Ehrenkranz Artistic Director
Jane Moss today announced Lincoln Center's 2017 White Light Festival, which runs from October 18 through November 15. With more than 35 events presented in 13 venues throughout the city, including U.S. and New York premieres and nine commissions, the eighth annual international festival will explore transcendence, interior illumination, and faith in the human spirit, as exhibited through artistic expression across continents and centuries. The multidisciplinary festival takes its name from a quotation by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt: "Icouldcomparemymusic to white light, which contains all colors. Only a prism can divide the colors and make them appear; this prism could be the spirit of the listener."
The White Light Festival continues to highlight the transformative power of art to illuminate our individual and communal lives. Said Moss, "In these challenging and fractious times, the White Light Festival's focus on the self-illumination, nourishment, and expansion offered by art seems especially timely and necessary. The festival invites audiences to experience timeless works from across a multitude of cultures and disciplines in this year's thought-provoking performances."
The 2017 White Light Festival opens on Wednesday, October 18, by celebrating the birth of a legend and the genesis of opera. To mark Claudio Monteverdi's 450th birthday,
John Eliot Gardiner brings his Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists to perform three semi-staged performances of the composer's three surviving operas: L'Orfeo, followed by Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria andL'incoronazione di Poppea.
Grappling with the mysteries of faith, a centerpiece of this season's festival is The Psalms Experience, an unprecedented 12-concert event that brings together four internationally renowned choirs performing musical settings of the complete psalms, exploring their contemporary relevance in a secular world. Through ageless poetry and inspired composition covering 1,000 years of music, The Psalms Experience presents all 150 psalms set by 150 different composers, from Bach and Handel to Nielsen and Arvo Pärt to new commissions by eight composers from around the world, including Michel van der Aa,
David Lang,
Nico Muhly, Evelin Seppar, and Isidora Žebeljan. Choral works expressing gratitude, abandonment, solace, and redemption will be sung across four New York City venues by the Choir of Trinity Wall Street, Netherlands Chamber Choir, Tallis Scholars, and Norwegian Soloists' Choir.
Grounded in the present and looking to the future, pioneering vocalist and composer
Meredith Monk presents a melding of music and movement in Dancing Voices, in partnership with the Young People's Chorus of New York City, incorporating a U.S. premiere in a retrospective of Monk's work refashioned for a new generation.
In a Lincoln Center co-commission, the
Mark Morris Dance Group returns to the festival with the New York premiere of Layla and Majnun, a Middle Eastern opera of forbidden love reinterpreted by choreographer
Mark Morris, featuring the Silk Road Ensemble and two iconic Azerbaijani vocalists, Alim Qasimov and Fargana Qasimova, as the star-crossed lovers from Persian folklore. In another exquisite offering,
Jessica Lang choreographs and directs Pergolesi's ravishing Stabat Mater with countertenor
Anthony Roth Costanzo and soprano
Andriana Chuchman alongside the arresting movement of
Jessica Lang Dance.
Following its acclaimed performances at the 2015 White Light Festival, Gare St. Lazare Ireland returns for another Beckett presentation, The Beckett Trilogy. This theatrical event considers the human condition through excerpts of Beckett's novels Molloy, Malone Dies, and The Unnamable in a solo performance by actor
Conor Lovett, a preeminent Beckett interpreter.
Combining powerful sound and image, Australian video artist Lynette Wallworth collaborates with French organist Bernard Foccroulle in the U.S. premiere of Darkness and Light, a selection of Baroque and 20th-century music accompanying projections of the natural world and industrial development in a nuanced exploration of duality and paradox.
Other highlights range from the Emerson String Quartet pairing late Shostakovich and Beethoven to pianists
Steven Osborne channeling a mystical Messiaen and Jenny Lin honoring the visionary Valentin Silvestrov. The Swedish Chamber Orchestra presents Beethoven's towering Missa solemnis, and Swedish Radio Choir offers a luminous a cappella concert in the intimate Church of St. Mary the Virgin.
The festival culminates in The Routes of Slavery from beloved early music interpreter Jordi Savall, who gathers artists from Africa, Europe, and the Americas to explore the incredible musical legacy from over four centuries of music across three continents. Through tracing journeys of unspeakable cruelty, Savall and his collaborators honor the endurance and vibrant sense of community forged from the extraordinary resilience of the human spirit.
In addition to the performances, the 2017 White Light Festival will offer pre- and post-performance artist talks, White Light Lounges, a film screening, and special panel discussions. White Light Lounges follow many performances. These receptions are exclusive to White Light Festival ticketholders and provide opportunities to mingle with artists and fellow concertgoers while enjoying a complimentary glass of wine or sparkling water.
Tickets for the 2017 White Light Festival are available online at
WhiteLightFestival.org, by calling CenterCharge at
212.721.6500, or at the
David Geffen or Alice Tully Hall Box Office (Broadway and 65th Street). Single tickets will be available to purchase on June 26, 2017.
White Light Festival 2017
Artists and Programs Listed in Chronological Order
MONTEVERDI: THE BIRTH OF OPERA
Wednesday, October 18 - Saturday, October 21
The year 2017 marks the 450th anniversary of Monteverdi's birth. To illuminate the origins of an art form, the peerless
John Eliot Gardiner brings his Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists to Alice Tully Hall for semi-staged concerts of the composer's three surviving operas-L'Orfeo, Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria, and L'incoronazione di Poppea.
