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Verdi Requiem - landmarksorchestra.org · Libera me This performance is dedicated to the memory of...

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Verdi Requiem August 1, 2018 7 pm at the DCR’s Hatch Shell A COMMUNITY SUPPORTED ORCHESTRA
Transcript
Page 1: Verdi Requiem - landmarksorchestra.org · Libera me This performance is dedicated to the memory of Robert Honeysucker (1943-2017). His sonorous voice and expressive musicianship graced

Verdi Requiem

August 1, 2018

7 pm

at the DCR’s Hatch Shell

A COMMUNITY SUPPORTED ORCHESTRA

Page 2: Verdi Requiem - landmarksorchestra.org · Libera me This performance is dedicated to the memory of Robert Honeysucker (1943-2017). His sonorous voice and expressive musicianship graced

Boston Landmarks Orchestra VIOLIN I Gregory Vitale, concertmaster

Christine Vitale Pattison Story Heidi Braun Hill Tera Gorsett Stacey Alden Colin Davis Lisa Brooke

VIOLIN II Paula Oakes, principal

Melissa Howe Maynard Goldman Robert Curtis Olga Kouznetsova Jessica Amidon

VIOLA Kenneth Stalberg, principal

Donna Jerome Jean Haig Don Krishnaswami Noriko Futagami Ashleigh Gordon

CELLO Aaron Zelkowicz, principal

Patrick Owen Jolene Kessler Melanie Dyball Naomi Steckman

BASS Robert Lynam, principal Barry Boettger Kevin Green John Shiu

FLUTE Lisa Hennessy, principal Teresa Patton

FLUTE/PICCOLO Iva Milch

OBOE Andrew Price, principal Lynda Jacquin

CLARINET Steven Jackson, principal Margo McGowan

BASSOON Michael Mechanic, principal Gregory Newton Sally Merriman Margaret Phillips

HORN Kevin Owen, principal Jane Sebring Whitacre Hill Nancy Hudgins

TRUMPET Dana Oakes, principal Jesse Levine Greg Whitaker Bruce Hall Joseph Foley* Richard Kelley* Mary Lynne Bohn* *off-stage

TROMBONE Robert Couture, principal Hans Bohn John Faieta

TUBA Donald Rankin, principal

TIMPANI Jeffrey Fischer, principal

PERCUSSION Robert Schulz, principal

Maynard Goldman, Personnel Manager

American Sign Language (ASL) TeamKristin JohnsonAdrianna Neefus Christopher Robinson

The bass drum used in the Verdi Requiem is on loan from Chorus of Westerly (http://chorusofwesterly.org). Many thanks to their Executive Director, Ryan Saunders, and our own Robert Schulz for making this happen.

Tonight’s program features a prelude (at approximately 6:20 pm) by the North End Music & Performing Arts Center Children’s Choir:Nika Brozek-Wright Keira Finn Helena Fountas Gabby Guadagno-Kaluski Samantha Markey Stephanie Scarcella Linus Schaefer-Goulthorpe

Julia Scott Carey, piano Alexandra Dietrich, Music Director and ConductorSherri Snow, Executive Director

Selections include: “Light Your Lamps”, “There's Just One Place Where Beauty Grows”, and “Look at the Stars” from The Little Prince, by Rachel Portman “He Will Gather Us Around” from Dead Man Walking, by Jake Heggie “Evening Prayer” from Hansel and Gretel, by Engelbert Humperdinck “Victory Chorus” from Brundibár, by Hans Krása “Va pensiero” from Nabucco, by Giuseppe Verdi

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Verdi Requiem Boston Landmarks Orchestra | Christopher Wilkins, Music Director

Meredith Hansen, soprano Ann McMahon Quintero, mezzo-soprano

Yeghishe Manucharyan, tenor Nathan Stark, bass-baritone

Boston Landmarks One City Choir Back Bay Chorale | Scott Allen Jarrett, Music Director

Overture to Semiramide Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)

Messa da Requiem Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)

I. Requiem and Kyrie (chorus, soloists)

II. Dies iraeDies irae (chorus)

Tuba mirum (chorus) Mors stupebit (bass) Liber scriptus (mezzo-soprano, chorus) Quid sum miser (soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor) Rex tremendae (soloists, chorus) Recordare (soprano, mezzo-soprano) Ingemisco (tenor) Confutatis maledictis (bass, chorus)

Lacrimosa (soloists, chorus)

III. OffertoryDomine Jesu Christe (soloists)

Hostias (soloists)

INTERMISSION

IV. Sanctus (double chorus)

V. Agnus Dei (soprano, mezzo-soprano, chorus)

VI. Lux aeterna (mezzo-soprano, tenor, bass)

VII. Libera me (soprano, chorus)Libera me

Dies irae Requiem aeternam Libera me

This performance is dedicated to the memory of Robert Honeysucker (1943-2017). His sonorous voice and expressive musicianship graced our stage many times, including our 2008 performance of the Verdi Requiem at the Hatch Shell, and our memorable Beethoven’s 9th at Fenway Park. He was not only one of America’s

finest baritones, he was a true friend of Boston Landmarks Orchestra from our very beginning, and he is truly missed.

