Colorado Symphony 2016/17 Season Presenting Sponsor:
HOLIDAY • 2016/2017 MESSIAH COLORADO SYMPHONY NICHOLAS KRAEMER, conductor SHEREZADE PANTHAKI, soprano ERIC JURENAS, countertenor MATTHEW PLENK, tenor BENJAMIN BEVAN, baritone COLORADO SYMPHONY CHORUS, DUAIN WOLFE, director This Weekend’s Concerts are Gratefully Dedicated to United Airlines Friday’s Concert is Gratefully Dedicated to Frank Y. Parce / KPMG, LLP
Friday, December 16, 2016, at 7:30pm Saturday, December 17, 2016, at 7:30pm Boettcher Concert Hall
HANDEL Messiah PART I Overture Comfort ye, my people Ev’ry valley shall be exalted And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed Thus saith the Lord But who may abide the day of his coming? And he shall purify Behold! A virgin shall conceive O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion For unto us a child is born Pastoral symphony There were shepherds abiding in the field And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them And the angel said unto them
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SOUNDINGS 2016/2017 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG PROGRAM 1
HOLIDAY • 2016/2017
And suddenly there was with the angel Glory to God Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion Then shall the eyes of the blind shall be opened He shall feed his flock His yoke is easy — INTERMISSION — PART II Behold the Lamb of God He was despised Surely, he hath borne our griefs And with his stripes we are healed All we, like sheep, have gone astray All they that see him laugh him to scorn He trusted in God Thy rebuke hath broken his heart Behold, and see if there be any sorrow He was cut off out of the land of the living But thou didst not leave his soul in hell How beautiful are the feet Why do the nations so furiously rage together? Let us break the bonds asunder He that dwelleth in heaven Thou shalt break them Hallelujah PART III I know that my redeemer liveth Since by man came death Behold, I tell you a mystery The trumpet shall sound Worthy is the Lamb
PROGRAM 2 SOUNDINGS 2016/2017 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG
Colorado Symphony 2016/17 Season Presenting Sponsor:
HOLIDAY • 2016/2017 HANDEL’S MESSIAH SING-ALONG COLORADO SYMPHONY DUAIN WOLFE, conductor SHEREZADE PANTHAKI, soprano ERIC JURENAS, countertenor MATTHEW PLENK, tenor BENJAMIN BEVAN, baritone COLORADO SYMPHONY CHORUS, DUAIN WOLFE, director Sunday, December 18, 2016, at 4:00pm Boettcher Concert Hall
HANDEL Messiah PART I Sinfonia Comfort ye, my people Ev’ry valley shall be exalted And the glory of the Lord Behold, a virgin shall conceive O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion For unto us a child is born There were shepherds abiding in the field And lo, the angel of the Lord And the angel said unto them And suddenly there was with the angel Glory to God He shall feed his flock Come unto Him His Yoke is Easy
PART II Surely, he hath borne our griefs And with His stripes we are healed All we like sheep, have gone astray All they that see him laugh him to scorn He trusted in God Hallelujah PART III I know that my Redeemer liveth Since by man came death Behold, I tell you a mystery Worthy is the Lamb Amen
— INTERMISSION —
SOUNDINGS 2016/2017 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG PROGRAM 3
MESSIAH TEXT PART I Overture “Sinfonia” RECITATIVE – Tenor Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith your God; speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem; and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord: make straight in the desert a highway for our God. ARIA – Tenor Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill made low, the crooked straight and the rough places plain. CHORUS And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. RECITATIVE – Bass Thus saith the Lord of Hosts: Yet once a little while and I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land; and I will shake all nations; and the desire of all nations shall come. The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of Hosts. ARIA - Alto But who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? For He is like a refineros fire. CHORUS And He shall purify the sons of Levi, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.
ARIA – Alto O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up into the high mountain: O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold you God! Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. CHORUS For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Pifa “Pastoral Symphony” RECITATIVE – Soprano There were shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. RECITATIVE – Soprano And lo! the angel of the Lord cam upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. RECITATIVE – Soprano And the angel said unto the, Fear not; for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people; for unto you is born this day in the City of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. RECITATIVE – Soprano And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying: CHORUS Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth, goodwill towards men.