ORFEO
Wednesday, October 18 at 7:00 pm
Monteverdi Choir
English Baroque Soloists
John Eliot Gardiner, conductor
Krystian Adam, Orfeo
Hana Blažíková, Euridice
John Eliot Gardiner and Elsa Rooke, stage direction
Alice Tully Hall
A White Light Lounge follows the performance
MONTEVERDI: L'Orfeo, SV 318
Composed in 1607, Monteverdi's L'Orfeo is considered the first great opera. It offers a probing investigation of human nature, character, and desire through the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, brought to life by the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists in this stirring period performance.
Pre-concert lecture:
Ellen Rosand, author of Monteverdi's Last Operas: A Venetian Trilogy, speaks at
5:45 pm in the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse.
THE RETURN OF ULYSSES
Thursday, October 19 at 7:00 pm
Monteverdi Choir
English Baroque Soloists
John Eliot Gardiner, conductor
Furio Zanasi, Ulisse
Marianna Pizzolato, Penelope
Krystian Adam, Telemaco
Hana Blažíková, Minerva
John Eliot Gardiner and Elsa Rooke, stage direction
Alice Tully Hall
A White Light Lounge follows the performance
MONTEVERDI: Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria, SV 325
Based on the second half of Homer's Odyssey, Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria is a tale of treachery and deception that ultimately resolves into the triumph of enduring love. John Eliot Gardiner, the Monteverdi Choir, and English Baroque Soloists recreate the passionate sound world of this 1640 opera.
Pre-concert lecture:
Ellen Rosand, author of Monteverdi's Last Operas: A Venetian Trilogy, speaks at
5:45 pm in the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse.
THE CORONATION OF POPPEA
Saturday, October 21 at 7:00 pm
Monteverdi Choir
English Baroque Soloists
John Eliot Gardiner, conductor
Hana Blažíková, Poppea
Kangmin Justin Kim, Nerone
Marianna Pizzolato, Ottavia
Carlo Vistoli, Ottone
John Eliot Gardiner and Elsa Rooke, stage direction
Alice Tully Hall
A White Light Lounge follows the performance
MONTEVERDI: L'incoronazione di Poppea, SV 308
Monteverdi's final opera, L'incoronazione di Poppea, first performed in the 1642-43 carnival season in Venice, was unusual in its time for abandoning mythology in favor of a retelling of historical events. The composer's operatic swan song contains the earliest version of a great diva scena by the self-proclaimed "despised queen," Ottavia. John Eliot Gardiner and the Monteverdi Choir cast an irresistible spell in this musical retelling of Poppea's evolution from Roman Emperor Nero's bewitching mistress to his queen.
Pre-concert lecture:
Ellen Rosand, author of Monteverdi's Last Operas: A Venetian Trilogy, speaks at 5:45 pm in the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse.
All performances sung in Italian with English supertitles.
These performances are also part of Lincoln Center's Great Performers.
Made possible in part by The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation.
DANCING VOICES
Friday, October 20 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, October 21 at 3:00 pm and 7:30 pm
Meredith Monk, voice, composer, and director
Young People's Chorus of New York City
Francisco J. Núñez, artistic director
Katie Geissinger, voice
Allison Sniffin, voice and piano
American Contemporary Music Ensemble
Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College
A White Light Lounge follows the October 20 performance
Vocalist, composer, and director
Meredith Monk and members of her acclaimed Vocal Ensemble join forces with the Young People's Chorus of New York City to offer an intergenerational experience of music and movement where "the body sings and the voice dances." The program encompasses Monk's choral, duet, and solo works, including the U.S. premiere of Dancing Voices, a new choral arrangement of "Three Heavens and Hells," "Ascent" from Songs of Ascension, and selections from ATLAS: an opera in three parts and Book of Days. Monk and her Vocal Ensemble presented the opening performance of the inaugur
Al White Light Festival, The Soul's Messenger, in the
David Rubenstein Atrium in 2010.
EMERSON STRING QUARTET: NEARING THE END
Tuesday, October 24 at 7:30 pm
Alice Tully Hall
A White Light Lounge follows the performance.
BEETHOVEN: String Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 127
SHOSTAKOVICH: String Quartet No. 15 in E-flat minor, Op. 144
In its first White Light Festival appearance, the exemplary Emerson String Quartet explores the introspective genius of Shostakovich and Beethoven through the prism of two works written toward the end of each composer's life: Beethoven's otherworldly Op. 127 quartet and Shostakovich's intensely personal Quartet No. 15. The Emerson, which has an extensive Lincoln Center performance history, won Grammy Awards for its complete Beethoven string quartets released in 1997 and for its recording of the complete Shostakovich quartets in 2000.
This performance is also part of Lincoln Center's Great Performers.
LAYLA AND MAJNUN(NEW YORK PREMIERE)
Thursday, October 26 - Saturday, October 28 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, October 29 at 3:00 pm
Mark Morris Dance Group
Silk Road Ensemble
Mark Morris, choreographer and director
Alim Qasimov, Majnun
Fargana Qasimova, Layla
Howard Hodgkin, scenic and costume design
James F. Ingalls, lighting design
Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall
White Light Lounges follow the October 26, 27, and 28 performances
Sung in Azerbaijani with English supertitles
This timeless story of impossible love predating Romeo and Juliet emerges from the cultural intersections along the Silk Road. Star-crossed lovers Layla and Majnun are central characters in Persian and Arabian folklore and the subject of the first Muslim opera written more than a century ago. In this inspired adaptation by choreographer
Mark Morris, celebrated Azerbaijani mugham singers Alim Qasimov and Fargana Qasimova perform with the Silk Road Ensemble on stage with the
Mark Morris Dance Group, featuring bold costumes and set design by the late abstractionist Howard Hodgkin.