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Boston Landmarks One City ChoirSOPRANOEmily Achtenberg (Jamaica Plain) Dina Ali (Brighton)Heidi Ashih (Cambridge)Linda Ayoub (West Roxbury)Elizabeth Bell (Somerville)Kristen Benjamin (Fenway-Kenmore)* Yu-Fang Chang (Brookline)Jennifer Daley (Windham, NH)Betsy Draper (Roxbury)Patricia Driscoll (Roslindale)*Ann Ferentz (Arlington)Rose Filipp (Back Bay)*Sarah Fitzpatrick (Reading)Claire Folini (Westfield)Beth Goldman Galer (North Easton) Abigail Gertner (Arlington)Barbara Piper Green (East Boston) Melissa Glenn Haber (Somerville)* Sophia Halling (Wenham)Kathryn Hess (Cambridge)Kai-Yin Hsu (Lexington)Mimi Huntington (Cambridge)Abigail Jackson (Cambridge)*Christine Jesoraldo (Lynn)Liya Kang (Watertown)Megan Kemp (Cambridge)Kathryn Kirshner (Brookline)San San Lee (Newton Centre) Rebecca Lefroy (Cambridge)Li-Han Lily (Allston)Angel Long (Jamaica Plain)Jean MacGowan (West Roxbury) Judith Mason (Brookline)Kelly McMullin (West Roxbury)*Lisa Micali (Beacon Hill)Sarah Milt (Winchester)*Tammy Ngai (Brookline)Myrna R. Offen (Chestnut Hill)Maria Jose Padilla (Medford)Sarah Peterson (Brookline)Dottie Pitt (Dorchester)*Liana Raberg (Allston)Beth Ratay (Somerville)*Lynn Raymond (Chestnut Hill)Surya Reis (South Boston)Peg Schadelbauer (Waltham)Amanda Simeone (Allston)

Gay Smith (Wellesley)Sheryl Stockless (Framingham) Donna Stratford (Belmont) Eileen Sweeney (Newton) Brenda M. Ulrich (West Roxbury)* Nicole Werther (Somerville)* Elizabeth WharffJanet Wolfe (Newton)*Wenqiong Xue (Medfield)Chen Yan (Ayer)

ALTOPamela J. Aldred (Billerica) Diane Baden (Cambridge)Holly Batchelor (Newton)Mary Bewig (Somerville) Candace Brooks (Medford) Susan Burnett-Halling (Wenham) Alexandra Cok (Cambridge) Barbara Cone (Brookline) Hannah Davis (Dedham)Jane Dreskin (Cambridge) Margaret Evans (Brookline) Lisa Ferrante-Walsh (Newton) Lisa Fitzgerald-McKeon (Walpole) Linda Frayling (Back Bay)Lisa Geoghegan (West Roxbury) Valerie Gordeski (Somerville)* Nadja B. Gould (Watertown) Catherine Haines (Somerville) Marjorie Hilton (Cambridge) Janet Hobbs (Cambridge)Jin Hong (Ayer)Amanda Hooge (Arlington) Marie A. Huhta (South End) Jacqueline Kann (Brookline) Barbara Kellman (Brookline) Carol Kountz (Jamaica Plain) Terry Lane (Newton)Joanne LaPlant (Allston)Becky Leifer (Malden)Kristine Lessard (Somerville) Linda Luke (Hingham)Martha MacMillin (Sharon) Cathryn Marks (Billerica)Susan Maxwell (Needham) Molly McCleary (Jamaica Plain) Susan Meurling (North End) Cynthia Welch Moriarty (Amherst)

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Ludovica Mottura (Brookline)*Aislinn O’Keefe (Brighton)Lucia Papile (Cambridge)Patricia Pepper (Watertown)Vivian Phelan (Brighton)Etta Pisano (Cambridge)Joan Regan (West Roxbury)* Kathleen Reine (Cambridge)Susan Grose Rioff (Cambridge)* Sandy Sachs (Jamaica Plain) Tammy Sadok (Needham)Mariflor Salas (Newton)Kirie Santos (Medfield)Ellen Scerbo (Downtown)*Molly Schen (Roslindale)*Molly Coyle Shibley (Natick)Sharon Shriver (Medford)* Kimberlee Sing (Arlington)Beverly St. Clair (Wellesley)*Jennifer St. Pierre (Malden)Sarah Stankowicz (Fenway-Kenmore)* Charlotte Swartz (Medford)Jane Tenenbaum (Cambridge) Carol Tong (Arlington)Rikki Tracy (Cambridge)*Pooja Usgaonkar (Cambridge)Anja van Ommering (Cambridge)* Linda Velgouse (Watertown)Anja von Vacano (Cambridge) Jeanne Walsh (Brighton)Kathryn Wang (Cambridge) Elizabeth Wenger (Brookline) Natasha Westland (Carlisle) Elizabeth Williams (Medford)*Yian Xiao (Brookline)

TENORBayani B. Anastacio Jr. (Malden) Helen Bakeman (Belmont)George Batchelor (Newton)*Dennis Brett (Winchester)Michael Chien (Cambridge) Christopher Chin (Wollaston) Bradley M. Dunkin (Medford)*Paul Garver (Acton)Chris Haimendorf (South End) Michael Harnett (Belmont)*Josh Howe (Cambridge)Austin Klipp (Charlestown)Michael Levin (Brookline)John E. Meurling (North End)Martin J. Newhouse (Winchester) Justin Mazzola Paluska (Cambridge)

