PERPETUAL LIGHT May 19, 2024

Sunday, May 19, 2024 at 5pm

Mozart and Golijov

WELCOME TO THE FINAL CONCERT OF MUSICA VIVA NY’S 2023-24 SEASON!

We’ve had an extraordinary season that began with an exciting collaboration with Mexamorphosis. We heard music from North Africa, India, and Mexico seamlessly transitioning into European Renaissance music. Our second concert, and subsequent recording session, showcased Musica Viva NY’s commissions of works by three exceptional American composers: Joseph Turrin, Richard Einhorn, and Gilda Lyons. We were fortunate to have a guest appearance by the worldfamous Frederica von Stade, who sang the pivotal solo in Turrin’s piece with her signature depth, clarity, and beauty. Our recording of the three commissions will be released on the renowned Naxos label in November 2024. Everyone had a great time at our third concert, which was inspired by the Beatles’ song “Because” and featured works that showcased musical repurposing and connections.

Today, we present an unusual pairing: Mozart’s Requiem alongside a contemporary, equally monumental cantata by the Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov, Oceana. We anticipate that these works will enrich each other, offering you a fresh perspective on both pieces.

As its title suggests, Golijov’s Oceana “celebrates the oceans and dramatizes their demise...” (Los Angeles Times), prompting us to raise awareness about the environmental challenges threatening our oceans worldwide. We are privileged to have welcomed David and Susan Rockefeller today for a pre-concert discussion on their engagement with OCEANA – a global non-profit dedicated to protecting the world’s oceans.

Our community engagement programs in public schools in the Bronx and Chinatown, as well as in New York Public Library branches in the Bronx and Harlem, offer fun, educational, and engaging concerts and workshops for families and students. Put together with our “Music at Meals” concerts, we have reached close to 1000 people this season.

Finally, we had great press coverage this season: with several appearances on television cable news programs, amongst them WB11 Morning News; several radio interviews (including making WQXR’s recommended (short) list for March); and numerous print interviews, culminating with a featured piece in the prestigious Choir and Organ magazine (a Gramophone publication).

We would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank our audiences, Patrons, Board, staff, and our talented and dedicated musicians, all of whom play an essential role in making our programs happen and advancing this vibrant, high-quality, unique arts organization on New York City’s Upper East Side.

Next season will be Alejandro’s 10th season as Artistic Director of Musica Viva NY and we are looking forward to celebrating it fully!

Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez, Artistic Director Jasna Vasić, Executive Director

Sunday, May 19, 2024 at 5pm

All Souls NYC

PERPETUAL LIGHT

Mozart and Golijov

Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez, Artistic Director, conductor

Trent Johnson, Assistant Artistic Director

Musica Viva NY choir and orchestra

Rodolfo Girón, counter tenor

Musica Viva NY soloists

Osvaldo Golijov (1960-) .............................................. Oceana

1. Call

2. First Wave - Rain Train Interlude

3. Second Wave

4. Second Call

5. Third Wave

6. Aria

7. Coral del Arrecife (Chorale of the Reef)

Rodolfo Girón, countertenor

INTERMISSION

Mozart (1756-1791) ................................ Requiem in D minor, K. 626

I. Introitus

Requiem aeternam

II. Kyrie

III. Sequentia

1. Dies irae

2. Tuba mirum

Erinn Sensenig, soprano

Anna Aistova, soprano

Rodolfo Girón, countertenor

Juan Hernandez, tenor

Matt Mueller, bass

3. Rex tremendae

4. Recordare

Anna Aistova, soprano

Andrew J. Taylor-Troup, countertenor

Shawn Bartels, tenor

Nicholas Hay, baritone

5. Confutatis

6. Lacrimosa

IV. Offertorium

1. Domine Jesu

Kathryn McCreary, soprano

Madalyn Luna, mezzo-soprano

Juan Hernandez, tenor

Paul Whelan, baritone

2. Hostias

V. Sanctus

VI. Benedictus

Kathryn McCreary, soprano

Madalyn Luna, mezzo-soprano

Nathan Siler, tenor

John Verkuilen, baritone

VII. Agnus Dei

VIII. Communio

Lux aeterna

Erinn Sensenig, soprano

We hope you will join us for a reception downstairs after the concert.

MEET THE ARTISTS

Musica Viva NY is a non-profit arts organization that was established nearly fifty years ago. Its mission is to bring world-class music to a wide community through an annual concert series, an active community engagement program, and an ambitious artistic vision. Under the baton of Artistic Director Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez since 2015, Musica Viva NY strives to offer joy, solace and renewal in a complex world by presenting new compositions and classic masterworks in transformative interpretations that ennoble the human spirit.

Musica Viva NY’s superb chamber choir and world class collaborating instrumentalists make their concert home in Manhattan’s historic All Souls NYC. “Musica Viva NY is a treasured institution that makes living in New York a joy” ( Front Row Center).

Musica Viva NY regularly combines its presentation of the classical repertoire with less widely known works, as part of its commitment to perform the works of living American composers, women composers and composers of color, including works that address social, racial or environmental issues.