RECITATIVE – Alto Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call his name Emmanuel, God with us. PROGRAM 4 SOUNDINGS 2016/2017 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG
MESSIAH TEXT ARIA – Soprano Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! behold, thy King cometh unto thee! He is the righteous Saviour, and He shall speak peace unto the heathen.
CHORUS Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows! He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him.
RECITATIVE – Alto Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing.
CHORUS And with His stripes we are healed.
ARIA – Alto He shall feed His flock like a shepherd: and He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those that are with young. ARIA Come unto Him, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and He will give you rest. Take His yoke upon you, and learn of Him, for He is meek and lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. CHORUS His yoke is easy and His burthen is light.
— INTERMISSION —
PART II CHORUS Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. ARIA – Alto He was despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He gave His back to the smiters, and His cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: He hid not His face from shame and spitting.
CHORUS All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way. And the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. RECITATIVE – Tenor All they that see Him laugh Him to scorn; they shoot out their lips, and shake their heads, saying CHORUS He trusted in God that He would deliver Him; let Him deliver Him, if He delight in Him. RECITATIVE – Tenor Thy rebuke hath broken His heart; He is full of heaviness. He looked for some to have pity on Him, but there was no man, neither found He any to comfort Him. ARIA – Tenor Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto His sorrow. RECITATIVE – Soprano He was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgression of Thy people was He stricken. ARIA – Soprano But Thou didst not leave His soul in hell; nor didst Thou suffer Thy Holy One to see corruption. ARIA – Soprano How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things.
SOUNDINGS 2016/2017 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG PROGRAM 5
MESSIAH TEXT ARIA – Bass Why do the nations so furiously rage together, and who do the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth rise up, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and against His Anointed. CHORUS Let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away their yokes from us. RECITATIVE – Tenor He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh them to scorn; the Lord shall have them in derision. ARIA – Tenor Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. CHORUS Hallelujah: for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever. King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. Hallelujah!
PART III ARIA – Soprano I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; and though worms destroy this body yet, in my flesh shall I see God. For now is Christ risen from the dead, the first-fruits of them that sleep. CHORUS Since by man came death RECITATIVE – Bass Behold, I tell you a mystery; We shall not all sleep; but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. ARIA – Bass The trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incoruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. CHORUS Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us to God by His blood, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory and blessing. Blessing and honour, glory and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever. Amen.
PROGRAM 6 SOUNDINGS 2016/2017 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG
HOLIDAY BIOGRAPHIES ROBERT CARPENTER TURNER
NICHOLAS KRAEMER, conductor Equally at home in front of modern and period orchestras, Nicholas Kraemer enjoys a busy schedule of international engagements. In addition, he holds the positions of Permanent Guest Conductor of the Manchester Camerata, Principal Guest Conductor of Music of the Baroque, Chicago, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra. Appearing worldwide with many prestigious ensembles, Nicholas Kraemer has conducted the Berlin Philharmonic; Chicago Symphony; Rotterdam Philharmonic; Bergen Philharmonic; BBC Philharmonic; BBC National Orchestra of Wales; The Hallé, Gothenburg, City of Birmingham, Detroit, Toronto, West Australia, and Colorado Symphony Orchestras; and the Minnesota Orchestra. In addition, he has directed specialist ensembles such as the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Philharmonia Baroque, and Birmingham Contemporary Music Group. Kraemer has conducted opera in houses throughout Europe as well as in Scandinavia and the USA, with particular emphasis on the works of Handel and Mozart. Amongst Nicholas Kraemer’s recordings are several discs of Vivaldi for Naxos; Locatelli, Tartini Durante, Pergolesi, and Leo for Hyperion; Handel’s Rodelinda for Virgin Classics; Handel Oratorio Duets on BIS; and works by Thea Musgrave for Collins Classics. He has contributed to several feature films, most notably as Baroque Music Director for The Madness of King George.