German Parada (Cambridge)Gary Price (Jamaica Plain)*Paul Rabin (Jamaica Plain)* Joseph Reid (Winchester)*Jennifer Rochow (Cambridge) Timothy Rodriguez (Brookline) Lucas Sanders (Cambridge)Larry St. Clair (Wellesley)*Jonathan Tannenhauser (Cambridge) Kevin Tu (South Waltham)William Tuttle (West Roxbury)* Raghuvir Viswanatha (Brookline) James Wang (Sharon)Thomas Yan (Lexington)

BASS-BARITONEDavid Ames (Newton Centre)* Stephen Bart (Newton)Michael Baum (Brookline)*Michael Edson (Sharon)Kamil Ekinci (Cambridge)Jack Elder (Brookline)Bob Goldsmith (Carlisle)Mike Halling (Wenham)Yigal Hochberg (Acton)Nathan Huey (Fenway-Kenmore) Charles Huhta (South End)Mark Iredale (Cambridge)Tyson Kamikawa (Winchester) John Kramer (Dorchester)Bill Kuttner (Charlestown)Alan Lawson (Brighton)Andrew Light (Roxbury)*Jonathan Litt (South End)*Jayson Madara (Medford)Daniel Malis (Methuen)Fernando Martinez (Brookline) Martin Pierce (Lincoln)*Chris Pitt (Dorchester)Nathaniel Pulsifer (Ipswich)Abby Reichlin (Back Bay)* Thomas R. Rowen (Peabody) Norman Roye (Quincy)*Peter Rutten (Arlington)Tony Santos (Medfield)Ronald D. Segal (Back Bay)Sean Shen (Methuen)Peter Smith (Roslindale)*Robert Tuttle (Fitchburg)Fiat Vongpunsawad (South End)

*Back Bay Chorale member

Page 6: Verdi Requiem - landmarksorchestra.org · Libera me This performance is dedicated to the memory of Robert Honeysucker (1943-2017). His sonorous voice and expressive musicianship graced

The BOSTON LANDMARKS ORCHESTRA performs free outdoor concerts in the City of Boston throughout the summer, delighting thousands on a weekly basis. The Orchestra—made up of some of Boston’s most accomplished professional musicians—uses great symphonic music as a means of gathering together people of all backgrounds and ages in joyful collaboration. It regularly collaborates with a range of cultural and social service organizations to ensure participation across ethnic, economic, and cultural divides. The Orchestra is committed to BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS to access for people with disabilities. It offers braille, large-print, and text-to-speech programs, assisted listening devices, and ambassadors to assist people at a handicapped drop-off point. It works with American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters as performers at select concerts.

CHRISTOPHER WILKINS was appointed Music Director of the Boston Landmarks Orchestra in 2011. Since then he has reaffirmed founder Charles Ansbacher’s vision of making great music accessible to the whole community, emphasizing inclusive programming and collaborative work. Mr. Wilkins also serves as Music Director of the Akron Symphony. As a guest conductor, he has appeared with many of the leading orchestras of the United States and abroad. Previously he served as Music Director of the San Antonio Symphony and the Colorado Springs Symphony. He also served as Resident Conductor of the Youth Orchestra of the Americas. Born in Boston, he earned his bachelor's degree from Harvard in 1978 and his master’s from the Yale School of Music in 1981. As an oboist, he performed with many ensembles in the Boston area including the Tanglewood Music Center, and the Boston Philharmonic under Benjamin Zander.

The NORTH END MUSIC AND PERFORMING ARTS CENTER (NEMPAC) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization based out of the North End of Boston founded in 2001 by a group of local mothers who were seeking arts enrichment programming for their children. The organization worked with the City of Boston and Mayor Thomas Menino to acquire and renovate an old, abandoned 1940s washhouse in the heart of the North End. This building today, a total of 590 sq. feet, is home to NEMPAC’s administrative offices and four private studios, which is where NEMPAC truly began to flourish. Today, the organization is serving over 1,255 students per week through its educational programs and school partnerships as well as producing between 22 to 30 professional concerts and community events per year. Led by Executive Director Sherri Snow, the NEMPAC organization continues its mission to enrich the lives of the North End and surrounding communities through accessible, quality music education and performing arts programs. nempacboston.org

Soprano MEREDITH HANSEN has been hailed “a standout” (Boston Herald) for her performances in the United States and abroad. Ms. Hansen's 2017-18 season included a concert of arias (Mimi, Norma and Luisa Miller) with Boston Bel Canto Opera, and Frasquita in Carmen (Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra). Ms. Hansen returned to The Metropolitan Opera in the 2016-17 season for Francesca Zambello’s Cyrano de Bergerac. Engagements in 2015-16 included a double bill of Serafina in Il Campanello and Suzel in