Pre-performance talk:
Mark Morris and Ara Guzelimian discuss choreographing a Middle Eastern opera on Friday, October 27 at 6:15 pm.
Post-performance talk: Alim Qasimov and Fargana Qasimova discuss Azerbaijani music and opera following the Saturday, October 28 performance.
Layla and Majnun is a
Mark Morris Dance Group/Cal Performances, UC Berkeley, California production in association with Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York, New York; Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Chicago, Illinois; Hopkins Center for the Arts, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire;
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C.; Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, College of Fine + Applied Arts, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Meany Center for the Performing Arts, Seattle, Washington; Melbourne Festival, Victoria, Australia; Sadler's Wells, London, England; and University Musical Society of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
WHITE LIGHT CONVERSATION: FAITH
Saturday, October 28, 3:00 - 4:30 pm
Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse
In times of turmoil, when contention and strife hold sway in all corners of the public square, what can we hold onto when the ground beneath us shifts? WNYC's
John Schaefer moderates a free discussion, in which leading thinkers and theorists ponder the question of faith from diverse perspectives, examining its myriad meanings for secular seekers and religious adherents alike. Panelists include singer-songwriter John Darnielle.
Steven Osborne: GAZING AT THE DIVINE
Tuesday, October 31 at 7:30 pm
Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse
A White Light Lounge follows the performance
MESSIAEN: Vingt regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus
British pianist
Steven Osborne presents Olivier Messiaen's complete Vingt regards sur l'enfant-Jésus ("Twenty contemplations of the infant Jesus"), a 20-part work of herculean proportions lasting more than two hours without intermission. Messiaen, a devout Catholic, infused the 1944 keyboard piece with joie de vivre despite composing it during France's German occupation. Osborne was invited to study the work by the composer's widow, Yvonne Loriod, for whom the piece was written. Osborne's 2002 recording of Vingt regards sur l'enfant-Jésus on Hyperion received a Gramophone Award nomination and was selected as Critics' Choice and Editor's Choice by Gramophone as well as Best CD of 2002 by BBC Music Magazine.
Pre-concert talk:
Steven Osborne will discuss Messiaen's work at 6:15 pm in the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse.
STABAT MATER
Wednesday, November 1 and Thursday, November 2 at 7:30 pm
Jessica Lang Dance
Jessica Lang, director and choreographer
Orchestra of St. Luke's
Speranza Scappucci, conductor
Andriana Chuchman, soprano
Anthony Roth Costanzo, countertenor
Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall
White Light Lounges follow each performance
With English supertitles
MOZART: Divertimento in F major, K.138
PERGOLESI: Stabat mater
Giovanni Pergolesi's ravishingly spare Stabat mater, depicting Mary's suffering at the scene of the Crucifixion, was composed weeks before his untimely death at age 26. New York-based choreographer Jessica Lang adds "gracious flow and arresting gesture" (New York Times) to this union of sacred music and dance, featuring dancers on stage with countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo and soprano Andriana Chuchman. Developed at the Glimmerglass Festival, Lang's Stabat Mater premiered in Cooperstown, New York, in 2013.
THE PSALMS EXPERIENCE
Wednesday, November 1 - Saturday, November 11
150 Psalms, 150 Composers, 12 Concerts
For nearly 3,000 years, humans have reached out to the divine through the Psalms, the Hebrew Bible's book of hymns revealing the gratitude, fear, and longing of the human heart. In this unprecedented choral project, four world-renowned choirs traverse 1,000 years of music over the course of 12 thematic concerts in four illuminated New York City venues. In settings from Latin, French, and Spanish to Swedish and Armenian, The Psalms Experience features all 150 psalms by 150 different composers from Bach and Handel to today's leading artists, including new commissions by
Nico Muhly and
David Lang. All concerts are approximately one hour long and will be preceded by a brief introduction.
INTRODUCING THE PSALMS EXPERIENCE: PANEL DISCUSSION
Wednesday, November 1 at 6:00 pm
John Schaefer, moderator
David Rubenstein Atrium
Join WNYC's
John Schaefer and special guests for a free panel discussion that explores the history of the Psalms, their many musical traditions, the challenges of translation, and their contemporary relevance in a more secular world.
At St. Paul's Chapel:
(209 Broadway between Fulton and Vesey Streets)
CONCERT 1: MORTAL LEADERSHIP, DIVINE GUIDANCE
Thursday, November 2 at 7:30 pm
Choir of Trinity Wall Street
Julian Wachner, conductor
JOSEF RHEINBERGER: Warum toben die Heiden, Motets Op. 40, No. 2 (Psalm 2) FRANCISCO VALLS: Dilexisti justitiam (1742) (Psalm 45)
William Knight: New work (commission, world premiere) (Psalm 21)
Robert White: Exaudiat te Dominus (Psalm 20)
GIACHES DE WERT: Reges tharsis (Psalm 72)
FELIX DRAESEKE: Der Herr ist König, Op. 56 (Psalm 93)
DANIEL PINKHAM: O Lord God, to Whom Vengeance Belongeth (Psalm 94)
MICHAEL PRAETORIUS: Venite exultimus Domino (Psalm 95)
JAMES MacMILLAN: A New Song (Psalm 96)
JOHANN HEINRICH ROLLE: Der Herr ist König (Psalm 97)
HUGO DISTLER: Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied (Psalm 98)
WILLIAM BOYCE: The Lord is King, be the people never so impatient (Psalm 99)
The opening concert of The Psalms Experience examines the delicate interplay of love and fear that has long defined our leaders-both mortal and divine.
