Sacred Music in a Sacred Space Presents its 2009-2010 Concert Season

Five concert choral series featuring U.S. Premieres of Sir John Tavener's Requiem and Valentin Silvestrov's Diptychon

The Sacred Music in a Sacred Space concert series at the Church of St. Ignatious Loyola begins its third decade with programs spanning nearly 400 years of classical music. Under the leadership of Music Director Kent Tritle, SMSS has steadliy grown in size and stature to become one of the leading cultural institutions for sacred music in the New York City metropolitan area. The series, hailed as "superb" and "invaluable" by The New York Times, presents underperformed and lesser-known jewels alongside revered masterworks of the standard repertoire.

The choral series begins on October 7, 2009 with two united States premieres - Sir John Tavener's Requiem and Valentin Silvestrov's Diptychon. Tavener's Requiem is a sonic tour-de-force for soloists, brass, organ, strings and percussion placed at opposite corners of the church. The text - taken from writings in Sanskrit, Hebrew, Greek and Arabic - are melded into the Roman Catholic Mass setting. Modernist Ukrainian composer Valentin Silverstrov's Diptychon consists of two movements - the first is a setting of The Lord's Prayer in Russian; the second a 19th-century poem by Ukrainian Taras Shevchenko. The November 11 concert focuses on English choral music and features Handel's Zadok the Priest (Coronation Anthem No. 1), Purcell's Ode on St. Cecilia's Day of 1692 and two a cappella selections by Herbet Howells: Antiphon and Take Him, Earth, for Cherishing. The February 10, 2010 program present two of Bach's greatest cantatas: No. 12, "Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen" and No. 4, "Christ lag in Todesbanden." Also on the program is a rarely-performed setting of the Stabat Mater by one of Bach's contemporaries, Agostino Steffani. March's concert pairs Mozart's Requiem with Frank Martin's exquisite Mass for Double Choirs a cappella. The season closes on May 5 with Monteverdi's six-voice setting of Laetatus sum, Stravinsky's Mass and Arvo Pärt's reverent Miserere.  All of the choral programs, with the exception of the October 7th concert, are preceded by a pre-concert organ recital beginning at 7:00 pm.

The popular Christmas concerts, hailed by The New York Times as "part of the essence of Christmas in New York," include Daniel Pinkham's Christmas Cantata, Giovanni Gabrieli's O Magnum Mysterium, and selections by Biebl, Büsser, Halley and Rutter. The professional Choir and Orchestra of St. Ignatius Loyola are joined by the  Parish Community Choir, High School Choir and Children's Choirs.

 

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All concerts take place at the Church of St. Igantius Loyola, 980 Park Avenue at 84th Street, New York City, easily reached via the 4/5/6 subway lines or buses on Madison, Lexington, and Fifth Avenues, and on 86th Street. The church is accessible to the physically challenged.

 

Subscriptions are now available. Single tickets for all concerts go on sale beginning August 1st. Tickets are available online through www.smssconcerts.org or by calling the concert information line at 212-288-2520; VISA, Mastercard, American Express and Discover accepted. Concert information is available at Sacred Music in a Sacred Space's website at www.smssconcerts.org. Email inquiries may also be sent to music@saintignatiusloyola.org.

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CHORAL CONCERTS
Featuring the profesional Choir and Orchestra of St. Ignatius Loyola under the direction of Music Director Kent Tritle

Wednesday, October 7, 2009 at 7:30 PM (Special time!)
JOHN TAVENER: Requiem (U.S. Premiere)
VALENTIN SILVESTROV: Diptychon (U.S. Premiere)
JOHN TAVERNER: The Veil of the Temple (excerpts)
SERGEI RACHMANINOV: Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (excerpts)
Performances will be followed by an Opening Night Gala Reception (ticketed: $100)
Jennifer Zetlan, soprano
Matthew Garrett, tenor
Arthur Fiacco, cello
Kent Tritle and Renée-Anne Louprette, conductors

Wednesday, November 11, 2009 at 8:00 PM
HENRY PURCELL: Ode on St. Cecilia's Day (1692)
GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL: Coronation Anthem No. 1: Zadok the Priest
HERBERT HOWELLS: Antiphon
HERBERT HOWELLS: Take Him, Earth, for Cherishing
Melissa Kelley, soprano
Matthew Shaw, countertenor
Michael Kelly, tenor
Jesse Blumberg, baritone
Carles Sperry Sprawls, bass-baritone
7:00 Pre-concert organ recital: Works of Purcell, Howells & Eben
Nancianne Parrell; Associate Organist, Church of St. Ignatius Loyola

Wednesday, February 10, 2010 at 8:00 PM
AGOSTINO STEFFANI: Stabat Mater
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH: Cantata No. 12: "Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen"
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH: Cantata No. 4 "Christ lag in Todesbanden"
Jamet Pittman and Michèle Eaton, sopranos
Katie Geissinger and Ory Brown, mezzo-sopranos
Steven Fox and Michael Steinberger, tenors
Peter Stewart and Steven Hrycelak, basses
7:00 PM Pre-concert organ recital: Settinngs of  "Christ lag in Todesabanden" and  "Crucifixus" (from B Minor Mass and Liszt's Variations on  "Wenen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen"
Renée Anne Louprette; Associate Director of Music, Church of St. Ignatious Loyola.

Wednesday, march 24, 2010 at 8:00 PM
WOLGANG AMADEUS MOZART: Requiem in D Minor, K. 626
FRANK MARTIN: Mass for Double Chorus a cappella
Rachel Rosales, soprano
Jennifer Lane, mezzo-soprano
Brian Stucki, tenor
Matt Boehler, bass
7:00 PM Pre-concert organ recital: Works of Bach, Rheinberger, Tournemire & Vierne
Hervé Duteil, organist

Wednesday, May 5, 2010 at 8:00 PM
CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI: Laetatus sum
IGOR STRAVISNKY: Mass
ARVO PÄRT: Miserere
Leslie Fagan, soprano
Virginia Warnken, mezzo-soprano
Oliver Mercer and Scott Murphree, tenors
Peter Stewart, baritone
Matt Boehler, bass
Kent Tritle & Renée Anne Louprette, conductors
7:00 PM Pre-concert organ recital: Works of Reger, Pärt, Wammes & Prokofiev
Vincent Carr; Associate Organist, Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Newark, NJ

 

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CHRISTMAS CONCERTS

Sunday, December 13, 2009 at 4:00 PM
Sunday, December 20, 2009 at 4:00 PM
GLORIA IN EXCELSIS!
DANIEL PINKHAM: Christmas Cantata
GIOVANNI GABRIELI: O Magnum Mysterium
Additional selections by Biebl, Büsser, Gabrieli, Halley and Rutter
Choir and Orchestra of St. Ignatius Loyola
Parish Community Choir
St. Ignatius Loyola High School Choir and Children's Choirs
Arthur Fiacco, cello
Victoria Drake, harp
Kent Tritle, Nancianne Parrella, Renée Ann Louprett, Robert Reuter and Mary Huff, directors

Preferred seating for this concert = $60; General seating = $50, $40 (students/seniors)