Musica Viva NY has commissioned and premiered numerous works by contemporary composers including Bora Yoon, Seymour Bernstein, Elena Ruehr, Joseph Turrin, Bruce Saylor, Jean-Louis Petit, Eugenio Toussaint, Gilda Lyons, Richard Einhorn, Trent Johnson and Trevor Weston. “With a commitment to new music and diverse composers, New York City choir Musica Viva NY is paving the way for daring collaborations” (Choir & Organ Magazine).

Esteemed conductor and pianist Dr. Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez is Artistic Director of Musica Viva NY and Director of Music at the historic Unitarian Congregation at All Souls NYC in Manhattan. He is also Artistic Director and co-founder of the New Orchestra of Washington, and Artistic Director of the Victoria Bach Festival. He has earned accolades from The Washington Post as a conductor “with the incisive clarity of someone born to the idiom,” as well as praise from The New York Times for leading “a stirring performance” of Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem. At a concert commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the WWI Armistice (featuring the world premiere of Joseph Turrin’s cantata, And Crimson Roses Once Again Be Fair) Oberon’s Grove wrote: “Maestro Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez drew rich, warm sounds from the musicians” in “a beautiful and deeply moving program.” He is featured in El mundo en las manos/Creadores mexicanos en el extranjero (The World in Their Hands/Creative Mexicans Abroad), a book by the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs honoring Mexican nationals who are leading figures in diverse artistic fields. He is the recipient of a 2016 Shenandoah

MEET THE ARTISTS

Conservatory Alumni of Excellence Award for his exemplary contribution to his profession, national level of prominence, and exceptional integrity.

A passionate advocate of new music, Hernandez-Valdez has commissioned and premiered works by Joan Tower, Arturo Márquez, Joseph Turrin, Gilda Lyons, Seymour Bernstein, Viet Cuong, Juan Pablo Contreras, Elena Ruehr, Ramzi Aburedwan, Jorge Vidales, Mokale Koapeng, Trent Johnson, Javier Farias, Andrés Levell, Zachary Wadsworth, Martin Spruijt, Joel Friedman, and other notable composers.

Hernandez-Valdez’s guest conducting engagements include appearances at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Lincoln Center in New York City, and the historic Degollado Theatre in Guadalajara, Mexico, where he has directed the Jalisco Philharmonic. He resides in New York City.

Mexican-American countertenor Rodolfo Girón has been described as “an ethereal countertenor with a rare gift” by the Berkshire Eagle. He is currently working with Beth Morrison Projects and Vision Into Art on the creation and premier of Paola Prestini’s Old Man and the Sea also starring Nathan Gunn and Measha Brueggergosman-Lee.

This season he joined the New York Philharmonic on the premiere of their commission work Keyframes for a Hippogriff by Olga Neuwirth, which is part of their 19 Project, a multiseason initiative to commission and premiere 19 new works by 19 women composers. Recently he has performed with The Dallas Opera in their production of Jonathan Dove’s Flight.

Mr. Giron was a semi-finalist in Fort Worth Opera’s McCammon Voice Competition. He also won the Carolyn Bailey Argento Vocal Competition Legacy Award, as well as the Metropolitan Opera Council Audition District of Puerto Rico. Mr. Girón received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Pepperdine University and Masters of Music Degree in Opera Performance from The Boston Conservatory at Berklee.

Anna Aistova, soprano holds a BM in Voice degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and a Master’s in Opera from the Mannes School of Music. She collaborated with the Mariinsky and Mikhailovsky theaters, performed solo with the Folk Orchestra of Saint Petersburg, and portrayed roles like Josephine, The Comedy on The Bridge, La Feè, Cendrillon, and Norina, Don Pasquale. Recent highlights include singing Soprano Solo in Mahler’s 4th Symphony and leading as Calisto, La Calisto with the Mannes Opera. Debuting with the New Rochelle Opera in 2023, she played Adele, Die Fledermaus. Anna became a SAS Performing Arts Competition finalist and won the Second Prize in the John Alexander National Competition in February 2024.

MEET THE ARTISTS

Kathryn McCreary is a singer, actor and puppeteer. Kathryn toured with The Phantom of the Opera as an ensemble member and Carlotta cover. Kathryn was featured off Broadway in Encores!’ The New Yorkers, the reconstructed Cole Porter musical, and puppeteering the role of Ms. Gladys, a kooky fairy Dog Mother in Rescue Rue. She is also a founding member of the “All’s Well Sisters”, a Boswell Sisters inspired Jazz Trio. She was the 2019 Musical Theater winner of the American Traditions Vocal Competition as well as a Regional Met Competition finalist. You can find her every Sunday at All Souls NYC. Love you fam!

