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The program Sanford Dole has developed for our March concert includes a variety of works. As you might expect, the whole is more than the sum of its parts. Sanford, in addition to being BCG’s artistic director, has been Music Director at St. Gregory of Nyssa Church in San Francisco for over 20 years. For this concert, he has chosen anthems, highlights, that the St. Gregory’s choir has sung at various Holy Week services over the years of his tenure. To quote Sanford: It occurred to me that the arc of emotions that are expressed across the week, starting with the exhilarating Hallelujahs expressed on Palm Sunday through the intimacy of a small gathering on Maundy Thursday and the sadness of the arrest and execution of Christ on Good Friday, followed by the awe and jubilation of Easter music would make for a satisfying program.  The works are from a variety of eras, Renaissance to 21st century, and written in a variety of musical styles. We do not perform them chronologically, but each service will be represented by texts that relate to the particular service. Lamentationes de Jeremais Propheta, a three-movement anthem by Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983), is a part of our Good Friday set. Various verses from the Book of Lamentations, a long poem mourning the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon in 586 BCE, have been set to music by numerous composers, and often sung as part of the Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services.  For his composition, Ginastera set, not necessarily in order, various lines of text from verses 1, 3 and 5 of the Book of Lamentations. The music he wrote for his extremely dramatic setting of these verses evokes a range of emotions from the heights of anger to depths of sorrow, finally ending with an affirmation of the greatness of God. Although the Biblical verses refer to Jerusalem’s destruction, Ginastera’s verse choices in combination with his music make a highly moving musical depiction of Christ’s capture, trial and crucifixion. Although it’s not an easy piece to sing, the music paints very vivid pictures and certainly captures the imagination.
Because he was an educated, talented Argentinian who lived during the Peron era, several sources speculated that Lamentationes reflected the dire situation in Argentina under Peron. You can find a lengthy analysis of the piece in an article that Richard A. Williamson wrote in the Journal of the American Choral Directors Association. Read more about Ginastera on this page from Fundación Ostinato.
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10/19/2022 08:07:06 am
I am a high school student performing this and I would like to know what language this song is. Specifically, I would like appreciated knowing the language of movement 3 (Recordare domine quid acciderit nobis). It would deeply help me get into character for this piece. Leave a Reply. |
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