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Join NYCHORAL for a musical holiday celebration with holiday favorites selected by our Associate Conductor, Michael Ciavaglia. Our concert concludes withour audience, joining us for a sing-along of well-known carols and holiday music!
Michael A. Ciavaglia, Conductor
NYCHORAL Chamber Ensemble
Katy Lindhart, Soprano
Rita Costanzi, Harp
A Ceremony of Carols Benjamin Britten
Seven Joys of Christmas Kirke Mechem
A New Year Carol Benjamin Britten
And a sing-along of Holiday Favorites!
A CEREMONY OF CAROLS BENJAMIN BRITTEN (1913 1976)
Benjamin Britten wrote his cantata, A Ceremony of Carols, in 1942 and it is one of his most well-known and most performed pieces. Its accessibility and charm have been delighting audiences and choral singers of all ages since its first performance in December 1943, conducted by Britten himself.
Written for harp and treble voices, A Ceremony of Carols tells the traditional story of the birth of Christ. In 1943 Britten arranged the piece for SATB chorus. The carols are in Latin and Middle English, based on poems from the 15th and 16th centuries. It begins with an unaccompanied processional Hodie Christus natus est before the harp joins the choir for a series of carols that Britten chose to tell the Christmas story. Originally the carols themselves were intended as a series of unrelated songs, but just before the first performance, Britten added a final carol along with a harp interlude unifying the piece.
SEVEN JOYS OF CHRISTMAS KIRKE MECHEM (born 1925)
Kirke Mechem is a prolific American composer with a catalogue of more than 250 works in almost every genre, but choral music is the core of his work. His first opera, Tartuffe, has become one of the most popular operas written in America and has been performed over 400 times in six countries.
When composing the Seven Joys of Christmas, Mechem set out with the goal of setting lesser-known Christmas music from England, France, Germany, Japan and Spain. He used the number Seven because it is considered a magical number (as it applies to mystery in the liturgy). The final carol, God bless the master of this house is an amusing combination of familiar Christmas tunes, all piled fantastically on top of one another in a wonderful, witty shout of joy.
A NEW YEAR CAROL BENJAMIN BRITTEN
A New Year Carol is a Friday Afternoons song. In 1943 Britten wrote a series of 12 songs for the school in Wales where his brother was a teacher. These songs are called Friday Afternoons because that was when the students had their singing practice. With these songs Britten began long process of writing music for schools and he developed a lifelong interest in music for young people and music education, the most popular example being his Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra written in 1945.
A New Year Carol is a British folk song originating in Wales and it is also known as Levy Dew. This carol was traditionally sung at New Year and is associated with New Year customs, not Christmas. The song celebrates the New Year using a combination of folk stories and religious ideas.
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| Thursday Dec 20, 2018 7:30 PM - Thursday Dec 20, 2018 9:30 PM | $40.00 |
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LocationSaint Peter's Church (Lexington Avenue) (View)
619 Lexington Ave
New York, NY 10022
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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