Louisville's Choral Arts Society to Present Program of Sacred Masterworks, 1/20

"A Cappella Masterworks: Bach, Mendelssohn, Pizzetti", a program of sacred choral music by the Choral Arts Society, will be conducted by James Rightmyer on Sunday, January 20, 2013 at the St. Agnes Catholic Church, 1920 Newburg Road at 3:00 p.m.

Tickets: Adults ($20), Seniors ($15), Students ($10). Tickets can be purchased at The Door or by sending a check to: Choral Arts Society; 7428 Woodhill Rd,; Louisville 40242. Also visit the website www.louisvillechoralartssociety.org.

The Choral Arts Society presents this program of sacred masterworks by some of history's finest composers for the voice: Johann Sebastian Bach: Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied Ildebrando Pizzetti: Messa di Requiem Felix Mendelssohn: Four choral a cappela works including Beati Mortui, and the first movement of Op. 91 - Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied The next page presents a short overview of each.

J. S. Bach -- Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied: Bach's eight-part motet for double choir "is without equal in The Motet repertory in the scope of its conception, its musical complexity, and its virtuosic demands on performers." The three-section motet (fast-slow-fast) is carefully constructed in a style reminiscent of the Italian instrumental concerto.

I. Pizzetti -- Messa di Requiem: The chant-based Messa di Requiem is in large part a reaction to his compositional contemporaries. Pizzetti's principal stylistic models of Gregorian chant and fifteenth- and sixteenth-century polyphony endued his music with a simplicity that contrasted the melodic and emotional overindulgences of Puccini and other Italian operatic composers of his time. Written in 1922, Pizzetti's Messa utilizes varying texture and number of voice parts (a common tool of Renaissance and baroque composers) to achieve both haunting unisons and brilliant heights of supreme beauty.

Mendelssohn: This program ends with a set of pieces by Felix Mendelssohn. While often remembered for his large-scale oratorios for choir and orchestra, Mendelssohn's output for a cappella choir is extensive. This set includes the poignant male choir motet, Beati Mortui, and the first movement of Op. 91, Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied.

SOURCE: Louisville Culture Vulture