CONCERT 2: FAITH
Saturday, November 4 at 5:00 pm
Choir of Trinity Wall Street
Julian Wachner, conductor
GEORG PHILIP TELEMANN: Ein feste Burg ist uns're Gott (Psalm 46)
EDWARD ELGAR: Great is the Lord (Psalm 48)
NICOLA LeFANU: The Little valleys (Psalm 65)
GIOVANNI GABRIELLI: Plaudite, psalite, jubilate, omnes terra (Psalm 66)
ALLESANDRO GRANDI: Deus Misereatur (Psalm 67)
OLD ROMAN CHANT: Terra tremuit, et quievit (Psalm 76)
GASTORIUS/WIREN: En vänlig grønskas rika dräckt (Psalm 8)
Ludwig van Beethoven: Die Himmel rühmen (Psalm 19)
JEWISH PRAYER: Mizmor L'David havu L'Adonai (Psalm 29) GEORG TOTARI: Kärleken till livet (Psalm 29)
SERGEI RACHMANINOFF: Blagoslovi duche Moye ,Op. 37, No. 2 (Psalm 104)
BERNARDINO NANINO: Laudate nomen Domini (Psalm 113)
MARC-ANTONIE CHARPENTIER: Confitebur Domine (Psalm 111)
JOHANN PACHELBEL: Jauchzet (Psalm 100)
Explore the mysteries of faith through this collection of psalms set to music by Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, Charpentier, and others.
CONCERT 3: JUSTICE
Saturday, November 4 at 7:30 pm
Choir of Trinity Wall Street
Julian Wachner, conductor
WILLIAM BILLINGS: The Bird: Since I have placed my trust in God (Psalm 11) MIKOLAJ GOMOLKA: Zochawaj mi?, o sprawco niebieskiego domu (Psalm 12)
ANTON BRUCKNER: Os justi meditabitur (Psalm 37)
PASCAL de l'ESTOCART: Peuple oyez et l'aureilles pretez (Psalm 49)
THOMAS CREQUILLON: Quid gloriaris in militia (Psalm 52)
GOTTFRIED AUGUST HOMILIUS: Dennoch bleib ich stets an dir (Psalm 73)
NICOLAS GOMBERT: Confitebimur tibi, Deus (Psalm 75)
HILDEGARD VON BINGEN: (Beatus vir) Qui timet Dominum - Laudate pueri (Psalm 112)
Ned Rorem: Mercy and Truth (Psalm 85)
David Lang (USA): New work (commission, U.S. premiere) (Psalm 101)
MICHEL RICHARD de LALANDE: Benedictus Dominus Deus meus (Psalm 144)
The Psalms, which give voice to an ancient quest for justice, have inspired composers from the 12th century to 21st. Here, the Choir of Trinity Wall Street performs settings by composers from Hildegard von Bingen to Bruckner to a premiere by Pulitzer Prize winner
David Lang.
CONCERT 4: POWERLESSNESS AND REDEMPTION
Sunday, November 5 at 5:00 pm
Choir of Trinity Wall Street
Julian Wachner, conductor
JOHANNES OCKEGHEM: Sicut vervus, from Missa pro defunctis: Tractus (Psalm 42)
John Everett (ed. East): I'll trust God's word (Psalm 56)
Robert Parsons: Deliver me from mine enemies (Psalm 59)
CHARLES IVES: Save me O God (Psalm 54)
François Regnard: Domine exaudi orationem meam, cum depreco (Psalm 64) JEAN PHILIPPE RAMEAU: Laboravi clamans (Psalm 69)
Benjamin Britten: Deus in adjutorium meum (Psalm 70)
SIGISMONDO d'INDIA: Timor et tremor (Psalm 55)
CHRISTOPH BUEL: Domine Deus, salutis meae (Psalm 88)
ORLANDE DE LASSUS: Custodi me, Domine (Psalm 140)
SVEN-DAVID SANDTRÖM: Hear my prayer, O Lord (Psalm 102) JOSQUIN DES PREZ: Domine, ne in furore (Psalm 38)
WILLIAM KNYVETT: O God, my heart is fixed (Psalm 108)
Humanity has long wrestled with our seeming powerlessness, especially when it comes to changing the past. From this arises a common desire for redemption. Explore these themes through works by composers from Josquin des Prez and Rameau to Britten and Ives.
At New York Society for Ethical Culture:
(2 West 64th Street, at Central Park West)
CONCERT 5: STATE OF HUMANKIND
Thursday, November 9 at 6:30 pm
Netherlands Chamber Choir
Peter Dijkstra, conductor
J.S. BACH: Lobet den Herren alle Heiden (Psalm 117) HANS LEO HASSLER: Beatus vir qui non abiit, Cantiones sacrae 1591 (Psalm 1)
THOMAS ALLIS: Dominus quis habatabit (Psalm 15) HEINRICH SCHÜTZ: Wohl dene die ohne Wandel leben (Psalm 119)
LUDOVICO DA VIADANA: Exsultate justo (Psalm 33)
RALPH
Vaughan Williams: O praise the Lord (Psalm 148)
ALEXANDER GRECHANINOV: Praise the name of the Lord, Op. 34 (Psalm 135)
Henry Purcell: O give thanks unto the Lord, Z 33 (Psalm 106)
SAMUEL WESLEY: In exitu Israel (Psalm 114)
MICHEL VAN DER AA (The Netherlands): New work (commission, U.S. premiere) (Psalm 5)
MOHAMMED FAIROUZ (USA / UAE): New work (commission, U.S. premiere) (Psalm 14)
BO HANSSON: Du har varit vår tillflykt från släkte till släkte (Psalm 90)
CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI: Lauda Jerusalem (Psalm 147)
Throughout the history of Western music, sublime artists have used the Psalms as a starting point for pondering our place in the universe. In this concert, composers including Tallis, Bach, Purcell, Monteverdi, and Michel van der Aa sound out the Psalms' existential yearnings.
