March 15, 16, 17

The U.S. premiere of Gabriel Jackson’s To the Field of Stars and some wonderful motets by Bach, Brahms, Bortniansky, Rheinberger, and Victoria.

In the first half of the program, we celebrate the art of the motet, with works for both single and double choir.  We begin with J. S. Bach – Motet II, Der Geist hilft unserer Schwachheit auf – and two motets by Victoria – Veni Sancte Spiritus and O quam gloriosum.  Next is Josef Rheinberger’s eight-part, double-choir Osterhymne, a setting of two ancient Easter texts, including the famous sequence Victimae paschali laudes.

Then our instrumentalists take the stage with Cello Sephardic Suite by Jason Eckl.  The suite is composed of three songs, Shalom Alechem, Mizmor L’david and Tzur Mishelo, and features our cellist, Rebecca Roudman, with the composer himself on guitar.
We finish with two gorgeously melodic single-choir motets by Dmitry Bortniansky – Lord, Make Me to Know My End – and by Johannes Brahms – Schaffe in mir, Gott, ein rein Herz.

The second half of the concert is devoted entirely to contemporary composer Gabriel Jackson’s To the Field of Stars. Accompanied by cello and percussion, this exciting 35-minute work incorporates an eclectic array of texts, including portions of the Codex Calixtinus, antiphons from the Feast of St. James, a speech by President John Adams, and poems by William Cowper, Walt Whitman, and Emily Dickinson. The result is a powerful statement which does a wonderful job of evoking images and emotions of the pilgrimage experience, both modern and back through time.

Read the program notes by artistic director Sanford Dole.