Erinn Sensenig is an NYC based soprano and voice teacher. She is featured soloist on two albums releasing later this year, one with Musica Viva NY and the other with Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church Chamber Choir. This season, she performed as soprano soloist on Poulenc’s Gloria, Mozart’s Vesperae solennes de confessore and Coronation Mass, Faure’s Requiem, and as featured artist with Mexamorphosis and Fresh Squeezed Opera. This season, she also performs with Voices of Ascension, Musica Sacra, Clarion, Bard Summerscape, and sings at churches around NYC. Erinn is a graduate of Westminster Choir College. Full bio and voice studio info at www.erinnsensenig.com

Madalyn Luna is a Mexican-American mezzo-soprano from Chicago, Illinois. Heralded as having a “distinctive, caramel-colored” voice by Opera News, Ms. Luna has been recognized for her work in contemporary opera and early music. This is her second year with Musica Viva NY and the All Souls NYC Choir, and she has served as an alto soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria, Bach’s Magnificat, excerpts from Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony, and Rachmaninoff’s All Night Vigil. She resides in the city with her wife and two dogs.

Andrew J. Taylor-Troup, countertenor, is a freelance artist in the New York metropolitan area and is a regular soloist with Musica Viva NY in residence at All Souls NYC in New York. In addition, he has performed with several other local ensembles such as the choir at Middle Collegiate Church and the West Village Chorale as well as several opera programs including the International Lyric Academy in Rome, Italy, the New York Opera Collaborative, and the Narnia Arts Festival in Narni, Italy.

MEET THE ARTISTS

Shawn Bartels, tenor, has been a soloist with Musica Viva NY since 1996. Roles include Almaviva ( Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Nanki-Poo ( Mikado), Vain Man/Snake ( Little Prince), Quint (Turn of the Screw), Ottavio ( Don Giovanni ) and Nicolas in Britten’s Saint Nicolas. Mr. Bartels sang Uriel (Creation) with Robert Shaw, in Jonathan Miller’s staging of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and as a soloist at Carnegie Hall. Shawn has appeared with the Victoria Bach Festival, the Society of Musical Arts and the New Orchestra of Washington. He received his BM in Vocal Performance from the University of Northern Colorado and his MM in Vocal Performance from FSU.

In the 2022-2023 season, Puerto Rican tenor Juan Hernandez joined Cape Town Opera in the role of Nemorino in their touring production of L’elisir d’amore for his South African debut. Role credits include: Jerome in Great Moments in Human History (TOND), Danieli in I Vespri Siciliani (NAO), Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte (TOND), Conte Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Teatro Nuovo Cover). Recent awards include Revelación Masculina FOSLP Concurso de Canto Linus Lerner (2020), Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions District Encouragement Award (2019), NATS NYC District Competition First Place (2019).

Nathan Siler, tenor, is a performer and composer who lives and works in New York City. In addition to singing as a soloist for Musica Viva NY, Composer’s Choir (New Haven, CT), Five Lines, and All Souls NYC, he frequently performs as a chorister at Carnegie Hall with the Bard Festival Chorale and at Lincoln Center with the Concert Chorale of New York. When not singing, Nathan keeps a busy schedule as a music producer, recording engineer, and videographer. He is the chief architect of the NYC post-punk-prog band Portraiture.

Nicholas Hay, bass, has an active performance career as an ensemble singer with many choral organizations in the U.S. He started singing at a young age and joined the American Boychoir, previously one of the country’s premier music schools and a training ground for professional musicians. He has appeared with Opera Philadelphia, Baltimore Opera Company, Dell’Arte Opera Ensemble, Amore Opera, New York Lyric Opera Theatre, the Peabody Opera Theatre, Chelsea Opera, and the Opera Festival of New Jersey. An active choral singer and chamber musician, he sings regularly with the All Souls Choir in New

MEET THE ARTISTS

York City, Musica Viva NY, New York Virtuoso Singers, The Crossing, Bard Festival Chorale, and other choral ensembles.

Matt Mueller, bass, is a versatile and sensitive singing actor whose distinctive performances have been seen on stages including the New York Philharmonic, Florentine Opera and Cleveland Opera Theater, among many others. Highlights include Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte), Pluton (Hippolyte et Aricie), Betto (Gianni Schicchi ) and more. Matt recently completed a stint as Artist-in-Residence with the Ohio Light Opera (Lancelot in Camelot, Dick Deadeye in H.M.S. Pinafore). He completed his master’s degree in music at the Cleveland Institute of Music and previously trained at the University of Oklahoma (BMA, piano), Berlin Opera Academy and Middlebury Language Institute where he studied both German and Italian.

John Verkuilen, bass, is an Associate Conductor of the National Children’s Chorus, and Assistant Conductor of the Oratorio Society of New York. John was recently a Visiting Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Muhlenberg College, Artistic Director of Sine Nomine (Fall River), guest conductor of the Falmouth Chorale and Chamber Choir, and Assistant Choral Conductor of Macalester College. John has performed regularly with Artefact Ensemble, Berkshire Choral International, and Minnesota Opera. John holds a DMA and MM in Choral Conducting from the Manhattan School of Music and Boston Conservatory, respectively, and a BA in International Studies and Music from Macalester.