DAVID FUNG
SHEREZADE PANTHAKI, soprano Soprano Sherezade Panthaki’s international success has been fueled by superbly honed musicianship; “shimmering sensitivity” (Cleveland Plain Dealer); “radiant” voice (The Washington Post); and vividly passionate interpretations, “mining deep emotion from the subtle shaping of the lines” (The New York Times). An acknowledged star in the early-music field, Ms. Panthaki has ongoing collaborations with leading early music interpreters including Nicholas McGegan, Simon Carrington, Matthew Halls, and Masaaki Suzuki, with whom she made her New York Philharmonic debut. Panthaki’s recent performance with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and conductor Nicholas McGegan was named one of the “Top 10 Classical Music Events of 2015” and described as “a breathtaking combination of expressive ardor, tonal clarity, technical mastery and dramatic vividness” by The San Francisco Chronicle. Ms. Panthaki’s 2016/17 season features performances with the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra; Philharmonia Baroque; Calgary Philharmonic; Mark Morris Dance Group; Opera Lafayette; Ars Lyrica Houston; and the Kansas City, Colorado, Pasadena, and Milwaukee Symphonies. She will also serve as Christoph Wolff Visiting Performer at the Harvard University Department of Music. Ms. Panthaki’s repertoire extends well beyond the music of the Renaissance and Baroque to works such as Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Houston Symphony, John Tavener’s The Last Discourse with Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise and Strauss lieder at the Bari International Music Festival. Ms. Panthaki holds an Artist Diploma from the Yale School of Music.
SOUNDINGS 2016/2017 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG PROGRAM 7
HOLIDAY BIOGRAPHIES
FRANCES LOGAN
ERIC JURENAS, countertenor Declared by the New York Times as an artist with “beautiful, wellsupported tone and compelling expression,” and defined as having an “exceptionally clear tone with vocal flexibility,” (Cleveland Plain Dealer) American countertenor Eric Jurenas is quickly making a name for himself in both the opera and concert scene. Eric has worked with several groups as a featured artist, including The Wiener Staatsoper, The Santa Fe Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Philadelphia, Opera Lafayette, Wolf Trap Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, and American Bach Soloists, among others. Highlights of 2016-2017 season include engagements with Salzburger Festspiele (Adès’ The Exterminating Angel); Berlin Komische Oper (Ayres’ Peter Pan, Reimann’s Medea); Wiener Staatsoper (Reimann’s Medea); Royal Opera at Covent Garden (Mozart’s Mitridate, re di Ponto); and Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe (Dorman’s Wahnfried). An avid competitor around the country and the world, Eric has received awards from The Sullivan Foundation, the Handel Aria Competition, The International Competition‘s Hertogenbosch, the Hal Leonard Online Vocal Competition, Dayton Opera Guild Competition, Kentucky Bach Choir Competition, and the Bel Canto Chorus of Milwaukee Competition. He received his Masters degree from The Juilliard School and his Bachelors from the College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) at the University of Cincinnati. Visit his website for updates and more information: www.ericjurenas.com.
JONNY HAMILTON
MATTHEW PLENK, tenor A graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, tenor Matthew Plenk made his Metropolitan Opera debut in the 2007/2008 season as the Sailor’s Voice in Tristan und Isolde and has since returned as Arturo, Janek in The Makropolous Case, the Song Seller in Il Tabarro, and Marcellus in Hamlet. Other recent opera engagements have included Steuerman in Die fligende Holländer at the Los Angeles Opera; Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance and Macduff in Macbeth at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis; Cosí fan tutte at the Atlanta Opera; and Don Ottavio at the Boston Lyric Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and the Des Moines Metro Opera. Other recent concert engagements have included performances of Salome and Daphne with the Cleveland Orchestra in both Cleveland and New York (Franz Welser-Möst), Rigoletto with the Los Angeles Philharmonic (Gustavo Dudamel), Oedipus Rex with both the Boston Symphony Orchestra (James Levine) and the Philadelphia Orchestra (Charles Dutoit), and Les Troyens at the Tanglewood Festival (James Levine). Mr. Plenk is an Assistant Professor of Voice at The University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music. He is a Samling Scholar, and holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Hartt School of Music and a Master’s degree from Yale University.
PROGRAM 8 SOUNDINGS 2016/2017 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG
HOLIDAY BIOGRAPHIES
JASON DODD
BENJAMIN BEVAN, baritone Benjamin Bevan won a scholarship to study at the Guildhall School, London and made his international début at Lausanne Opera in La Cenerentola. He made his UK début at Scottish Opera as Marcello La Bohème followed by return invitations to sing Fleville and Fouquier-Tinville in Andrea Chenier under Sir Richard Armstrong, Riccardo-I Puritani and Lescaut in Massenet’s Manon, and Marcello in the revival of La Bohème under Francesco Corti. He made his debut at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden singing Henry Cuffe in Gloriana by Benjamin Britten, and prior to that he made his debut at Welsh National Opera in two new productions: singing Lescaut in Boulevard Solitude by Henze, followed by Roderick Usher in Usher House by Getty. Recent and future engagements include Lescaut in Boulevard Solitude for the Royal Danish Opera, Ferryman in Curlew River for Opéra de Dijon, Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro for Longborough Opera, Bach’s St Matthew Passion with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Bach’s St John Passion with the Hanover Band, Handel’s Messiah with the Colorado Symphony and with the Reisopera, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the Bach Collegium Japan, and a performance of Bach’s Cantata BWV 206 at St John’s, Smith Square in London to mark the 70th anniversary of the London Bach Society.