CONCERT 6: GRATITUDE
Thursday, November 9 at 8:30 pm
Tallis Scholars
Peter Phillips, conductor
Joseph Haydn: Maker of all! Be thou my guard (Psalm 41)
WILLIAM BYRD: Circumdederunt me (Psalm 18)
TOMAS DE VICTORIA: Credidi propter quod (Psalm 116)
ORLANDO GIBBONS: Sing unto the Lord (Psalm 30) PHILIPPE DE MONTE: Donnez au Seigneur gloire (Psalm 107) MOGENS PEDERSON: Min Siel nu loffue herren (Psalm 103)
SAMUEL SEBASTIAN WESLEY: Blest is the man (Psalm 32)
JEAN MOUTON: Benedicam Dominum (Psalm 34)
FRANCISCO GUERRERO: (In conspectus Angelorum (Psalm 138)
SALAMONE ROSSI: Odesha ki anitani (Psalm 118)
Franz Schubert: Tov lehodos, D. 953 (Psalm 92)
Nico Muhly (USA): New work (commission, U.S. Premiere) (Psalm 63)
Pierre De La RUE: Lauda anima mea (Psalm 146)
The many expressions of psalmic gratitude are highlighted in this praiseworthy concert, including works by Byrd, Haydn, Schubert, and a premiere by
Nico Muhly.
CONCERT 7: ABANDONMENT
Friday, November 10 at 6:30 pm
Norwegian Soloists' Choir (New York debut)
Grete Pedersen, conductor
ARABIC TRADITIONAL CHANT: (Psalm 44) ZAD MOULTAKA (Lebanon): New work (commission, U.S. premiere) (Psalm 60)
JOHN BLOW: O God, wherefore art thou absent (Psalm 74)
JACHET DE MANTUA: In die tribulationes (Psalm 77)
TRADITIONAL GAELIC: Gaelic Psalm from Hebrides of Scotland (Psalm 79)
DMITRI BORTNIANSKY: Radujtesja bogu (Psalm 80)
TRADITONAL ARMENIAN: (Psalm 83) (Psalm 82 in the Vulgata)
OLIVER BROWNSON (arr. PEDERSEN): My never-ceasing songs shall show (Psalm 89)
PER NØRGÅRD: Ad te Domine Clamabo, from Four Latin Motets, No. 3 (Psalm 28)
LUCA MARENZIO: Super flumina Babylonis (Psalm 137)
JOHANN SCHEIN: Der Herr denket an uns (Psalm 115)
Across continents and millennia, humans have cried out in despair, feeling abandoned by their creator. Psalms from proverbiAl Wilderness are heard here in Armenian, Russian, Latin, and German translation, as well as a new commission in Aramaic by Lebanese composer Zad Moultaka.
CONCERT 8: LAMENTATION
Friday, November 10 at 8:30 pm
Netherlands Chamber Choir
Peter Dijkstra, conductor
Felix Mendelssohn: Mein Gott, warum hast Du mich verlassen, Op. 79, No. 3 (Psalm 22) PHLIBERT JAMBE DE FER: A toi, mon dieu, mon Coeur monte (Psalm 25)
ADRIAEN WILLAERT: Domine quid multiplicati sunt (Psalm 3)
JEAN BERGER: The eyes of all wait upon thee (Psalm 145)
ISAAC ALBENIZ: Domine in furore tuo (Psalm 6)
OTTO NICOLAI: Herr auf Dich traue ich (Psalm 31)
CIPRIANO DE RORE: Usquequo, Domnie (Psalm 13)
CLAUDIN DE SERMISY: Dont vient cela Seigneur (Psalm 10)
CONSTANTIJN HUYGENS: Dilataverunt super me (Psalm 35)
COSTANZO PORTA: Voce mea ad Dominum clamavi (Psalm 142)
AL
Bert BeckER: Die Toren sprechen in ihrem Herzen, Op. 83, No. 4 (Psalm 53)
HUBERT PARRY: Lord, let me know mine end, from Songs of Farewell, No. 6 (Psalm 39)
Psalms of mourning need no translation, whether composed during the Dutch Renaissance, Mendelssohn's Germany, or 20th century America. The Netherlands Chamber Choir gives voice to human suffering through multilingual expressions of lamentation and the balm of miraculous music.
At James Memorial Chapel, Union Theological Seminary:
(3041 Broadway at 121st Street)
CONCERT 9: SECURITY AND TRUST
Saturday, November 11 at 1:00 pm
Tallis Scholars
Peter Phillips, conductor
THOMAS RAVENSCROFT: O God, that art my righteousness (Psalm 4)
TIBURTIO MASSAINO: Conserva me, domine (Psalm 16)
FERDINAND DI LASSO: Sperate in Domino (Psalm 62)
MELCHIOR FRANCK: Quantas ostendisti (Psalm 71)
HER
Bert HowellS: One thing I have desired (Psalm 27)
MARCIN LEOPOLITA: Mihi autem (Psalm 139)
GIOVANNI CROCE: Miserere mei (Psalm 51)
PAUL SCHOENFELD: Incline your ear, Oh Lord (Psalm 86)
GESUALDO DA VENOSA: Exaudi, Deus, deprecationem meam (Psalm 61)
ALEXANDER HOROLOGIUS: Miserere mei (Psalm 57)
CASPAR OTHMAYR: Wer in dem Schutz des Höchsten ist (Psalm 91)
CARL NIELSEN: Dominus regit me, from Three Motets, Op. 55, No. 2 (Psalm 23)
Perhaps there is no more recognizable psalm text than "The Lord is my shepherd." Danish composer Carl Nielsen gives this psalm new life, and a collection of early music explores trust in that which is greater than the self.