New Zealand bass Paul Whelan’s international career spans debuts at the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera Covent Garden, Paris Opera, Bolshoi Opera, Netherlands Opera, English National Opera, and Opera Australia.

He has worked with conductors such as: Sir Simon Rattle, Kent Nagano, Valery Gergiev, Gary Bertini, David Zinmani, Sir Colin Davis, and Sir Charles Mackerras. Recordings include A Midsummer Night’s Dream with LSO (Phillips) and L’Incoronazione di Poppea (Virgin Classics). Paul is a winner of the Cardiff Singer of the world Lieder prize and pursues a busy concert career.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

Osvaldo Golijov (b. 1960) continues to prove himself a musical polyglot according to his intercontinental training: first in his hometown of La Plata, Argentina, then in Jerusalem, and finally in the United States where he has been based for over three decades. The marriage of his eclectic influences—including elements of Latin, jazz, and klezmer—challenges the concept of genre even now. Moreover, when he wrote Oceana (1996) in the future-conscious 1990s, this innovative direction for what might be considered a “classical” composition was a welcome response to a general sense of anxiety over the continued viability of “classical music” as it had been idealized that century. The music world’s enthusiastic reception of Oceana prompted future projects with similarly provocative interpretations of traditional forms, most notably La Pasión según San Marcos (2000). Since then, Golijov has collaborated with various ensembles and institutions on works that he claims, “[announce] a new era in music, an era in which boundaries will disappear.”

Oceana is Golijov’s take on the cantata “in the spirit of J.S. Bach” originally commissioned for performance at the Oregon Bach Festival. With excerpts from the eponymous poem by the famous Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda (1904–73), this cantata is not technically sacred but certainly spiritual in its deep wonder and pleading for the lost Oceana and everything she held. The movements include two solo “Calls,” three choral “Waves,” a short instrumental interlude, an “aria” that features the soloist and a boy soprano (tonight substituted with our soprano section), and a grand choral finale. In addition to the featured solo voices and double choir, the piece calls for a small but diverse instrumental ensemble: alto flute, percussion, amplified guitar, harp, and strings.

Golijov’s stylistic inspirations are salient in Oceana with percussive outbursts and atmospheric textures like those of his former teacher, George Crumb (1929–2022). Additionally, his interweaving of distinct instrumental timbres and energized rhythmic motifs are characteristic of his beloved Argentinian tango nuevo. This unique spectrum of sound submerges us into Neruda’s passionate text, from which Golijov chose four vignettes (I, III, VII, and VIII) that speak of power, inevitability, and regret. The composer plays emphatically upon the tantalizing title word throughout, following the poem’s plea, “Give me the secret wine that each syllable keeps” (heard in the “Second Wave”). His choice to make all movements attacca, or connected, adds to the piece’s conjuring of the relentless passage of time.

Neruda’s poem addresses Oceana as more than a simple representation of a body of water; she is an autonomous power set apart from el mar. Indeed, during the two “Calls” and the aria, the soloist improvises ethereally on selected words and scat syllables in a supernatural message from Oceana herself. During the aria, the deified solo voice

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

envelops the sopranos as they desire her: “I am hungry to be nothing more than sea stone, statue, lava, stubborn tower of monument where waves that have already disappeared crash.” Neruda’s mention of the Argonauts in the eighth vignette—heard during the sunken a cappella finale of the “Chorale of the Reef”—points to his familiarity with Greek mythology and, as scholar Paula Perlman has noted, “the sea has two major roles in Greek mythology. It is associated with the voyage into Hades, and as the primordial water, Oceanus, it represents vitality and even eternal life.” Golijov’s cantata, therefore, contemplates the essence of spiritual faith as the transformations of life and death in the natural world.

Although the program transitions over two hundred years into the past, its consequential pieces and their composers share notable characteristics. Just as Golijov’s Oceana grieves an irreversible transformation to which its natural subject fell victim, Mozart’s storied Requiem in D Minor gazes at the spectacle of death and the afterlife in the context of the traditional Catholic liturgy. And, while Oceana kickstarted Golijov’s career at age 35, Mozart’s career ended at the same age with Requiem in D Minor in 1791. It is difficult to write about a piece that has a strong mythology in contemporary culture—iconic scenes from the film Amadeus persist into its fortieth anniversary. Some key takeaways from this intriguing topic may be familiar. The score was left unfinished at the time of Mozart’s death and only the Introitus (Requiem aeternam) was completed in whole, along with the melodic material of the Kyrie, Sequentia and Offertorium, and the first eight bars of the Lacrimosa. The score was posthumously completed by other composers including Mozart’s pupil, Franz Xaver Süssmayr (1766–1803), who recycled Mozart’s melodic material for the absent Sanctus, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei. Therefore, the interpretation of this multi-author work is contested in performance centuries later. Mozart’s wife Constanze claimed the piece was commissioned by a mysterious messenger for a secret patron; we now know this was composer Franz von Walsegg (1763–1827) who liked to pass off others’ works as his own.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

It is tempting to listen to the Requiem within the context of its place at the end of Mozart’s short life and conclude there is an element of culmination in its style. This concept is often referred to as “lateness” in aesthetics and is marked by some sense of arrival, or the composer’s distilling of the essence of their language. For Mozart, however, we know he was still developing novel approaches to composition in the months leading up to his death. This is made evident by several of his late vocal works including his simplified take on the opera seria genre with La Clemenza di Tito (1791), the crystalline voice-part writing in his motet, Ave verum corpus (1791), and the diversity of musical forms and styles featured in Die Zauberflöte (1791).