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L’amico Fritz (Boston Midsummer Opera); Trainbearer in Strauss’ Elektra with Boston Symphony Orchestra (Boston Symphony Hall, Carnegie Hall), and Donna Anna in Don Giovanni (Opera in Williamsburg). Other recent performances include Musetta in La bohème (Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre); soloist in Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy (Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood); First Lady in The Magic Flute and Donna Anna (Boston Lyric Opera), and featured soloist (Tatyana, Countess Almaviva) at the Hatch Shell with the Landmarks Orchestra. www.meredithhansen.com

ANN McMAHON QUINTERO returns to the Boston area where she is frequently engaged. This season she was heard in Boston Baroque’s Mozart Requiem; concerts with The Defiant Requiem Foundation in a Holocaust remembrance; soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra in Messiah; the Old Lady in Bernstein’s Candide at Arizona Opera; Verdi’s Requiem with the South Bend Symphony and soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. She has been honored as a Sara Tucker Study Grant winner from the Richard Tucker Music Foundation; the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation; George London Foundation; Sullivan Foundation, Plácido Domingo’s Operalia and was a Grand National Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. www.annmquintero.com

YEGHISHE MANUCHARYAN has performed at the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Opera Boston, Boston Concert Opera, Minnesota Opera, San Diego Opera, Tulsa Opera, Toledo Opera, Baltimore Opera, Knoxville Opera, Tanglewood Festival, Teatro San Carlo of Naples, Italy, Wexford Festival in Ireland, Armenian National Opera, New York Choral Society, Opera Orchestra of New York, Masterworks Chorale, Caramoor International Music Festival, Dallas Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Boston Modern Orchestra Project and Orquesta Sinfonica del Estado de Mejico. He has appeared as Alfredo in La Traviata, Rodolfo in La Boheme, Cavaradossi in Tosca, Lykov in Tsar’s Bride, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Lensky in Eugene Onegin, the Duke in Rigoletto, Cassio in Otello, Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Tito in La clemenza di Tito, and Saro in Anoush. He has performed the Berlioz Requiem, Verdi Requiem, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis and 9th Symphony, Dvorak Stabat Mater, Bruckner’s Te Deumand and Lukas Foss' Griffelkin. www.yeghishemanucharyan.com

Praised by the Washington Post as having a voice of "unearthly power," American bass-baritone NATHAN STARK has performed on operatic, concert and recital stages throughout the United States, Europe, and China. His engagements in the 2018-19 season include Pasha Selim in The Abduction from the Seraglio with Opera San Jose, General Audebert in Kevin Puts’ Silent Night with Arizona Opera, performances in California of Defiant Requiem (conducted by Murry Sidlin), and his return to Boston Baroque as soloist in Messiah (following his debut last season as Rocco in Fidelio). He has performed as soloist with Boston Symphony Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera, Houston Symphony, Cincinnati Opera, and Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Recent engagements include performances of Defiant Requiem in Chicago and Detroit, King Marke in Tristan und Isolde with Winnipeg Symphony, Missa solemnis with University Musical Society, and Verdi’s Requiem with the orchestras of Atlanta, New Haven, Greenville, and

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Dayton. www.nathan-stark.com/

The BACK BAY CHORALE is a 120-member auditioned chorus drawing experienced singers from the Greater Boston area. From its inception, the Chorale has committed to sharing music in the community with repertoire that ranges from Renaissance to contemporary. Musician, minister, and social activist Larry Hill founded the Chorale in 1973 at Boston’s Church of the Covenant to create a musical ministry that would bring meaning to both singers and their audience. In the years since Hill’s death in 1989, the Chorale has continued to grow in stature and is now regarded as one of Boston’s premier nonprofessional choruses. www.backbaychorale.org

SCOTT ALLEN JARRETT is one of North America’s most exciting and versatile musicians, sought after as a conductor, keyboard artist, and teacher of conducting. He serves as Music Director of the Back Bay Chorale, Resident Conductor of the Handel and Haydn Society chorus, Artistic Director of the Bach Akademie Charlotte, and Director of Music at Boston University’s Marsh Chapel. He is a frequent guest conductor at Trinity Wall Street in New York City.

PODIUM NOTE:

Tonight’s program begins with Gioachino Rossini. So does the history of the Verdi Requiem. Following Rossini’s death in 1868, Verdi wrote to a friend, “A great name has disappeared from the world! His was the most widespread, the most popular reputation of our time, and it was a glory of Italy!”

Verdi proposed a Requiem Mass in Rossini’s memory, to be performed on the first anniversary of the composer’s death. Verdi’s plan envisioned a collaborative work created by “the most distinguished Italian composers.” Verdi’s motives were altruistic but the stipulations he put on the project were impractical; the performance never took place. The portion of the work that Verdi contributed, however—the Libera me—was the starting point for what would eventually become his Messa da Requiem. In 2016 the Landmarks Orchestra gave the New England premiere of the Libera me of 1869 with the One City Choir, Back Bay Chorale, and celebrated English soprano Jane Eaglen. On that occasion the North End Music and Performing Arts Center Youth Choir joined us, as they have each of the past four seasons. We are pleased to present them again tonight in their own mini-recital.

For seven years, the One City Choir has symbolized the Landmarks Orchestra’s desire to bring people together from every neighborhood of Boston. Once again a record number of choristers have signed up—so many that we have had to place them both behind and in front of the stage. They are under the brilliant leadership of Scott Allen Jarrett, Music Director of one of our most prized partner organizations, the Back Bay Chorale.

