Concert: A wish for peace (by Jewish composers...)

[Shirona <shirona...>]

> Dear Friends,
> 
> Please join the Russian Chamber Chorus of New York and 
> Nikolai Kachanov, our Artistic Director/Conductor, for a  
> remarkable Spring concert program.  We will be performing 
> three world premieres of music from Russia, the U.S., and 
> Israel. The featured composers are: Efrem Podgaits (Moscow), 
> Michael Zeiger (New York), and Zakhar Blyakher (Jerusalem).
> 
> The program, entitled "MOSCOW - NEW YORK - JERUSALEM: A WISH 
> FOR PEACE FROM THREE CITIES" will be performed twice.
> 
> ==============================================================
> 
>      Friday, May 10, 2002 at 8pm
>      Cathedral of St. John the Divine
>      Amsterdam Avenue at 112th Street
>      Tickets $25, $15 for students and seniors
>      at either CitiTix, 212 581-1212 (www.citycenter.org) 
>      or Cathedral Box Office, 212 662-2133
> 
>      Saturday, May 11, 2002 at 3pm
>      St. Peter's Lutheran Church at Citicorp Center
>      619 Lexington Avenue at 54th Street
>      Reception to follow
>      Tickets $20, $15 for students and seniors
>      Call:  718-445-5799
> 
> ==============================================================
> 
> The program opens with "New York Mass" in remembrance of 
> the New York City tragedy of September 11, by Efrem Podgaits, 
> a prominent composer celebrated in Russia and Europe.  This 
> composition, written in the Fall of 2001, is remarkable for 
> its expression of sincere emotion and judicious combination 
> of innovative and traditional elements.
> 
> In New York Mass, sections of extreme pathos are contrasted 
> with the mighty architecture of tutti passages that recall 
> the New York skyline, creating an atmosphere of simultaneous 
> grief, grandeur, and hope.  The work bears the stamp of a 
> master composer, and promises to become a classic, not only 
> in New York and Moscow, but around the world.
> 
> The second half of the concert begins with "Poet-Prophet" 
> a composition for choir, piano, and organ by Michael Zeiger, 
> whose music is performed frequently in Russia. This composition 
> was commissioned by the Russian Chamber Chorus of New York.  
> Poet-Prophet is set to fragments from the Book of Isaiah and 
> to Alexander Pushkin's famous poem on the same texts, 
> "The Prophet."  Unexpected harmonies, rhythms, and contrasts 
> underscore the dramatic quality of the texts.  The composer, 
> an accomplished pianist, will play the virtuoso piano part 
> of this composition, himself.
> 
> The concert concludes with another piece commissioned by 
> the Chorus, "Jerusalem Dreams."  This four-part cycle:  
> "Halleluyah", "Psalm of David", "Purim," and "Lullaby", is 
> written for mixed choir, soprano solo, flute, clarinet, and 
> percussion, by Russian-Israeli composer Zakhar Blyakher.
> 
> Composed in the fall and winter of 2001 under the cloud of 
> the ongoing violence in Israel and Palestine, the cycle 
> conveys a mood of reflection and apprehension.  Despite this 
> sadness, however, the third movement, Purim, sketches a merry 
> folk celebration in bright, joyous colors.  Throughout the 
> cycle, the composer uses genres and tonalities that call to 
> mind the colorful imagery of the Russian-Jewish painter, 
> Marc Chagall.
> 
> =============================================================
> 
> For more information about the Russian Chamber
> Chorus of New York, CD recordings, and other 
> upcoming programs, please visit our website, 
> http://rccny.org, or call 212 928-1402.
> 
> To change the e-mail address we have for you, add 
> someone you know, or be removed from this list, 
> please e-mail us at: mail (at) rccny(dot)org
> 
> =============================================================
> 
> Thank you for your support; we look forward to seeing you. 
> 
> These concerts are presentations of RMASA, Inc., a not-for-
> profit organization chartered by the State of New York.
> 


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