The increasing appearance of the musical hallmarks of other composers is another sign that Mozart was attempting to craft new ideas derived from past material. The opening lines of the Requiem are a close borrowing from George Frideric Handel’s (1685–1759) Messiah (1741), which Mozart had rearranged only two years before. The Introit’s main melody, plodding chordal strings, and sighing woodwinds resurrect Handel’s funeral anthem for Queen Caroline, The Ways of Zion Do Mourn (1737). Later, Mozart’s harshly conjunct exclamations of “Kyrie eleison” overlayed with the dizzying coloratura passages of the “Christe eleison” evoke the Messiah chorus “And with His Stripes.” Mozart was introduced to Handel’s music years earlier by his patron, Gottfried van Swieten (1733–1803), who coincidentally handled Mozart’s funeral arrangements.

While today we frequently hear Mozart’s operas, concertos, symphonies, and string quartets, the Austrian composer’s output of sacred works began to increase toward the end of his life (although many were left incomplete). The reason for his growing interest in sacred works was related to his appointment as the unpaid Assistant Capellmeister at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna only seven months before his death. The incumbent Capellmeister, Leopold Hofmann (1738–1793), was ill and unlikely to recover. Mozart was officially notified that “in case this post of Capellmeister shall fall vacant, [he would] be satisfied with the salary and with all that which the City Council may decree and deem advisable.” It follows that the Requiem, despite any unusual circumstances surrounding its commission, was a welcome opportunity for Mozart to develop his sacred voice as the Capellmeister heir apparent. Of course, this promotion was not to be, and history prefers to remember Requiem in D Minor as the fateful piece that the composer believed to be destined for his own funeral.

—Evangeline Athanasiou

TEXTS

Osvaldo Golijov, Oceana

Oceana nupcial, cadera de las islas, Aquí a mi lado, cántame los desaparecidos

Cantares, signos, números del río deseado.

Quiero oir lo invisible, lo que cayó del tempo

Al palio equinoccial de las palmeras.

Oceana, bridal, Oceana, thigh of the islands

Sing to me here, by my side, the vanished

Chants, signs, numbers of the desired river.

I want to hear what is invisible, what fell

From time to the equinoctial mantle of the palm trees.

Dame el vino secreto que guarda cada sílaba:

Ir y venir de espumas, razas de miel caídas

Al cántaro marino sobre los arrecifes.

Oceana, reclina tu noche en el Castillo

Que aguardó sin cesar pasar tu cabellera

En cada ola que el mar elevaba en el mar

Y luego no eras tú sino el mar que pasaba,

Sino el mar sino el mar

Oceana, dame las conchas del arrecife

Parta cubrir con sus relámpagos los muros, Los Spondylus, heroes coronados de espinas, El esplendor morado del murx en su roca:

Tú sabes como sobre la sal ultramarina

En su nave de nieve navega el argonauta.

—Pablo Neruda

Give me the secret wine contained in each syllable

The coming and going of foams, of races of honey

Fallen to the marine jar over the reefs.

Oceana, recline your night in the castle

That forever awaited the brush of your hair.

In each wave that the sea elevated in the sea

and then it wasn’t you passing but the sea

But the sea but the sea

Oceana, give me the shells of the reef

To cover the walls with their lightning.

The Spondylus, heroes crowned with thorns

The splendor of the murex on the rocks:

You know how, over the ultramarine salt,

In his vessel of snow, the Argonaut sails.

W.A. Mozart, Requiem

I. Introitus

Requiem aeternam

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Sion, et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem.

Exaudi orationem meam, ad te omnis caro veniet.

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.

II. Kyrie

Kyrie, eleison. Christe, eleison. Kyrie, eleison.

III. Sequentia

1. Dies irae

Dies irae, dies illa

Solvet saeclum in favilla, teste David cum Sibylla. Quantus tremor est futurus, quando judex est venturus, cuncta stricte discussurus!

2. Tuba mirum

Tuba mirum spargens sonum per sepulcra regionum, coget omnes ante thronum. Mors stupebit et natura, cum resurget creatura, judicanti responsura. Liber scriptus proferetur, in quo totum continetur, unde mundus judicetur.

Judex ergo cum sedebit, quidquid latet, apparebit, nil inultum remanebit.

Quid sum miser tunc dicturus? quem patronum rogaturus, cum vix justus sit securus?

