Voices and Guitars to Take the Stage in RESURRECTIO at Carnegie Hall This Month

Voices and guitars take center stage in "Resurrectio" - a wide-ranging program featuring world premieres by William Anderson, Jonathan Dawe and Anthony Korf, specially commissioned for the occasion. Performers will include baritone Davóne Tines, soprano Rachel Zevita, mezzo-soprano Elizabeth Farnum, conductor Mark Shapiro, pianist Adam Nielsen, and the Sheer Pluck Guitar Orchestra.

Through strikingly evocative text sources, the three new works approach the theme of resurrection from distinctly varied viewpoints. Jonathan Dawe's cycle of eight songs, Ordinary Dust: Lazarus Lieder, for baritone and piano, not only deals with the death and resurrection of the New-Testament figure, but also contemplates Lazarus' struggles following his return to life, as told in Alastair Boag's original text, also commissioned for this concert.

Anthony Korf's cantata, The Passions, for mezzo soprano, mandolin, guitars and viola, opens with selected text from J.S. Bach's St. John Passion, moves to Rainer Maria Rilke's Pieta, Mary Magdalena's post-crucifixion lamentation on unconsummated love (famously set by Hindemith in Das Marienleben), and concludes with two stanzas from 16th C. theologian and hymn writer Konrad Hubert's "Allein Zu Dir", set by Bach in Cantata No. 33.

William Anderson's Unexpected Reunion, for chorus and guitar orchestra, is based on a tale of the same name by Johann Peter Hebel-deemed "the most wonderful story in the world" by Franz Kafka. The text encapsulates 50 years of historical events coinciding with a miner's wedding-day disappearance and the eventual rediscovery of his body, perfectly preserved in iron vitriol-a reunion of sorts with his still-living bride-to-be. ETA Hoffman expanded Hebel's story and Richard Wagner prepared a prose sketch for an opera, which never materialized. In Anderson's treatment, the tale is recast in baby-boomer era Pennsylvania.

Earlier repertory will include the aforementioned chorale from Bach's Canata No. 33 and Kyrie, from the Requiem by 16th century (and Konrad Hubert contemporary) Johannes Ockeghem.

The evening-both the commissions and performances-is made possible through the generosity of pianist Zaidee Parkinson, through her family foundation, the Cornelius Bliss Fund, in collaboration with Marsyas Productions. The three premieres augment a series of previous commissions by Ms. Parkinson over the past several years, including Charles Wuorinen, Harold Meltzer, Matthew Greenbaum and Yehudi Wyner.

PROGRAM:

Resurrectio
TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2017, 8pm

William Anderson Unexpected Reunion World Premiere
Jonathan Dawe Lazarus World Premiere
Anthony Korf The Passions World Premiere
J.S. Bach Chorale from Cantata No. 33 "Allein Zu Dir"

Johannes Ockeghem Kyrie from the Requiem (arr. Nehemiah Luckett)

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Praised by the New York Times for her "honeyed tone", award-winning vocalist Elizabeth Farnum is one of today's most highly sought-after performers in the field of modern music. Her various musical interests have led to performances on Broadway and in concert halls throughout five continents, touring with early music groups Pomerium and the Waverly Consort, as well as Vox n' Plux and other new music ensembles. Her recordings on Albany, Bridge, Centaur, Helicon and Naxos (among other labels), are as numerous as they are acclaimed.

Davóne Tines, deemed a "...singer of immense power and fervor..." by The Los Angeles Times and a "...charismatic, full-voiced bass-baritone..." by The New York Times, is building an international career commanding a broad spectrum of opera and concert performance. The 2015-16 season offered breakout performances on both sides of The Atlantic: the Dutch National Opera presented his company debut in the premiere of Kaija Saariaho's Only the Sound Remains directed by Peter Sellars.

A Top-24 contestant American Idol's 10th season, Rachel Zevita has been active in both new and early music. She was the featured soloist when excerpts of William Anderson's then-unfinishedUnexpected Reunion was performed at Advent Lutheran Church in Manhattan on New Year's Eve, 2007.

Pianist Adam Nielsen made his debut with the Utah Symphony under Joseph Silverstein at age 16. Winner of the inaugural Steinway National Collegiate Artist Competition and second-prize winner of the Kingsville International Piano Competition, he has also won the Stony Brook Concerto Competition. He has appeared in leading New York Halls as well as the Russian Embassy in Washington D.C.

Vox n' Plux combines guitarists William Anderson and Oren Fader and vocalist Elizabeth Farnum, an ensemble drawn from New York's two-guitar based Cygnus Ensemble. The trio specializes in contemporary music, especially the work of American composers, and also performs music by the early masters (Monteverdi, Dowland, Bach). The ensemble frequently pairs voice with diverse plucked string instruments, including classical and electric guitars, mandolin, banjo and theorbo.

Comprised of guitarists from the New York metro area, Sheer Pluck Guitar Orchestra, under the direction of William Anderson, has been giving sold-out performances at Weill Hall since 2004. In 2015, Sheer Pluck was featured at the Wintergarden in a concert, hosted by John Schaefer for New Sounds Live, which included the premiere of David Lang's questionnaire. The orchestra includes guest guitarists from abroad: on this concert, for example, Angel Ortega, a young guitarist from Xalapa, Vera Cruz, Mexico.

Conductor Mark Shapiro is among a handful of North American artistic leaders to have won a prestigious ASCAP Programming Award four times, with the unique distinction of having done so with multiple ensembles. His work has been praised by the New York Times for its "virtuosity and assurance" and "uncommon polish." An active opera conductor, Shapiro has been featured with the Juilliard Vocal Arts, American Opera Projects, The Center for Contemporary Opera, Metro Lyric Opera, the Opera Company of Middlebury, and Underworld Opera. He is Music Director of the Prince Edward Island Symphony and Cecilia Chorus of New York. Shapiro also currently serves as Artistic Director of Cantori New York. Shapiro is Associate Professor of Music at LIU Post, and a faculty member at Mannes College, the New School for Music and the Juilliard School.

Marsyas Productions is the production unit of the Roger Shapiro Fund for New Music (RSF). Established by composer/pianist Dina Koston, who named the endowment after her husband, Roger Shapiro. The Roger Shapiro Fund is devoted to the commissioning, performance and recording of contemporary classical music with special emphasis given to music in the Western modernist tradition. In 2012, Marsyas Productions presented Sounding Beckett, a sold-out, two-week run at the Classic Stage Company, under the direction of Joy Zinoman. Sounding Beckett alternated the abstract "ghost plays" of Beckett with original compositions that responded to the plays.

Tickets range in price from $20 to $40. To purchase, click here. Performance takes place at Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, 881 7th Ave, New York, NY 10019. All programs and artists are subject to change.