CONCERT 10: PILGRIMAGE OF LIFE
Saturday, November 11 at 3:00 pm
Norwegian Soloists' Choir
Grete Pedersen, conductor
OTTO OLSSON: Ad Dominumcum tribularer clamavi (Psalm 120) FARTEIN VALEN: Ice hebe meine Augen (Psalm 121) ARVO PÄRT: Peace upon you, Jerusalem (Psalm 122) GIOVANNI PIERLUIGI DA PALESTRINA: Ad te levavi (Psalm 123)
SCOTTISH TUNE (arr.
Peter Maxwell Davies): (Psalm 124) HEINRICH ISAAC: Qui confidunt in Domino (Psalm 125) JOHANNES BRAHMS: Selig sind die da Leid tragen, from Ein deutsches Requiem (Psalm 126)
HEINRICH IGNAZ VON BIBER: Nisi dominus (Psalm 127)
CRISTOBAL DE MORALES: Beati omnes (Psalm 128)
EVELIN SEPPAR (Estonia): New work (commission, U.S. premiere) (Psalm 129)
INGVAR LIDHOLM: De profundis, from A Dreamplay (Psalm 130)
WILLIAM MUNDY: Domine, non est exaltatum (Psalm 131)
GUILLAUME BOUZIGNAC: In pace, in pdipsum. Si dedero somnum (Psalm 132)
THOMAS WEELKES: O Lord, arise (Psalm 132)
Jean RichAFORT: Ecce quam bonum (Psalm 133)
HEINRICH HARTMANN: Siehe, lobet den Herren, alle Knechte (Psalm 134)
Embark on a sojourn through the generations from the Spanish Renaissance to today, featuring works by Palestrina, Brahms, Arvo Pärt, and a premiere by Estonian composer Evelin Seppar. CONCERT 11: CELEBRATION OF LIFE
Saturday, November 11 at 5:00 pm
Netherlands Chamber Choir
Peter Dijkstra, conductor ANDREAS HAMMERSCHMIDT: Machet die Tore weit (Psalm 24)
VAGN HOLMBOE: Hvor er din bolig, Op. 163 (Psalm 84)
CHIARA COZZOLANI: Dixit dominus (Psalm 110)
Virgil Thomson: O, give Thanks to the Lord, from Three Antiphonal Psalms, No. 3 (Psalm 136)
ADRIANO BANCHIERI: Omnes gentes plaudit (Psalm 47)
TIMOTHY SWAN: He call'd for darkness (Psalm 105)
ZOLTÁN KODÁLY: A erös Isten, Genevan Psalter (Psalm 50)
JAKOB HANDL (JACOBUS GALLUS): Laudate Dominum (Psalm 150)
RUGGIERO GIOVANNELLI: Cantate Domino (Psalm 149) JAN TOLLIUS: Sicut fluit cera (Psalm 68)
ISIDORA ŽEBELJAN (Serbia): New work (commission, U.S. Premiere) (Psalm 78)
VIC NEES: Fundamenta ejus (Psalm 87)
Francis Poulenc: Exultate Deo (Psalm 81)
Even in times of trial, the Psalms provide joyful poems of celebration, such as these euphoric settings by Poulenc and
Virgil Thomson, among others.
At Alice Tully Hall:
CONCERT 12: CONSEQUENCES OF POWER
Saturday, November 11 at 8:30 pm
Tallis Scholars
Peter Phillips, conductor
with Choir of Trinity Wall Street, Netherlands Chamber Choir, and Norwegian Soloists' Choir
PLAINCHANT: Psalm 58, according to the Church of Rome (Psalm 58) SIGMUND HEMMEL: Gott steht in seiner gmeinden recht (Psalm 82) HANDEL: In the Lord I put my trust (Psalm 9)
Andrea GabrielI: Domine Deus meus, in te speravi (Psalm 9) LORENZO PEROSI: Exaude, Domine (Psalm 17) SCOTTISH METRICAL PSALTER: O Lord give ear to my just cause (Psalm 17) GUGLIELMO ARNONI: Judica me Domine (Psalm 26)
ORAZIO VECCHI: Velociter exaudi me (Psalm 143)
GAVIN BRYARS: Lord, I cry upon three (Psalm 141)
SAMUEL SCHEIDT: Richte mich Gott (Psalm 43) JAN PIETERSZOON SWEELINCK: Du malin le meschant voulouir (Psalm 36)
JAN VAN DIJK: Dieu de ma louange, ne te tais point (Psalm 109)
CLAUDE LeJEUNE: Après avoir constamment attendu (Psalm 40) TALLIS: Spem in Alium
Woven throughout the Psalms are pleas to shift the earthly balance between those in power and the powerless. In this concluding concert, the Tallis Scholars explore settings by Handel, Gabrieli, and others. All the themes of The Psalms Experience then culminate in the Renaissance splendor of Thomas Tallis's Spem in alium, in which all four choirs join forces to offer up an ecstatic expression of praise.
