Media Contact: Gayle Williams, 941.587.9217
[email protected]
www.MusicaSacraCantorum.org
Artistic Director, Robert Parrish, 941.405.7322
Musica Sacra Cantorum Expands in 2014-2015 Season with Professional Ensemble. Voices
[Sarasota, FL—September 29, 2014] Musica Sacra Cantorum’s Artistic Director Robert Parrish and the Board of Directors have announced the formation of a professional chamber chorus that will provide the nucleus of the 2014-2015 concert season.
“I’m excited about the season, the debut of our new professional ensemble: Voices, and the growth of our Chorus,” says Parrish as he announced that Musica Sacra Cantorum would become two ensembles, housed in one organization.
One ensemble, called Musica Sacra Cantorum Voices is structured as a professional ensemble of paid choral artists, presenting their own concerts during each season. The second ensemble titled Musica Sacra Cantorum Chorus, is a combination of the professional ensemble and highly talented and dedicated volunteer singers. Voices will number 16 singers this season, with the Chorus comprising a group of no more than 40 – 45.
For the past four seasons, audiences have responded to performances of Musica Sacra Cantorum with phrases like: “Superb choir”, “Great sound”, “Lovely execution”, “Exciting and uplifting”, “Simply lovely”, and “Inspiring.” However, as Parrish and the Board Directors planned for this coming season, they sought an even higher level of performance.
“I have been inspired by the best choral ensemble model I know: The Philadelphia Singers,” says Parrish. The Philadelphia Singers, is the premier chorus in their region for over forty years, garnering national acclaim for artistic excellence.
Musica Sacra Cantorum Voices, the core professional ensemble, will present two full programs of the four concerts scheduled for the 2014-215 season. The first will open the season on Monday, November 3, 2014, 7PM with A Randall Thompson Retrospective at Church of the Redeemer (222 South Palm Avenue, Sarasota).
Next on Monday, February 23, 2015, 7PM, Musica Sacra Cantorum Voices will perform “The Crucifixion” by John Stainer at Trinity United Methodist Church (3200 Manatee Avenue West, Bradenton). “The audience participation in several of Stainer’s hymns makes this unique in the realm of grand oratorios,” points out Parrish. “We look forward to presenting an immersive and participatory experience and in returning to Manatee County for our first concert there in three years.”
The full Musica Sacra Cantorum Chorus will perform in two concerts, the first being the ever-popular Christmas program for which they have received such accolades in the past. This year’s holiday concert, titled The Angels Rejoice, will take place on Monday, December 8, 2014, 7 PM at Church of the Redeemer – Episcopal (222 South Palm Avenue, Sarasota.)
The Chorus will close the season with a performance of two requiems: the original, smaller scaled version of Gabriel Faure’s famous requiem titled “un petit Requiem, Op. 48” and the contemporary “Tsunami Requiem” by Chris Williams.
Tickets for each of these concerts range from $20 to $30. Season subscriptions are available. Both subscriptions and single tickets can be purchased at www.MusicaSacraCantorum.org.
Musica Sacra Cantorum
2014-15 Season
A Randall Thompson Retrospective
Musica Sacra Cantorum Voices
Monday, November 3, 2014 at 7 PM
Church of the Redeemer – Episcopal
222 South Palm Avenue, Sarasota
This performance marks the debut of the new professional ensemble Musica Sacra Cantorum Voices.
Randall Thompson was unarguably one of the most influential American composers of the 20th century. We celebrate his contribution to the American choral treasury with a presentation by our newly constituted professional ensemble with three of his most endearing and timeless masterworks. Included is The Last Invocation as well as his haunting Alleluia, commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky for the Berkshire Choral Festival. It has since become a staple of the American a cappella choral tradition, with its subtle, yet complex harmonic structure and understated acclamation. His The Peaceable Kingdom is based on Edward Hicks’ painting of the same name. (In fact, Hicks painted 61 versions on this theme.)
The Angels Rejoice
Musica Sacra Cantorum Chorus
Monday, December 8, 2014 at 7 PM
Church of the Redeemer – Episcopal
222 South Palm Avenue, Sarasota
The Musica Sacra Cantorum Chorus, our ensemble combining professional voices with the best volunteer singers in the region, is known for its innovative Christmas programming. Join us as we celebrate the season with some of the best choral music by the greatest masters, celebrating the Christmas Season in four segments:
The Annunciation – Magnificat – D. Buxtehude
Advent – How Lovely are the Messengers – Mendelssohn, Virga Jesse – Bruckner, A Tender Shoot – O. Goldschmidt, and Ecce Concipies – J. Handl
The Nativity – Cantata BWV 57 – J. S. Bach
Epiphany – There Shall a Star from Jacob Shine Forth – Mendelssohn, Three Kings from Persian Lands Afar – Cornelius
Monday, February 23, 2014 at 7 PM
The Crucifixion by John Stainer
Musica Sacra Cantorum Voices
Trinity United Methodist Church
3200 Manatee Avenue West, Bradenton
Sir John Stainer’s legacy has been largely kept alive through his great Victorian oratorio The Crucifixion of which “God So Loved the World” is its centerpiece. Subtitled “A Meditation on the Sacred Passion of the Holy Redeemer” Stainer’s masterpiece was often compared in its importance to Handel’s Messiah during the latter part of the 19th and early decades of the 20th century. Its dramatic, meditative, and passionate choruses have made it one of the most performed works in Britain during the season of Lent.
Stainer composed this work with audience participation in mind and included several hymns for the audience to sing. This makes it unique in the realm of grand oratorios.
Monday. April 13, 2015 at 7 PM
Deux Requiems
Musica Sacra Cantorum Chorus
Church of the Redeemer – Episcopal
222 South Palm Avenue, Sarasota
un petit Requiem, Op. 48 by Gabriel Fauré
Tsunami Requiem by Chris Williams
There is no more beautifully meditative or calming musical setting of the Requiem Mass than that of Gabriel Fauré. Interestingly, Fauré appears to have written his Requiem for purely personal fulfillment, not as a memorial for a devastating event or tragic personal loss. Most often performed is the large scale orchestral version which was created by Fauré in 1899. However, that version is an elaboration on the original composition of 1887. In fact, his original was two movements shorter and incorporated a much smaller instrumental force. We will present Fauré’s original 1887 version, a composition which is simple, effective and hauntingly beautiful.
In contrast, Chris Williams recalls the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami that devastated Nagapattinam, a fishing village in Tamil Nadu, South India, leaving more than 230,000 people dead in its wake. Tsunami Requiem tells that story in contrasting moods. From an effervescent opening to a lilting lullaby, Tsunami Requiem is a moving testament to a tragic occurrence. Musica Sacra Cantorum Chorus is honored to present its regional premiere.
About Musica Sacra Cantorum
Musica Sacra Cantorum is two choral ensembles in one organization. At its core, it is an ensemble of highly talented and skilled professionals dedicated to the highest levels of musical artistry. This is Voices, our professional ensemble. These professionals join talents with highly qualified volunteers to comprise Musica Sacra Cantorum Chorus. The Chorus is the vehicle that presents the larger scale orchestrally supported masterworks, such as the two requiems we present this season.
Gayle Williams
Vision Marketing
