The San Francisco Lyric Chorus, under the direction of Music Director Robert Gurney, presents: Celebrate! Choral Masterpieces from Central Europe
Program:
Antonín Dvorák: Te Deum
Antonín Dvorák, arr. by Leos Janacék: Six Moravian Songs
Zoltán Kodály: Missa Brevis (born out of the 1944-1945 Siege of Budapest)
Featured Musicians:
Mindy Lym, soprano
Antoinette Catalla, alto
Laura Heiman, alto
Kevin Gino, tenor
Thomas Wade, baritone
Jerome Lenk, organ
This Spring 2017, we invite you join us as we share the joyous folk-inspired music of Antonin Dvorák, as well as Zoltán Kodály’s stunning Missa Brevis, a work of resilience and hope created in a time of terror.
Antonín Dvorák: Six Moravian Songs
Antonin Dvorák’s (1841-1904) sparkling Six Moravian Songs about unrequited love were originally composed between 1875 and 1877 for two voices and piano. His friend, Leos Janácek, (1854-1928), later set these songs for four voices and piano, a version that was not published until 1939.
Antonín Dvorák: Te Deum
Antonin Dvorák composed his joyous, folk music inspired Te Deum in 1892 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ voyage to America. Filled with melody and passion, it has delighted audiences for over 100 years.
Zoltán Kodály: Missa Brevis
Zoltán Kodály’s (1882-1967) Missa Brevis is subtitled tempore belli, i.e., in time of war, and it comes out of a terrible time of war—the 50-day World War II Siege of Budapest—a battle in Budapest, Hungary between the Nazis and Soviets in which at least 150,000 people died. Hungarian composer Kodály originally created this Mass as an organ work in 1942-1943, soon after beginning to revise it for chorus and organ. He and his wife were political liberals, and he suffered consequences over the years from his challenging of government. The Kodálys were active during World War in saving people from persecution until they finally had to take refuge themselves. Kodály finished revising the Missa Brevis for voice and organ in the cellar of a Budapest convent where he and his wife had taken refuge. In February 1945, this version of the Missa Brevis was given its premiere in a coatroom of the Budapest Opera House, with a chorus made up of soloists from the Budapest Opera Company, accompanied by a harmonium, a type of pump organ. The small group involved also heard the terrifying sounds of gunfire in the background. The Missa Brevis is a work that speaks strongly of hope and the resilience of the human spirit.
Saturday, April 22, 2017
7:00pm
Sunday, April 23, 2017
5:00 pm
Mission Dolores Basilica
3321 – 16th Street at Dolores
San Francisco 94114
Parking in schoolyard, entry on Church Street
Tickets $20 General – $18 Seniors (at door)
Free to Students (Under 18 or with ID)
Please, no children under 5
Online ticket sales at http://www.sflc.org;
SFLC contact: 415-721-4077; email:
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