Semiramide (pronounced Seh-mee-RAH-mee-deh), based on a tragic novel by Voltaire, was Rossini’s thirty-fourth opera. At just thirty-two years of age, he was already the most performed composer in operatic history. Audiences lapped up his music like champagne, to which his sparkling creations were often compared.

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Indeed, Rossini had a nose for the delectable, like a gourmet chef, which he also decidedly was. Dozens of culinary dishes were named after him. According to the New York Times, “If you want a phrase that summons all the voluptuous pleasure of haute cuisine in its heyday, ‘Tournedos Rossini’ does the trick.” Characterizing Rossini’s music is sometimes like describing food or drink: enticing melodies, bubbly rhythms, pungent orchestrations, and the hearty character of its structure.

Rossini’s Semiramide Overture begins with his signature move: the “Rossini crescendo.” A quartet of horns then introduces a stately theme. After an excited response from the whole orchestra, the horn theme returns in the woodwinds, adorned by pizzicato lines in the strings. A second crescendo leads to the main Allegro and a series of effervescent phrases. With the timing of a superb comic, Rossini puts a stop to this excitement just as it gets underway. When the music halts for a second time, a jovial second subject launches in the woodwinds. The four horns return, though this time in their traditional hunting guise, ushering in a full recapitulation of the main section ahead of a rousing coda.

In the same letter in which Verdi expressed how deeply affected he was by the loss of Rossini, he linked Rossini’s name to another: “When the one other glory that is like unto it [Rossini] exists no longer… what will remain of us?” The “other glory” was the poet and novelist, Alessandro Manzoni. Verdi admired Manzoni’s work not only for its literary merits, but also for the crucial role it played in the Italian Risorgimento, the mid-nineteenth century movement to unify Italy into one kingdom. Manzoni helped establish, for example, a modern linguistic style based on spoken Tuscan speech rather than the antiquated usage of the eighteenth century. Less than five years after Rossini died, Verdi received news of Manzoni’s death. It was to honor the memory of Manzoni that Verdi dedicated his own Requiem Mass, the Messa da Requiem.

Verdi sets the requiem text as a series of dramatic scenes, in music that is profoundly moving and at times extraordinarily visual. Yet, while Verdi’s approach is dramatic throughout—even theatrical—he wished to distance the Requiem from the world of opera. “One must not sing this Mass in the way one sings opera, and therefore phrasing and dynamics that may be fine in the theater won’t satisfy me at all, not at all.” He wished for purity in delivery, and for a beauty of vocal line that is the hallmark of Italian music. We are blessed with a solo quartet tonight—Meredith Hansen, Ann McMahon Quintero, Yeghishe Manucharyan, Nathan Stark—who I believe embody the qualities Verdi took pains to describe.

The text of the Requiem derives from the liturgy of the Mass for the Dead in the Roman Catholic tradition. It is a variant of the text of the mass Ordinary—the portions of the mass text that are the same for every mass. Yet the text of the Mass for the Dead was not always a set thing. Throughout the first millennium of the church, the service for the dead was largely joyful in nature, its main purpose being to celebrate the promise of the Resurrection. But by the late fifteenth century, hell and damnation had become popular themes with the public. The church finally acceded to popular pressure and allowed the poem Dies iræ to be included in the

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service. At about the same time, the predominant color at memorial services changed from white to black.

I. Requiem e Kyrie The music begins with cellos intoning a simple descending line, as if bowed in prayer. The chorus half-whispers the opening ‘Requiem… requiem aeternam’ (‘Rest… eternal rest’) as if praying together. At the words ‘et lux perpetua luceat eis’ (‘and may eternal light shine upon them’) the music brightens from minor to major. The chorus now sings a hymn in antique style. The music of the opening returns and unexpectedly transitions into the Kyrie where for the first time solo voices emerge, then join with the full chorus in Verdian splendor.

II. Dies iræ The Dies iræ is by far the longest portion of the Requiem. It represents about a third of the music and half of the text. The poem comprises eleven separate sections in Verdi’s setting, each flowing directly into the next.

(1) The Dies iræ begins with massive full-orchestra hammer blows as if delivered by the Supreme Judge. When these chords are repeated ten bars later, thunderous strokes in the bass drum are inserted, adding a Shakespearean “crack of doom.” Downward hurtling gestures in the strings and lower brass leave no doubt as to the fate of the damned. (2) No sooner has the chorus forecast the “terror [that] will be when the Judge shall come” than eight trumpets signal that the terrible day is upon us. Four onstage trumpets are answered by four offstage. A feeling of dread builds inexorably as we are confronted with our own impending doom. By the time the chorus enters, all hell has broken loose. (3) The catastrophic clamor leads to one of the great tension-filled silences in all of music. No one dares move. ‘Death and nature will be stunned,’ the bass soloist stammers. In the first extended passage for solo voice, the alto proclaims that a book shall be brought forth by which the world is to be judged. The choir quakes in the background, leading to (4) a partial reprise of the opening Dies iræ music.

