Zamir Chorale concert "Italia!" on June 8

[Bruce Creditor <BCreditor...>]

If any of you are in the Boston area, I highly recommend this concert by
the Zamir Chorale of Bsoton on Sunday:

Zamir Chorale of Boston to Launch "Heritage Mission to Italy" 
with Gala Concert 

Reclaiming lost musical treasure; building cultural links between
Christians and Jews
The Zamir Chorale of Boston begins its most ambitious effort to date
with a gala concert on Sunday, June 8, 2003, at 7:30 p.m. Led by
Artistic Director Joshua Jacobson, the renowned Chorale will present
Italia! The Renaissance of Jewish Music, a concert highlighting 400
years of vocal music written by the Jews of Italy, Europe's oldest
Diaspora community. In addition to performing lively madrigals and
motets by Salamone Rossi Hebreo (c.1570-c.1630), who composed the first,
and perhaps greatest, collection of choral music for the synagogue, the
Chorale will also present choral music from the rich liturgical
traditions of Venice, Casale Monferrato, and Livorno. Featured on the
program is the Boston premiere of excerpts from the recently discovered
Hebrew oratorio Esther by Christiano Giuseppe Lidarti, and a joyous
wedding processional by 20th-century composer Mario
Castelnuovo-Tedesco.

This concert launches the Chorale's upcoming heritage mission to Italy,
which aims to bring Jewish art music back to its birthplace and to
foster an appreciation of Jewish identity and Jewish culture among
Christian communities. The two-week tour, beginning June 29, will
highlight the long-forgotten repertoire of Italian Jewry in performances
at historic synagogues, churches, and concert halls in Milan, Mantua,
Venice, Florence, Siena, Rome, and the Vatican. For more information
about the Zamir Chorale's "Heritage Mission to Italy," contact Marilyn
Jaye at italytour (at) zamir(dot)org(dot)

The June 8 program will also feature selections from Zamir's recent
performances in Israel; repertoire from the Chorale's Sacred Bridges
program, which explores historical musical links between Judaism and
Catholicism; and a selection of American Jewish music.

The program takes place at Casey Theatre on the campus of Regis College
in Weston. Tickets are $36, $25, and $12. Discounts for seniors,
students, and groups are available.
There is ample free parking. For information or to order tickets,
please call 866-ZAMIR-20 (866-926-4720) or visit www.zamir.org.
 
The Zamir Chorale of Boston, now in its 34th season, has been dubbed a
"virtuoso outfit" by the Boston Globe and recognized by American Record
Guide as "America's foremost Jewish choral ensemble." This 50-member
adult chorale is committed to the highest quality performance of music
spanning thousands of years, four continents, and a variety of styles,
both popular and classical. The Chorale's repertoire includes Jewish
liturgical pieces, major classical works, music of the Holocaust, newly
commissioned compositions by contemporary Jewish composers, and Israeli,
Yiddish, and Ladino folksongs. Zamir currently has thirteen recordings
on the HaZamir label, ranging from Baroque masterworks to seasonal
celebrations. The Chorale's 1999 tour to Eastern Europe is the subject
of the PBS documentary Zamir: Jewish Voices Return to Poland, broadcast
on public television stations throughout the United States and shown at
several film festivals around the country. 

---------------------- jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org ---------------------+