The Dessoff Choirs presents David Lang’s the little match girl passion, a work that evokes passion through stasis, repetition, and the unexpected combination of percussion instruments with voices. The composer describes his inspiration for setting the text:
What drew me to The Little Match Girl is that the strength of the story lies not in its plot but in the fact that the horror and the beauty are constantly suffused with their opposites. Andersen tells this story as a kind of parable, drawing a religious and moral equivalency between the suffering of the poor girl and the suffering of Jesus.
In addition, Dessoff performs J.S. Bach’s Komm Jesu, komm, the fourth installment (over three seasons) of Bach’s six motets and as part of our Bernstein tribute, “II. Adonai, roi, lo ehsar” from Chichester Psalms.
| Komm Jesu, komm, BWV 229 | Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) |
| “II. Adonai, roi, lo ehsar” from Chichester Psalms | Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) |
| the little match girl passion | David Lang (b.1957) |
The Dessoff Choirs’ Freedom Concert, modeled after “freedom concerts” presented by the late Coretta Scott King, offers a choral tapestry of music that reflects on events of the past while promoting hope for the future. Featured works include Ralph Vaughan Williams’ plea for peace, Dona nobis pacem (1936); Robert Sirota’s homage to the nine victims of the Mother Emanuel AME massacre, Prelude and Spiritual for Mother Emanuel; works by female composers; and a commissioned work written by David Hurd. The concert closes with the well-known civil rights freedom song Oh Freedom.
| “Dona nobis pacem” from Mass in B minor | Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) |
| Dona nobis pacem | Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) |
| “III. Adonai, Adonai Lo gavah libi” from Chichester Psalms | Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) |
| Prelude and Spiritual for Mother Emanuel | Robert Sirota (b.1949) |
| commissioned work | David Hurd (b.1950) |
| Cry Peace | Libby Larsen (b.1950) |
| Blessed Assurance | Nancy Wertsch (b.1943) |
| We shall walk through the valley | Undine Smith Moore (1904-1989) |
| Oh, Freedom | arr. Malcolm J. Merriweather and Charles Duke |
Led by preeminent conductor Kent Tritle, Malcolm returns to Carnegie Hall to sing the baritone solos in the world premiere of Paul Moravec’s Sanctuary Road, an oratorio about the Underground Railroad, commissioned by the Society.
Kent Tritle, conductor
Malcolm joins The Masterwork Chorus to sing the baritone solos in two of his favorite works: Fauré Requiem’s and Ralph Vaughan Williams’s Dona nobis pacem.
Christopher Shepard, conductor
John Luther Adams, In the name of the Earth
West Chorus, Malcolm J. Merriweather, conductor
Voices of Haiti on Tour
Performances: Porto Venere, Arena di Verona, Firenze, and the Vatican
Malcolm J. Merriweather, clinician
Hollywood Film Orchestra
Brooklyn College Symphonic Choir, Malcolm J. Merriweather, conductor
Hollywood Film Orchestra
Brooklyn College Symphonic Choir, Malcolm J. Merriweather, conductor
Malcolm J. Merriweather, conductor
Pre-concert talk – 3:15 pm
Poetry of Walt Whitman
Dr. Karen Karbiener
Prelude for Voices William Schuman (1910-1992)
Carols of Death William Schuman (1910-1992)
Fürchte dich nicht, BWV 228 J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
WHITMAN COMMISSION Douglas Geers (b. 1968)
Messa di Requiem Ildebrando Pizzetti (1880-1968)