(5) Saving the sound of the lowest male voice for the following section, Verdi now presents the work’s first ensemble, ‘Quid sum miser,’ a trio for soprano, alto, and tenor. The tone is more intimate and the text shifts to the first person singular. The mood becomes increasingly apprehensive until (6) the basses address the King of Dreadful Majesty directly, in music reminiscent of some of the great curses of Verdi opera. Individuals plead for mercy in a thrilling passage that eventually leads the soprano to the first of her two high C’s in the Requiem.

(7) In the soprano-alto duet, ‘Recordare,’ the text turns to Jesus for the first time. “Recall,” they plead, “that I was the reason for Your journey.” Woodwinds quietly reiterate the rhythm associated with “Salva me” (“Save me”) from the previous section. The vocal lines are at once consoling and unsettled, with a meandering cadenza for the soloists at the end. (8) The tenor aria, ‘Ingemisco,’ is the most personal passage of the Requiem. The voice of the supplicant is tinged with guilt, but gradually it strengthens in the hope of joining the flock and being placed at the right hand of God. (9) In the ‘Confutatis’ the bass invokes the fires of hell once again, but then pleads to be called among the blessed. (10) The opening music of the Dies iræ returns now for the third time (we will hear it a final time at the end of the

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Requiem). (11) A descending line in the violins leads to the ‘Lacrymosa,’ music originally composed for Don Carlos. It suggests the suffering of all mankind, but begins with the alto, who may represent the weeping of the Virgin Mary at the cross. An unexpected harmony on the final ‘Amen’ causes more uncertainty than comfort.

III. Offertorio The Offertory begins with an invocation and a prayer for deliverance from the terrors of hell. The soprano enters to express the hope that the archangel Michael will deliver the faithful into the holy light; she is accompanied by high luminous violins. The reference to Abraham and his seed is traditionally set to the self-proliferating form of a fugue, as Verdi does here. The ‘Hostias,’ begun quietly by the tenor, is imbued with sweet religious feeling. The fugue returns, now delivered more forcefully than the first time, before a final reminder of the opening plea for mercy.

IV.Sanctus A mere two-and-a-half minutes in length, the Sanctus is ablaze in light. The complexity of the counterpoint is created by a double chorus, with Verdi writing here for eight separate choral parts rather than four.

V. In the Agnus Dei, soprano and alto spin out a gentle chant-like melody. It is answered by the chorus, and then repeated by the soloists in minor. When it returns for one more responsorial treatment, a single word extends the text to specify that the rest should be eternal. A final rising gesture in the violins points heavenward.

VI.A constant interplay of light and darkness animate the Lux æterna. The music for three soloists suggests, in alternation, the radiance of perpetual light and the shadows of death. Again the soprano soloist is held in reserve, awaiting her prominent role in the final movement.

VII. We end where Verdi began, when he first conceived this Libera me as the concluding section of the Requiem for Rossini. With panic in her voice, the soprano cries out to be delivered from damnation on that day when the earth shall move. The chorus mutters its own fearful response. The hammer blows of the Dies iræ mount one last assault. The chorus sings—without accompaniment—the music the strings had played at the very opening of the Requiem. A choral fugue reveals the desperation of the gathered throngs with such vehemence that they seem “intent on achieving salvation by violence,” in Francis Toye’s characterization. All forces come together on the words ‘Domine, libera’ in music that echoes other passages in Verdi associated with the Risorgimento and political liberty. In a final dramatic gesture, the soprano rises for the second time to a ringing climax on a high C, before falling in exhaustion before the terror of the unknown. The chorus is left to utter a colorless monotone on ‘Libera me,’ as the orchestra offers the hope of a major chord. But the outcome has never been more in doubt. Verdi—ever the skeptic—seems to return the question of salvation back to the listener.

- Christopher Wilkins

Translations will be tweeted live during the Verdi Requiem. Follow @LandmarksNotes to receive real time translations as you enjoy the performance! The full text/translation is available on our mobile app and a limited number of printed copies are available at the Info Tent.

Page 12: Verdi Requiem - landmarksorchestra.org · Libera me This performance is dedicated to the memory of Robert Honeysucker (1943-2017). His sonorous voice and expressive musicianship graced

Support Boston’s only summer series of

FREE orchestral concerts with a gift today!

The Boston Landmarks Orchestra is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit

organization funded through the generosity of foundations,

corporations, and individuals. The Orchestra was founded in 2001

by conductor and community advocate Charles Ansbacher to bring

free classical music to the people of Greater Boston.

Since 2007, the Orchestra has presented its main concert series at

the DCR’s Hatch Shell on Wednesday nights from mid-July to late

August, carrying on the tradition of free concerts on the Esplanade

started by Arthur Fiedler in 1929.

Please consider a suggested contribution of $20 to the

Boston Landmarks Orchestra to help us continue this

summertime tradition for many years to come, adding

immeasurably to the quality of life in Boston.

You may return the enclosed reply envelope and your

contribution to one of our volunteers in blue t-shirts or

drop it off at our Information Tent.

Visit www.landmarksorchestra.org/donate

to donate securely online.