Grant them eternal rest, Lord, and let perpetual light shine on them. You are praised, God, in Zion, and homage will be paid to You in Jerusalem.

Hear my prayer, to You all flesh will come.

Grant them eternal rest, Lord, and let perpetual light shine on them.

Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us.

Day of wrath, day of anger will dissolve the world in ashes, as foretold by David and the Sibyl. Great trembling there will be when the Judge descends from heaven to examine all things closely.

The trumpet will send its wondrous sound throughout earth’s sepulchers and gather all before the throne. Death and nature will be astounded, when all creation rises again, to answer the judgement.

A book will be brought forth, in which all will be written, by which the world will be judged. When the judge takes his place, what is hidden will be revealed, nothing will remain unavenged. What shall a wretch like me say? Who shall intercede for me, when the just ones need mercy?

TEXTS

3. Rex tremendae

Rex tremendae majestatis, qui salvandos salvas gratis, salve me, fons pietatis.

4. Recordare

Recordare, Jesu pie, quod sum causa tuae viae; ne me perdas illa die. Quaerens me, sedisti lassus, redemisti crucem passus; tantus labor non sit cassus.

Juste judex ultionis, bonum fac remissionis ante diem rationis.

Ingemisco, tamquam reus: culpa rubet vultus meus; supplicanti parce, Deus.

Qui Mariam absolvisti, et latronem exaudisti, mihi quoque spem dedisti.

Preces meae non sunt dignae, sed tu, bonus, fac benigne, ne perenni cremer igne.

Inter oves locum praesta, Et ab haedis me sequestra, Statuens in parte dextra.

5 Confutatis

Confutatis maledictis, flammis acribus addictis, voca me cum benedictis. Oro supplex et acclinis, cor contritum quasi cinis, gere curam mei finis.

King of tremendous majesty, who freely saves those worthy ones, save me, source of mercy.

Remember, kind Jesus, my salvation caused your suffering; do not forsake me on that day. Faint and weary you have sought me, redeemed me, suffering on the cross; may such great effort not be in vain. Righteous judge of vengeance, grant me the gift of absolution before the day of retribution.

I moan as one who is guilty: owning my shame with a red face; suppliant before you, Lord. You, who absolved Mary, and listened to the thief, give me hope also. My prayers are unworthy, but, good Lord, have mercy, and rescue me from eternal fire. Provide me a place among the sheep, and separate me from the goats, guiding me to Your right hand.

When the accused are confounded, and doomed to flames of woe, call me among the blessed.

I kneel with submissive heart, my contrition is like ashes, help me in my final condition.

TEXTS

6. Lacrimosa

Lacrimosa dies illa, qua resurget ex favilla judicandus homo reus.

Huic ergo parce, Deus, pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem. Amen.

IV. Offertorium

1. Domine Jesu

Domine Jesu Christe, Rex gloriae, libera animas omnium fidelium defunctorum de poenis inferni et de profundo lacu.

Libera eas de ore leonis, ne absorbeat eas Tartarus, ne cadant in obscurum.

Sed signifer Sanctus Michael, repraesentet eas in lucem sanctam.

Quam olim Abrahae promisisti et semini ejus.

2. Hostias

Hostias et preces tibi, Domine, laudis offerimus.

Tu suscipe pro animabus illis, quarum hodie memoriam facimus.

Fac eas, Domine, de morte transire ad vitam,

Quam olim Abrahae promisisti et semini ejus.

V. Sanctus

Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus

Dominus Deus Sabaoth!

Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua Hosanna in excelsis!

That day of tears and mourning, when from the ashes shall arise, all humanity to be judged. Spare us by your mercy, Lord, gentle Lord Jesus, grant them eternal rest. Amen.

Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory, liberate the souls of the faithful, departed from the pains of hell and from the bottomless pit. Deliver them from the lion’s mouth, lest hell swallow them up, lest they fall into darkness. Let the standard-bearer, holy Michael, bring them into holy light.

Which was promised to Abraham and his descendants.

Sacrifices and prayers of praise, Lord, we offer to You.

Receive them in behalf of those souls we commemorate today. And let them, Lord, pass from death to life, which was promised to Abraham and his descendants.

Holy, holy, holy Lord God of Sabaoth!

Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest!

TEXTS

VI. Benedictus

Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Hosanna in excelsis!

VII. Agnus Dei

Agnus Dei qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem.

Agnus Dei qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem sempiternam.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest!

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant them eternal rest.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant them eternal rest forever.

VIII. Communio

Lux aeterna

Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine, cum sanctis tuis in aeternum, quia pius es.

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et Lux perpetua luceat eis, cum sanctis tuis in aeternum, quia pius es.

Let eternal light shine on them, Lord, as with Your saints in eternity, because You are merciful.

Grant them eternal rest, Lord, and let perpetual light shine on them, as with Your saints in eternity, because You are merciful.

MUSICA VIVA NY 2024-2025 SEASON

Celebrate Alejandro’s 10th season as Artistic Director of Musica Viva NY!