DUAIN WOLFE, director, Colorado Symphony Chorus Recently awarded two Grammys® for Best Choral Performance and Best Classical Recording, Duain Wolfe is founder and Director of the Colorado Symphony Chorus and Music Director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus. This year marks Wolfe’s 31st season with the Colorado Symphony Chorus. The Chorus has been featured at the Aspen Music Festival for over two decades. Wolfe, who is in his 21st season with the Chicago Symphony Chorus has collaborated with Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, Bernard Haitink, Riccardo Muti, and the late Sir George Solti on numerous recordings including Wagner’s Die Meistersinger, which won the 1998 Grammy® for Best Opera Recording. Wolfe’s extensive musical accomplishments have resulted in numerous awards, including an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from the University of Denver, the Bonfils Stanton Award in the Arts and Humanities, the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, the Mayor’s Award for Excellence in an Artistic Discipline and the Michael Korn Award for the Development of the Professional Choral Art. Wolfe is also founder of the Colorado Children’s Chorale, from which he retired in 1999 after 25 years; the Chorale celebrated its 40th anniversary last season. For 20 years, Wolfe also worked with the Central City Opera Festival as chorus director and conductor, founding and directing the company’s young artist residence program, as well as its education and outreach programs. Wolfe’s additional accomplishments include directing and preparing choruses for Chicago’s Ravinia Festival, the Bravo!Vail Festival, the Berkshire Choral Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, and the Grand Teton Music Festival. He has worked with Pinchas Zuckerman as Chorus Director for the Canadian National Arts Centre Orchestra for the past 13 years.
SOUNDINGS 2016/2017 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG PROGRAM 9
HOLIDAY BIOGRAPHIES COLORADO SYMPHONY CHORUS The 2016-2017 Colorado Symphony Concert Season marks the 33rd year of the Colorado Symphony Chorus. Founded in 1984 by Duain Wolfe at the request of Gaetano Delogu, then the Music Director of the Symphony, the chorus has grown, over the past three decades, into a nationally-respected ensemble. This outstanding chorus of 180 volunteers joins the Colorado Symphony for numerous performances (more than 25 this year alone), and radio and television broadcasts, to repeat critical acclaim. The Chorus has performed at noted music festivals in the Rocky Mountain region, including the Colorado Music Festival, the Grand Teton Music Festival, and the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, where it has performed with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Dallas Symphony. For over two decades, the Chorus has been featured at the world-renowned Aspen Music Festival, performing many great masterworks under the baton of notable conductors Lawrence Foster, James Levine, Murry Sidlin, Leonard Slatkin, Robert Spano, and David Zinman. Among the recordings the CSO Chorus has made is a NAXOS release of Roy Harris’s Symphony No. 4. The Chorus is also featured on a recent Hyperion release of the Vaughan Williams Dona Nobis Pacem and Stephen Hough’s Missa Mirabilis. In 2009, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Chorus, Duain Wolfe conducted the Chorus on a 3-country, 2-week concert tour of Europe, presenting the Verdi Requiem in Budapest, Vienna, Litomysl, and Prague, and in 2016 the Chorus returned to Europe for concerts in Paris, Strasbourg, and Munich. From Evergreen to Lochbuie, and Boulder to Castle Rock, singers travel each week to rehearsals and performances in Denver totaling about 80 a year. The Colorado Symphony continues to be grateful for the excellence and dedication of this remarkable, all-volunteer ensemble! For an audition appointment, call 303.308.2483.