Contributions may also be mailed to:

Boston Landmarks Orchestra

214 Lincoln Street, Suite 331

Boston, MA 02134

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Page 13: Verdi Requiem - landmarksorchestra.org · Libera me This performance is dedicated to the memory of Robert Honeysucker (1943-2017). His sonorous voice and expressive musicianship graced

Boston Landmarks Orchestra Donors & Sponsors(Gifts received within last 12 months at the Contributor level and above)

Corporate, Foundation & Government SupportAnonymous • Arbella Insurance Foundation •The Paul and Edith Babson Foundation • Boston Cultural Council •The Boston Foundation • Cabot Family Charitable Trust •Edmund and Betsy Cabot Charitable Foundation • Century Bank •Cogan Family Foundation • Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation •Free for All Concert Fund • Stella and Charles Guttman Foundation • Haddad Family Charitable Trust • Highland Street Foundation •John Hancock Financial Services • Klarman Family Foundation •Liberty Mutual Foundation • Massachusetts Cultural Council •Music Performance Trust Fund • Israel and Mollie Myers Foundation • Bessie Pappas Charitable Foundation • The Plymouth Rock Foundation • Rockland Trust • Lawrence and Lillian Solomon Fund •Women’s Philharmonic Advocacy

Music Director’s Society

Music Director BenefactorDavid Arnold and Ann Moritz • Barbara and Amos Hostetter •Lia and William Poorvu • Allison K. Ryder and David B. Jones •Stephen and Alicia Symchych

Music Director PlatinumEileen and Jack Connors Jr. • Laura Connors and Brian O’Connell •Michael and Karen Rotenberg • Epp Sonin

Music Director GoldRichard and Nonnie Burnes • Jo Frances and John Meyer • David G. Mugar • Michael Yogman and Elizabeth Ascher

Music Director SilverRev. Susan Esco Chandler and Alfred D. Chandler III •Cynthia and Oliver Curme/Lost & Foundation • Gene and Lloyd Dahmen • Katherine and Neil Diver • Alan and Lisa Dynner •Richard and Rebecca Hawkins • Jeryl and Stephen Oristaglio •Kitty and Tony Pell • Laura Roberts and Edward Belove •Wendy Shattuck and Samuel Plimpton • Anne Symchych •Edwin and Joan Tiffany

Music Director BronzeHarron Ellenson and Roger Snow • Peter and Dieuwke Fiedler •Andrew J. Ley and Carol P. Searle • Sharon and Brian McNally •Kyra and Coco Montagu/Alchemy Foundation • Mitchell and Cynthia Neider • Susan and Frederick Putnam • Jan and Stuart Rose •David and Marie Louise Scudder • Stephen Spinetto and Alice Krapf •Debra and Mark Stevens • Donna and Robert Storer

BenefactorsChris Baldwin and Sally Reyering • Michael Boyson and Nancy Grant •Paul and Catherine Buttenwieser • Ronald G. Casty •John Chambliss and Polly Whiteside • Saul and Naomi Cohen •Julie Crockford and Sheridan Haines • Corinne Dame • Mary E. Darmstaetter •

Page 14: Verdi Requiem - landmarksorchestra.org · Libera me This performance is dedicated to the memory of Robert Honeysucker (1943-2017). His sonorous voice and expressive musicianship graced

Joseph and Eden Davies • Newell and Kate Flather •Howard Gardner and Ellen Winner • Sarah Grandfield and Nathaniel Adams • Brent Henry and Minnie Baylor-Henry • Elizabeth and Paul Kastner •Anne Linn • Jeff D. Makholm and Roberta Parks •Elizabeth and Joseph Marconi • Priscilla McMahon •John Curtis Perry and Sarah Hollis Perry • Suzanne Priebatsch •Michael Rubenstein and Elizabeth Skavish • Jean Scarrow •Andrea Schein and Angelo Veneziano • Eileen Shapiro and Reuben Eaves • Kathy and Gary Sharpless • John Shields and Christiane Delessert •Marilyn Smith and Charles Freifeld • Fredericka and Howard Stevenson • David and Megan Szabo • Benjamin and Katherine Taylor • Deborah Thaxter and Robert Adkins • Henry D. Tiffany III/Control Concepts • Robert and Suzanne Walters • Christopher Wilkins • Douglas and Laura Wilkins • Herbert and Angela Wilkins • Milton Wright • Benjamin Zander

SupportersAnonymous • Gerald and Corinne Adler • Ted Ansbacher and Barbara Nash • Sally Cassells • Katherine DeMarco • Paul and Gail Devine •Fay Donohue and Cary Armistead • Michael and Kitty Dukakis •David and Anne Gergen • Richard and Jean Gran •Mark and Mia Halfman • Jonathan Hecht and Lora Sabin •Richard Howe and Betty Ann Limpert • Frederic Johnson •Carole and Robert Kay • Rona Kiley • Robert Krim and Kathlyne Anderson • Steven Levitsky • Kristin Mortimer • Alan Pafenbach • Michael Peluse • Megan and Alkes Price • Suzanne and Bernard Pucker •Watson and Juliette Reid • Kathy Ripin and Leonard Sayles •Arthur Rishi and Kimberly Howe Rishi • Abby and Donald Rosenfeld • Maureen and Michael Ruettgers • Harborne Stuart and Cathy Tankosic • Joan and Bernard Sudikoff • Beverly J. Tangvik • Richard Trant • Phyllis Vineyard • Renata von Tscharner and Peter Munkenbeck • Susan Weiler • Craig and Catherine Weston