THE BECKETT TRILOGY
Friday, November 3 and Saturday, November 4 at 7:00 pm
Sunday, November 5 at 3:00 pm
Gare St. Lazare Ireland
Conor Lovett, actor
Judy Hegarty Lovett, director
Simon Bennison, lighting design
The Duke on 42nd Street, a New 42nd Street project
A White Light Lounge follows the November 3 performance
Excerpts from
Samuel Beckett's Molloy, Malone Dies, and The Unnamable
For this singular theatrical engagement, Gare St. Lazare Ireland presents excerpts from
Samuel Beckett's novels Molloy, Malone Dies, and The Unnamable in an exceptional solo performance by actor
Conor Lovett, described as "the greatest Beckett interpreter alive today" by Australian Arts Hub. While exploring the absurdities of the human condition, Lovett portrays a philosophical vagrant, an elderly man lost to memory and fantasy, and a paralyzed protagonist in turn. Molloy premiered at
Battersea Arts Centre in March 1996; Malone Dies and The Unnamable premiered at Kilkenny Arts Festival in 2000 and 2001 respectively. Gare St. Lazare Ireland presented acclaimed performances of Beckett's The End and Here All Night at the White Light Festival in 2015.
WHITE LIGHT ON FILM - SACRED: MILESTONES OF A SPIRITUAL LIFE
Tuesday, November 7 at 7:00pm
Directed by
Thomas Lennon
Walter Reade Theater
Shot by leading independent filmmakers in over 25 countries, this impressionistic documentary explores faith as a primary human experience. Global in reach, yet intensely intimate, Sacred observes how people across the world turn to ritual and prayer to navigate life's milestones and crises, transcending cultural and religious differences to offer a universal celebration of our shared humanity.
Presented in association with Film Society of Lincoln Center
DARKNESS AND LIGHT (U.S. PREMIERE)
Thursday, November 9 at 7:30 pm
Bernard Foccroulle, organ
Lynette Wallworth, video
Church of the Ascension
(Fifth Avenue at Tenth Street)
TOSHIO HOSOKAWA: Cloudscape
BERNARD FOCCROULLE: Kolorierte Flöten
GRIGNY: Récit de tierce en taille
ALAIN: Fantaisie No.1
ALAIN: Litanies
BUXTEHUDE: Durch Adams Fall ist ganz verderbt
BUXTEHUDE: In dulci jubilo
SOFIA GUBAIDULINA: Hell und Dunkel
MESSIAEN: Two pieces from Messe de la Pentecôte
BACH: Erbarm dich mein, o Herre Gott, BWV 721
BUXTEHUDE: Passacaglia in D minor
For this U.S. premiere, world-renowned organist Bernard Foccroulle and Australian video artist Lynette Wallworth collaborate on a multisensory experience confronting the role of light and darkness in music and in nature. The project takes its name from Light and Darkness (Hell und Dunkel), a composition by the Russian mystical composer Sofia Gubaidulina. The program comprises a mixture of Baroque and 20th-century music, drawing the audience into a dualistic allegory for day and night, life and destruction, or joy and terror. Wallworth's contemporary video imagery unites these aspects through natural and industrial scenes. Darkness and Light premiered in March 2014 at the Klarafestival in Brussels and has since received critical acclaim in London, Aix-en-Provence, Luxembourg, Sydney, Hamburg, and Japan. Wallworth's installation Duality of Light was featured at the White Light Festival in 2012.
JENNY LIN: THE PAST MADE PRESENT
Sunday, November 12 at 11:00 am
Walter Reade Theater
VALENTIN SILVESTROV: Benedictus
MOMPOU: Angelico, from Música callada
SILVESTROV: Der Bote ("The Messenger")
MOZART: Allegro, from Piano Sonata No. 16 in C major, K.545
SILVESTROV: Wedding Waltz
SCHUBERT: Impromptu No. 3 in G-flat major, D.899
SILVESTROV: Chopin Moments
CHOPIN: Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48, No. 1
SILVESTROV: Bagatelle
DEBUSSY: Reflets dans l'eau, from Images, Book I
SILVESTROV: Postludium
WAGNER (TRANS. LISZT): Isoldes Liebestod, from Tristan und Isolde
Visionary Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov describes his work as "metamusic," in which he creates spare, universally affecting compositions infused with melodic tension. For this intimate morning recital, pianist Jenny Lin honors Silvestrov's 80th birthday by pairing his lyrical meditations on Mozart, Schubert, Chopin, and others alongside the masterworks that inspired him.
This performance is also part of Lincoln Center's Great Performers Sunday Morning Coffee Concerts series.
MISSA SOLEMNIS
Sunday, November 12 at 3:00 pm
Swedish Chamber Orchestra
Swedish Radio Choir
Thomas Dausgaard, conductor
Peter Dijkstra, choral director
Malin Christensson, soprano
Kristina Hammarström, mezzo-soprano
Michael Weinius, tenor
Josef Wagner, bass
David Geffen Hall
BEETHOVEN: Mass in D major, Op. 123 ("Missa solemnis")
Sung in Latin with English supertitles
Historically deemed too big for the church, Beethoven's Missa solemnis evokes the immensity, power, and pathos of humanity's search for redemption. The Swedish Chamber Orchestra, under renowned Danish conductor Thomas Dausgaard, accompanies a cast of primarily Scandinavian vocalists along with the impeccable Swedish Radio Choir in Beethoven's sublime setting of the Catholic mass.
Pre-concert lecture: Andrew Shenton will speak at 1:45 pm in the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse.
This performance is also part of Lincoln Center's Great Performers Symphonic Masters series.