SATURDAY . APRIL 29 . 2017
6 pm :: Fillmore Auditorium :: Denver, Colorado presenting sponsor
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info: coloradosymphony.org
PROGRAM 10 SOUNDINGS 2016/2017 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG
HOLIDAY BIOGRAPHIES COLORADO SYMPHONY CHORUS ROSTER Duain Wolfe, Founding Director and Conductor; Mary Louise Burke, Associate Conductor; Travis Branam, Assistant Conductor; Taylor Martin, Assistant Conductor; Eric Israelson, Chorus Manager; Barbara Porter, Associate Manager; Brian Dukeshier, Danni Snyder, Accompanists SOPRANO I Brown, Jamie Causey, Denelda Choi, LeEtta H. Coberly, Sarah Colbert, Gretchen Daniels, Kaylin E. Dirksen, Sarah Dukeshier, Laura Emerich, Kate A. Gile, Jenifer D. Gill, Lori C. Graber, Susan Guynn, Erika Harpel, Jennifer Henrich, Sarah B. Hinkley, Lynnae C. Hittle, Erin R. Hofmeister, Mary Hupp, Angela M. Joy, Shelley E. Kirschner, Mary E. Knecht, Melanie Kushnir, Marina Long, Lisa Look, Cathy Maupin, Anne Medema, Stephanie Moraskie, Wendy L. Porter, Barbara A. Ropa, Lori A. Rudolph, Kathi L. Schawel, Camilia Sladovnik, Roberta A. Solich, Stephanie A. Stegink, Nicole J. Tate, Judy Williams, Courtney Young, Cara M. SOPRANO II Blum, Jude Bowen, Alex S. Brauchli, Margot L. Christus, Athanasia Coberly, Ruth A. Cote, Kerry H. Dakkouri, Claudia Gross, Esther J. Kraft, Lisa D. Linder, Dana Montigne, Erin
Nyholm, Christine M. O'Nan, Jeannette R. Perera, Alokya P. Pflug, Kim Rae, Donneve S. Rattray, Rebecca E. Rider, Shirley J. Ruff, Mahli Saddler, Nancy C. Snyer, Lynne M. Travis, Stacey L. Von Roedern, Susan Walker, Marcia L. Weinstein, Sherry L. Woodrow, Sandy Zisler, Joan M. ALTO I Adams, Priscilla P. Brady, Lois F. Branam, Emily M. Brown, Kimberly Buesing, Amy Clauson, Clair T. Conrad, Jayne M. Daniel, Sheri L. Drake, Erin A. Dunkin, Aubri K. Edwards, Dana Franz, Kirsten D. Frey, Susie Gayley, Sharon R. Groom, Gabriella D. Guittar, Pat Haller, Emily Holst, Melissa J. Hoopes, Kaia M. Horle, Carol E. Kolstad, Annie Kraft, Deanna Lawlor, Betsy McWaters, Susan Nordenholz, Kristen Passoth, Ginny Pringle, Jennifer Thayer, Mary B. Virtue, Pat Wyatt, Judith
ALTO II Boothe, Kay A. Carlisle, Allison Chatfield, Cass Cox, Martha E. Deck, Barbara Dominguez, Joyce Eslick, Carol A. Golden, Daniela Hoskins, Hansi Jackson, Brandy H. Janasko, Ellen D. Kibler, Janice London, Carole A. Maltzahn, Joanna K. Marchbank, Barbara J. McNulty, Kelly M. Mendicello, Beverly Meromy, Leah Nittoli, Leslie M. Paguirigan, Kali Pak, Lisa Scooros, Pamela R. Townsend, Lisa Trierweiler, Ginny Wise, Sara TENOR I DeMarco, James Dougan, Dustin Dukeshier, Brian Gewecke, Joel C. Gordon, Jr., Frank Hodel, David K. Moraskie, Richard A. Muesing, Garvis J. Nicholas, Timothy W. O’Donnell, William J. Reiley, William G. Waller, Ryan Wolf, Jeffrey P. Wyatt, Daniel Zimmerman, Kenneth A.
TENOR II Babcock, Gary E. Bailey, Christopher Bradley, Mac Davies, Dusty R. Fuehrer, Roger Gale, John H. Guittar, Jr., Forrest Hassell, Chris E. Kolm, Kenneth E. Martin, Taylor S. Mason, Brandt J. Meswarb, Stephen J. Milligan, Tom A. Ruth, Ronald L. Sims, Jerry E. BASS I Adams, John G. Branam, Travis D. Carlton, Grant H. Cowen, George Drickey, Robert E. Falter, Corey M. Gray, Matthew Hesse, Douglas D. Hume, Donald Jirak, Thomas J. Mehta, Nalin J. Quarles, Kenneth Rutkowski, Trevor B. Struthers, David R. Wood, Brian W. BASS II Friedlander, Bob Gibbons, Dan Grossman, Chris Israelson, Eric W. Jackson, Terry L. Kent, Roy A. Kraft, Mike A. Millar, Jr., Robert F. Moncrieff, Kenneth Morrison, Greg A. Nuccio, Eugene J. Phillips, John R. Skillings, Russell R. Swanson, Wil W. Virtue, Tom G.