ContributorsJames Alexander and Thomas Stocker • Robert and Gudrun Ashton •Diane Austin and Aaron Nurick • Martha and Robert Berardino •Maria and Andrew Burtis • Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Casendino •Gabrielle and Richard Coffman • Alvin and Victoria Davis •Catharine-Mary Donovan • Glenda and Robert Fishman • Patricia Freysinger •Linda Grasso • Marcia and Edward Katz • Jane Lauridsen •Mark and Kimberly Luiggi • C. Bruce Metzler and Carol E. Simpson •Leo Pierre Roy and Perry Russell • Robert H. Rubin • Tedd and Ella Saunders • Diane and Richard Schmalensee • Sally Withington

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this list as of the print deadline. Please contact Jim Murray, Manager of Development & Communications, at [email protected] regarding any inaccuracies or omissions.

Page 15: Verdi Requiem - landmarksorchestra.org · Libera me This performance is dedicated to the memory of Robert Honeysucker (1943-2017). His sonorous voice and expressive musicianship graced

BOSTON LANDMARKS ORCHESTRA BOARD OF TRUSTEES Laura Connors, Chair Gene D. Dahmen Peter Fiedler Richard Hawkins B. J. Krintzman Mitchell Neider Jeryl Oristaglio Myran Parker-Brass, ex officio Katharine M. Pell J. Brian PottsMichael RotenbergAllison K. RyderStephen SpinettoStephen SymchychDavid SzaboEdwin TiffanyMilton L. Wright Jr.Michael Yogman

Alfred D. Chandler III, Trustee Emeritus

Charles Ansbacher, Founder

BOARD OF OVERSEERS Myran Parker-Brass, Chair David B. Arnold III Smoki Bacon Richard M. Burnes Richard Concannon Conrad Crawford Julie Crockford Corinne Dame Joseph P. Davies Katherine DeMarco Katherine Diver Priscilla H. Douglas Newell Flather Howard Gardner David Gergen Sean Hennessey Paul Kowal Robert M. Krim Steven Levitsky Andrew J. Ley Anne Linn Sharon McNally David G. Mugar

Susan Putnam Laura Roberts Diana Rowan Rockefeller Jan Rose Anthony Rudel Maureen Ruettgers Andrea Schein Eileen Shapiro John Shields Epp Sonin Debra Stevens Donna Storer Beverly J. Tangvik Angelo Tilas William Walczak Douglas Wilkins Arthur Winn

STAFF Jo Frances Meyer, Executive Director Arthur Rishi, Artistic Administrator Michelle Major, Chief Financial Officer Jim Murray, Manager of Development & Communications Joanne Barrett/JBPR, Public Relations Adele Traub, Social Media Coordinator Stephanie Muñoz, Education & Outreach Coordinator Melissa Rorech, Volunteer Coordinator Samuel Hawkins, Grant Yosenick, Interns; Shuang Fan, Conducting Intern

PRODUCTION Emerson Kington, Technical Director Audrey Dunne, Production Manager & Librarian Cate Gallagher, Production Assistant Steve Colby, Sound Design & Audio Mix MJ Audio, Audio Production Mackenzie Skeens, Nassim Zamor, Stage Crew Diego Elias, Brian Gomez, Francisco Perdomo, Amari Vickers, MLK Summer Scholars Michael Dwyer, Photography Jesse Ciarmataro, Graphic Design

VERY SPECIAL THANKS Boston Cares Mass Cultural Council UP Initiative

One BrickThe Boston Globe The Boston MetroBoston University Office of Disability Services Greenough JCDecaux

Page 16: Verdi Requiem - landmarksorchestra.org · Libera me This performance is dedicated to the memory of Robert Honeysucker (1943-2017). His sonorous voice and expressive musicianship graced

WEDNESDAYS AT 7PM GREAT MUSIC FOR FREE AT THE DCR’s HATCH SHELL

August 8, 2018 LONGWOOD SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA If it is raining on the 8th, the concert will be cancelled.

August 15, 2018 SOUNDS OF THE SEA If it is raining on the 15th, the concert will be postponed to the 16th at the Hatch Shell or Emmanuel Church.

August 22, 2018 SYMPHONIC DANCES If it is raining on the 22nd, the concert will be postponed to the 23rd at the Hatch Shell or an indoor location TBD.

August 29, 2018 MERCURY ORCHESTRA If it is raining on the 29th, the concert will be cancelled.

If inclement weather is in the forecast on the day of a concert, please check www.landmarksorchestra.org or call 617-987-2000 after 4 PM for any changes to the date or venue. Download our mobile app to receive weather alerts, notifications, and special offers.

NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERT:THE BIRTH OF JAZZSUNDAY, August 12 at 6PMPinebank Promontory, Jamaica Plain

214 Lincoln Street, Suite 331 Boston, MA 02134 617-987-2000 www.landmarksorchestra.org

These programs are supported in part by grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the Boston Cultural Council, a local agency which is funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council and administered by the Mayor’s Office of Arts + Culture for the City of Boston.


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