly a thousand people and its open structure was designed with sightlines and acoustics in mind. The theater had been closed during World War I, and Morax had planned a gala reopening in 1921 featuring his newly-written Biblical epic Le Roi David. While music had always been an important part of his productions, Morax had waited until the last minute to engage a composer. This was probably because he wanted to avoid a predictably uncomfortable conversation with Doret. He had decided on music in a more contemporary style, and written by someone other than Doret. At the recommendation of conductor Ernest Ansermet and confirmation by Stravinsky, who was staying nearby, he con- tacted Arthur Honegger, a composer he did not know. Despite an already heavy workload and the fact that the premiere was now only four months away, Honegger accepted immediately, in part because it indulged his desire to become a “Biblical composer.” Arthur Honegger (1892-1955) was born in Le Havre, France to Swiss parents, and although he spent most of his professional career in France, he always maintained close ties with Switzerland. He was an important part of the vibrant avant-garde musical scene in Paris, and best known for his piano, chamber and theatrical music. He was probably the most performed member of les nouveaux jeunes (the new youth), a loose group of composers assembled around Erik Satie, and in 1920 was named in an influential magazine article as one of Les Six, which became a successor to les nouveaux jeunes. The forces available to Honegger for Le Roi David were an amateur chorus of 100 voices and an instrumental ensemble of 17 players, comprising winds, brass, keyboards, percussion, and a single string bass, an unusual composi- tion that caused him a great deal of anxiety. He began to set psalms for the chorus even before reading the play and completed and scored the 27 musi- 4 cal episodes in just two months. The play premiered to a packed house on June 11, 1921, with Honegger conducting the chorus and orchestra. It was an enormous success. The play ran for a month at the Théâtre du Jorat and there was immediate interest in mounting the play in Paris and Zurich. Because of the logistical difficulty in transporting the sets and costumes from Mézières, Honegger began considering how to present the music in concert format. He and Morax devised a narration to link the musical numbers together. Honeg- ger was never satisfied with the original orchestration and reochestrated the score for standard orchestral forces in 1923, creating the “symphonic psalm” that is usually performed today. Le Roi David quickly became one of Honeg- ger’s most popular works and firmly established his reputation as a major composer. Because the music was intended as incidental music, most of the individual sections of Le Roi David are very brief and are written with broad, theatrical gestures. Even the longest movement, The Dance defore the Ark, consists of smaller sections joined seamlessly together. Honegger used his unconven- tional musical forces to advantage, continually varying the instrumental and choral forces to change the color and texture of the music. Individual instru- ments are featured prominently, and he suggests moods and settings with short, deft musical phrases. Honegger’s musical style was greatly influenced by Stravinsky, which can be seen in the energetic rhythms of the music and the creative use of dissonance and polytonality. But even greater is the influ- ence of Bach, which pervades the entire work. The orchestra often plays a rhythmic or melodic ostinato to accompany the chorus. There is a strongly chromatic flavor to the music, with modulations and chord progressions oc- curring at half-step intervals. Bach’s influence comes together most clearly in the concluding section, which opens with a wonderful chorale tune that sug- gests Bach’s Wachet auf (Wake, Awake) but follows Honegger’s own melodic contours. There is an orchestral counterpoint accompanying the alleluias and a complex polyphonic texture as the chorale melody, the various alleluias, and the soaring solo soprano line are combined in a brilliant conclusion.