SWEDISH RADIO CHOIR: ETERNAL LIGHT
Tuesday, November 14 at 7:30 pm
Peter Dijkstra, choral director
Church of St. Mary the Virgin (145 West 46th Street, between Sixth and Seventh Avenues)
A White Light Lounge follows the performance
MAIJA EINFELDE: Lux aeterna
SVEN-
David SandsTRÖM: En ny himmel och en ny jord
ANDERS HILLBORG: Mouyayoum
SCHNITTKE: Concerto for Choir
In an illuminating a cappella concert at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, the Swedish Radio Choir, named one of the world's leading choirs by Gramophone, spotlights ethereal works by living composers. The program culminates in
Alfred Schnittke's Concerto for Choir, a moving 20th-century choral masterpiece based on The Book of Lamentations by Armenian monk Grigor Narekatsi.
THE ROUTES OF SLAVERY
Wednesday, November 15 at 7:30 pm
Jordi Savall, director
Hespèrion XXI
La Capella Reial de Catalunya
The Fairfield Four
Kassé Mady Diabaté, Voice (Mali)
Ballaké Sissoko, Kora (Mali)
Mamani Keita, Nana Kouyaté, Tanti Kouyaté, Vocals (Mali)
Rajery, Valiha (Madagascar)
Driss el Maloumi, Oud (Morocco)
Maria Juliana Linhares, Soprano (Brazil)
Zé Luis Nascimento, Percussion (Brazil)
Adriana Fernández, Soprano (Argentina)
Iván García, Bass (Venezuela)
Ada Coronel, Vihuela, Wasá, Dance & Voice (Mexico)
Enrique Barona, Vihuela, Leona, Jarana, Quijada de caballo, Dance & Voice (Mexico)
Ulises Martínez, Violin, Vihuela, Leona & Voice (Mexico)
Leopoldo Novoa, Marimbol, Marimba de chonta & Tiple colombiano (Colombia)
Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall
Esteemed early music interpreter Jordi Savall explores the history of human exploitation in The Routes of Slavery (1444-1888), which traces over four centuries of music from three continents involved in the transatlantic slave trade. Joined by guest artists from Africa, Europe, and the Americas, Savall and his collaborators incorporate musical and oral traditions from Africa to the New World in a multicultural program illuminating both the cruelest depths and extraordinary resilience of the human spirit. Savall released the three-disc (audio and video) recording The Routes of Slavery (1444-1888) on Alia Vox in February 2017. Savall presented The Cycles of Life: A Musical Exploration of the Balkans at the 2013 White Light Festival to great acclaim.
Pre-concert talk: Jordi Savall speaks with Ara Guzelimian at 6:15 pm in the
Agnes Varis and Karl Leichtman Studio.
Programs, artists, repertoire, and ticket prices are subject to change.
BIOS MONTEVERDI: THE BIRTH OF OPERA
John Eliot GARDINER, CONDUCTOR AND STAGE DIRECTION
monteverdi.co.uk/about/gardiner
Sir
John Eliot Gardiner is founder and artistic director of the Monteverdi Choir, the English Baroque Soloists, and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique. He appears regularly with leading symphony orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. The extent of Gardiner's repertoire is illustrated by over 250 recordings for major record companies and by numerous international awards including the Gramophone's Special Achievement Award for live recordings of the complete church cantatas of J.S. Bach by Soli Deo Gloria. In 2014 Gardiner became the first-ever president of the Bach Archive in Leipzig.
MONTEVERDI CHOIR
monteverdi.co.uk/about/choir
Founded by Sir
John Eliot Gardiner as part of the breakaway period instrument movement of the 1960s, the Monteverdi Choir has been consistently acclaimed as one of the best choirs in the world over the past 50 years. The Monteverdi Choir has over 150 recordings to its name and has won numerous prizes, setting it apart from other ensembles. The Choir regularly performs works across a wide-ranging repertoire, and is noted for its ability to switch composer and idiom with complete stylistic conviction. Most recently the Choir took part in a variety of projects-from Bach's Mass in B minor tour and recording with the English Baroque Soloists, to a tour of the United States with Monteverdi's Vespers and L'Orfeo.
ENGLISH BAROQUE SOLOISTS
monteverdi.co.uk/about/ebs
Founded in 1978 by Sir
John Eliot Gardiner, the English Baroque Soloists has long been established as one of the world's leading period instrument orchestras. The ensemble has performed at many of the world's most prestigious venues including La Scala in Milan, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and the Sydney Opera House. Besides their independent existence as a period chamber orchestra the English Baroque Soloists also participate regularly in joint projects with the Monteverdi Choir, with whom they famously took part in the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage in 2000, performing all of Bach's sacred cantatas throughout Europe.
ELSA ROOKE, STAGE DIRECTION
monteverdi.co.uk/concerts/monteverdi-450/monteverdi450-directors
Born and bred in Paris, stage director and drama teacher Elsa Rooke completed a PhD in literature and music on 20th-century opera at the Sorbonne. Trained by drama coach Alain Garichot (École de l'Opéra de Paris), she has worked as stage manager, assistant director, dramaturge, and director throughout Europe, taught acting to young singers, and was appointed director of one of France's major national drama schools (Saint-Étienne). A long-term collaborator with
Adrian Noble, she has revived many opera productions for him over the past 15 years from New York to Moscow.
DANCING VOICES
Meredith Monk, VOICE, COMPOSER, AND DIRECTOR
meredithmonk.org/about/bio.html
Meredith Monk is a composer, singer, director, choreographer, filmmaker, and creator of new opera, music-theater works, films, and installations. Considered one of the most unique and influential artists of our time, she is a pioneer of what is now called "extended vocal technique" and "interdisciplinary performance." In September 2015, she received the National Medal of Arts from President Obama. Celebrated internationally,