SOUNDINGS 2016/2017 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG PROGRAM 11
HOLIDAY PROGRAM NOTE GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL (1685-1759): Messiah George Frideric Handel was born February 23, 1685, in Halle, Germany, and died April 14, 1759, in London. He composed Messiah in London between August 22 and September 14, 1741, and directed the work’s premiere at Neale’s Music Hall on Fishamble Street in Dublin on April 13, 1742. Scored for SATB vocal soloists, SATB chorus, two oboes, bassoon, two trumpets, timpani, continuo, and strings. Duration is two hours and 20 minutes. Last performance by the Colorado Symphony was on December 18-20, 2015, with Duain Wolfe conducting. As both composer and impresario, Handel was London’s most important producer of Italian opera in the early 18th century. He toiled doggedly throughout the 1730s to keep his theatrical ventures solvent, but the tide of fashion (and the virulent cabals of his competitors) had brought him to the edge of bankruptcy by 1739. As early as 1732, with the oratorio Esther, he begun casting about for a musical genre that would appeal to the changing fancy of the English public, but neither that work nor the oratorio Alexander’s Feast of 1736 had the success he had hoped. The strain of the situation resulted in the collapse of his health in 1737. Rumors began to circulate that Handel was finished in London. Some held that his health had given way for good; others, that he had died. The story given greatest credence was that he planned to return to the Continent. However, in the summer he suddenly sprang back to creative life, inspired by a small book of Biblical texts that had been compiled by Charles Jennens, who had earlier supplied the words for the oratorio L’Allegro, il Penseroso e il Moderato, based on Milton’s poem. Handel’s imagination was fired up, and he began composing on August 22nd. The stories have it that he shut himself in his room, eschewing sleep and leaving food untouched, while he frantically penned his new work. Twenty-four days later, on September 14th, he emerged with the completed score of Messiah. “I did think I did see Heaven before me and the great God Himself!” he muttered to a servant. Handel chose not to premiere Messiah in London, but rather in Dublin, where he was “universally known by his excellent Compositions in all Kinds of Musick,” according to the city’s press. Choristers were assembled from Dublin’s cathedrals, the best available soloists and instrumentalists were enlisted, and the date of the premiere was set for April 13, 1742. Messiah was a triumph. Though it took some time before the oratorio enjoyed an equal success in London, Messiah came to be recognized during the next decade as Handel’s masterpiece. It was the last work he directed, only eight days before he died on April 14, 1759. For all of its unparalleled popularity, Messiah is an aberration among Handel’s oratorios, the least typical of his two-dozen works in the form: it is his only oratorio, except Israel in Egypt, whose entire text is drawn from the Bible; it is his only oratorio without a continuous dramatic plot; it is his only oratorio based on the New Testament; it is his only oratorio presented in a consecrated space during his lifetime, a reflection of the sacred rather than dramatic nature of its content (“I should be sorry if I only entertained them; I wished to make them better,” he told one aristocratic admirer); it has more choruses than any of his oratorios except Israel; the soloists in Messiah are commentators on, rather than participants or characters in, the oratorio’s story. None of this, of course, detracts a whit from the emotional/artistic/(perhaps) religious experience of Messiah. (Handel and Jennens never appended the definite article to the title.) Its three parts—The Advent of the Messiah, The Passion of Christ, and His Resurrection—embody the most sacred events of the Christian calendar, yet its sincerity and loftiness of expression transcend any dogmatic boundaries. In the words of George P. Upton, the American musicologist and turn-of-the-20th-century critic of the Chicago Tribune, “Other oratorios may be compared one with another; Messiah stands alone, a majestic monument to the memory of the composer, an imperishable record of the noblest sentiments of human nature and the highest aspirations of man.” ©2010 Dr. Richard E. Rodda PROGRAM 12 SOUNDINGS 2016/2017 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG