Join the Lebanon Symphony
Orchestra, Chorus, Lebanon High School Cantare Choir
and Soprano Soloist, Carol Donovan for an evening
of sacred, moving and exquisite music.
GORECKI - Symphony No. 3
A solo soprano sings a different Polish text in each
of the three movements. The first is a 15th-century
Polish lament of Mary, mother of Jesus, the second
a message written on the wall of a Gestapo cell during
World War II, and the third a Silesian folk song of
a mother searching for son killed in the Silesian uprisings.
The first and third movements are written from the
perspective of a parent who has lost a child, and the
second movement from that of a child separated from
a parent. The dominant themes of the symphony are motherhood
and separation through war.
MOZART - Ave Verum Corpus
One of Mozart's last works, Ave verum corpus was written
in 1791, the year of Mozart's death. Anton Stoll was
chorus-master of the church in Baden, Germany, where
Ave Verum Corpus was first performed, and Mozart dedicated
this tiny gem to him. The original text of this Eucharistic
hymn is based on a 14th century Swiss manuscript about
transubstantiation, the Catholic belief that the bread
and wine of communion literally transform into the
body and blood of Jesus. This motet of 46 measures
is an example of the pure simplicity of Mozart that
pianist Artur Schnabel described as "too simple for
children and too difficult for adults". Aside from
the words sotto voce, meaning "under the voice", Mozart's
score lacks any specific interpretive instructions.
Little is needed in performance in bringing this wonderful
piece to life, so honest is its depth of feeling, with
its airy melody and glowing halo of strings and organ
accompaniment.
"Hail, true Body, born of the Virgin Mary,
Truly suffered,sacrificed, on the Cross for man.
From whose pierced side gushed forth water and blood.
Be for us a foretaste in the test of death."
VERDI - Quattro Pezzi Sacri
What can one say about the romanticism of Giuseppe
Verdi..... Verdi wrote beautifully for the voice, It's
not always easy to sing, but those are two different
things. Verdi was uncanny in his ability to write melodies
that work in the voice and harmonies for choruses and
orchestras that make vertical and structural sense.
He can get really chromatic, like in the ‘Ave Maria'
of the ‘Four Sacred Pieces.' It has startling harmonies
at times that you don't expect. But one reason he's
such a great composer is that he stretches your notion.
Like a painter who makes you think of a flower differently
because of the way it's painted, Verdi does that with
his melodies and harmonies.
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