Composers presented will include J.S. Bach, Reena Esmail, Judith Shatin, René Clausen, Veljo Tormis, Gregorio Allegri, Lili Boulanger, Poulenc and Brahms.

Save the concert dates:

September 29, 2024

December 8, 2024

March 2, 2025

May 18, 2025

Soprano

Anna Aistova*

Beth Clancy

Mary Esbjornson

Katie McCreary*

Erinn Sensenig*

Laura Villanueva

Reldalee Wagner

Elena Williamson*

Sarah Worthington

Alto

Holly Drew

Rodolfo Girón*

MUSICA VIVA NY

Musica Viva NY choir

Bass

Kate Katigbak

Natalie Lebert

Madalyn Luna*

Dinah Nissen

Guadalupe Peraza*

Andrew Taylor-Troup*

Tenor

Shawn Bartels*

Paul D’Arcy*

Juan Hernandez*

Erik Resurreccion

Nathan Siler*

Nick Hay*

Matt Mueller*

Harold Norris

Christopher Rothko

John Verkuilen*

Paul Whelan*

Augustus Young

* Section leader

Musica Viva NY orchestra

Violin I

Maria Im

Laura Lutzke

Edson Scheid de Andrade

Keiko Tokunaga**

Henry Wang

Yezu Woo

Violin II

Aniela Eddy

Lauren Cauley Kalal

Rannveig Marta Sarc *

Max Tan

Georgy Valtchev

Viola

Maurycy Banaszek

Peter Dudek

Dana Kelley*

Vitaliy Yaremiy

Cello

Valeriya Sholokhov

Caleb van der Swaagh

Aaron Wolff *

Bass

Andrew Roitstein*

Pat Swoboda

Guitar

Jordan Dodson

Oren Fader*

Harp

Renée Murphy

Flute

Ryu Cipris

Jesse Han*

Susan Rotholz

Clarinet

Paul Cho

Todd Palmer*

Bassoon

Erik Holtje*

Patti Wang

Trumpet

Wayne du Maine *

Tim Schadt

Trombone

Jeff Caswell

Tom Hutchinson *

Mike Lormand

Percussion

Daniel Pate

Josh Perry *

Jess Tsang

Organ

Trent Johnson

* Principal

** Concertmaster

MUSICA VIVA NY

Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez

Conductor and Artistic Director

Jasna Vasić

Executive Director

Trent Johnson

Assistant Director of Music

Erinn Sensenig

Operations and Production Manager

Julie Brannan President

Heidi DuBois Vice-President

Winnie Olsen Secretary

Seymour Bernstein

Laurel Blossom

Renée Fleming

Dinah Nissen, Esq.

Marketing Director

Kate Phillips

Director of Community Engagement

Barbara de Bellis Librarian

Nathan Siler

Digital Marketing Consultant

Board of Directors

Lisa O’Brien, Esq. Treasurer

Shawn Bartels

Constance Beavon

Shu-Wie Chen

Melanie Niemiec

Advisory Board

Galen Guengerich

Susan Jolles

Walter Klauss

Epp Sonin Our Team

Artistic Director Emeritus

Dinah Nissen, Esq.

Kate Phillips

David Rockefeller, Jr.

Jean-Louis Petit

Bruce Saylor

PATRON SUPPORT LEVELS FOR OUR 2024-2025 SEASON

Our 2024-2025 season will be Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez’ 10th season as Artistic Director of Musica Viva NY. We need your generous contributions for that 2024-2025 season to celebrate that anniversary, and to support the outstanding concerts and community engagement programming of the Musica Viva NY choir and instrumentalists. There is a level for every budget, and you will enjoy special benefits as a measure of our thanks. Your contribution can be made as a one-time gift, or on a recurring basis.

PATRON LEVELS

APPASSIONATO

$10,000 and above

• Invitation to a dinner featuring a special performance by the Artistic Director

• Invitation to a season preview with the Artistic Director in the choir loft

• Six complimentary season subscriptions

• Reserved seating

• Two free passes to each concert’s Saturday dress rehearsal

CON FUOCO

$5,000 to $9,999

• Invitation to a dinner featuring a special performance by the Artistic Director

• Invitation to a season preview with the Artistic Director in the choir loft

• Five complimentary season subscriptions

• Reserved seating

• Two free passes to each concert’s Saturday dress rehearsal

CON BRIO

$3,000 to $4,999

• Invitation to a dinner featuring a special performance by the Artistic Director

• Invitation to a season preview with the Artistic Director in the choir loft

• Four complimentary season subscriptions

• Reserved seating

• Two free passes to each concert’s Saturday dress rehearsal

RISOLUTO

$1,000 to $2,999

• Invitation to a season preview with the Artistic Director in the choir loft

• Three complimentary season subscriptions

• Reserved seating

• Two free passes to each concert’s Saturday dress rehearsal

ESPRESSIVO

$500 to $999

• Invitation to a season preview with the Artistic Director in the choir loft

• Two complimentary season subscriptions

• Preferred seating

CANTABILE

$200-$499

• Invitation to a season preview with the Artistic Director in the choir loft

• One complimentary season subscription

• Preferred seating

DOLCE

$25-$199

• Acknowledgment in program at all levels

MUSICA VIVA NY PATRONS 2023-24

We are deeply grateful to our Patrons listed below for their support of our 2023-2024 season. Thank you for joining us! Your support for our outstanding Musica Viva NY artists, our high-caliber, innovative choral and chamber music performances, and our community engagement is vital and essential.

Corporate and Foundation Support

The Heart & Soul Charitable Fund

New York City Department of Cultural Affairs

The Rea Charitable Fund

The Alice M. Ditson Fund

Appassionato $10,000 and above

Christopher & Philip Goelet (for commission)

Melanie & David Niemiec

Susan & David Rockefeller, Jr.

Con Fuoco $5,000 to $9,999

Heidi & Nicholas DuBois

Don & Georgia Gogel

Fritz Reuter

Jennifer Shotwell

Con Brio $3,000 to $4,999

Lisa & Dick Cashin

Shu-Wie Chen

Victor Fidel & Heather Floyd

Lois Gaeta, in Memory of David Remember Baker

Pamela Healey

Cherie Henderson & David Poppe

Gunleif Jacobsen & Thomas

Simpson Charitable Fund

Dinah Nissen & Elizabeth Apelles

Lisa O’Brien

Laura Pedersen

Madonna K. Starr

Risoluto $1,000 - $2,999

Constance Beavon

Austin & Sarah Bramwell

Bill Bechman & Tom Garlock

Tom & Heli Blum

Julie Brannan

Eleanor Drew

George Dorsey

Richard & Cynthia Esposito

Galen Guengerich & Holly Atkinson

Elizabeth Harvey

Lena Kaplan

Stephen Lash

Carri Lyon

Margaret T. MacCary

Harold Norris & Kell Julliard

Winnie Olsen

Bradford & Gail Rodney

Epp Sonin

Karen Steele

Deborah Taylor

Brenda Walker

Espressivo $500 - $999

Lynne & Richard Allen

Shawn Bartels

Astrid & John Baumgardner

Barbara de Bellis, in memory of

Greta Minsky

Robin Bossert

Miles Chapin

Dixie Goss & Dan Cryer

To find out about ways to support Musica Viva NY through employer matching, volunteering, and monthly giving, please contact our Executive Director at jasna@musicaviva.org .

MUSICA VIVA NY PATRONS 2023-24

Mary Gundermann

Michele Jawin & Dr. Mark Kroll

James Moskin

Suzanne Olbricht & Kevin Fickenscher

Kate Phillips

Lynne Randall

Judith Samuelson & Vic Henschel

Andrew J. Taylor-Troup

Ned Whitney & Martha Howell

Aracy Winter

One anonymous donor

Cantabile $150 - $499

Mark Allen

Anne Brewer

Nancy Deering

Richard Einhorn

Jim Finder

Anne Fraenkel-Thonet

Marjory & Jeff Friedlander

Mary Geissman

Dana Ivey

Millie & John Liebmann

Joanne Lyman

Erika Mikkelsen Halford

Janice Perlman

Marilyn Reagan

Barbara Reed & Dan Schlieven

Erik Resurreccion

Claire Richard

Suzy Salomon

Gayle Sanders

Jasna Vasić

Silda Wall Spitzer

Margaret Williamson

Rachel Ziemba

One anonymous donor

Dolce $25 - $149

Betsy & David Bennett

Joan Flesch

Christine Goodwin

Margaret Kampmeier & Edward Harsh

Orin Kotula

Elizabeth Millard & Torrey Whitman

Nathalie Moore

Mary Persic

Linda Rousseau

Bradley Strauchen-Scherer

Philip Vlahakis

Brad Woolbright

This list reflects gifts received from June 1, 2023 to May 8, 2024.

SPONSOR MUSICA VIVA NY

There are many opportunities to play a role in bringing Musica Viva NY ’s season to life as a sponsor, including:

• Underwrite a concert

• Underwrite a recording

• Underwrite a tour

• Underwrite the appearance of a guest artist Naming opportunities are available for sponsors. Contact Jasna Vasić, Executive Director at jasna@musicaviva.org .

Did you know?

✹ Musica Viva NY reaches almost 1,000 students each year in New York Public Schools, through concerts and educational workshops.

✹ Musica Viva NY partners with the New York Public Library to present monthly family concerts in various neighborhoods in the Bronx reaching over 300 families each year.

For more information about all our community engagement activity please visit the “Engagement” page on our website musicaviva.org

Musica Viva NY is extremely grateful for the following help with its 2023-24 season from:

All Souls NYC (www.AllSoulsNYC.org) for Musica Viva NY’s meeting, rehearsal, performance, and reception spaces as well as for the facilities and events staff who help make all productions run smoothly

Heart & Soul Fund, Inc. for its longtime support of our community engagement programming

MVNY’s community engagement is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council