Magnificat’s 19th Season – Giving Voice to the Human Spirit
(Click image to download MAgnificat's 2010-2011 Season Brochure)
The discoveries and revolutions of the 17th Century fundamentally challenged Europe’s perception of the universe and sparked an explosion of innovation as musicians sought new ways to give voice to the human spirit. Composers created a bold new music driven by emotion and narrative and performers reached for new techniques to communicate it.
The programs on Magnificat’s 19th season reflect the confidence and imagination of this time from four different perspectives: the introduction of opera in England, the melding of “pop” music with the refined elegance of the French court, the virtuosity of four remarkable women, and satirical reflections on the human condition told through the characters of the commedia dell’arte.
Our season begins with three performances of John Blow’s Venus & Adonis, a re-telling of the classical myth from a distinctly feminist perspective and the earliest surviving English opera. Combining elements of the English masque and the French tragedie lyrique, it was performed “for the entertainment of the King” in 1683 and later revised for a second production. For this modern premiere of the second version, produced in collaboration with the Purcell Society, Stainer & Bell, and the National Centre for Early Music, York (UK),
The cast for this concert production will be Catherine Webster, soprano (Venus), José Lemos, countertenor (Cupid), Peter Becker, bass (Adonis), Jennifer Paulino, soprano and Paul Elliott, tenor. Magnificat will also be joined by members of the San Francisco Girls Chorus. Performances will be Friday October 8 2010 8:00 pm at St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, Saturday October 9 2010 8:00 pm at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Berkeley, and Sunday October 10 2010 4:00 pm at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in San Francisco.
Magnificat has long championed the music of the remarkable Marc-Antoine Charpentier and this December we turn to his best-known work: the delightful Messe de Minuit (Midnight Mass). Drawing on the popular melodies of French Christmas carols, or noëls, Charpentier preserves their charming simplicity in achieving a perfect synthesis of popular art and the lush elegance of the Age of Louis XIV. The program will also include one of Charpentier’s evocative settings of the Nativity narrative and other seasonal music.
Musicians for this performanc include Jennifer Ellis Kampani, Christopher LeCluyse, Daniel Hutchings, Peter Becker, Matthias Maute, Louise Carslake, Rob Diggins, Jolianne von Einem, David Wilson, John Dornenburg, David Tayler, and Hanneke van Proosdij. Performances will be Friday December 17 2010 8:00 pm at St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, Saturday December 18 2010 8:00 pm at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Berkeley, and Sunday December 19 2010 4:00 pm at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in San Francisco.
In February, soprano Jennifer Ellis Kampani will be featured in a program of passionate arias, sublime motets and dazzling instrumental sonatas by four extraordinary women. Francesca Caccini composing for the Medici Court, Barbara Strozzi among Venetian intellectuals, Isabella Leonarda from her Novarese convent and Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre for the Parisian aristocracy: each gave voice to their creative genius in the face of cultural restrictions on the artistic expression of women and produced masterworks that speak eloquently across the centuries.
In addition to Jennifer, these concerts will feature Rob Diggins, Jolianne von Einem, David Tayler, and Hanneke van Proosdij. Performances will be Friday February 4 2011 8:00 pm at St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, Saturday February 5 2011 8:00 pm at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Berkeley, and Sunday February 6 2011 4:00 pm at St. Luke’s Epsicopal Church in San Francisco.
Magnificat’s season will conclude in March with staged performances of the madrigal comedy L’Amfiparnaso (“The Twin Peaks of Parnassus”) in which Orazio Vecchi blends pathos and buffoonery with exquisite melodies in satirizing the foibles of the human condition. Using characters and scenarios from the commedia dell’arte tradition, he tells a light-hearted tale of love and youthful rebellion in a series of amusing, and sometimes bawdy madrigals. For this staged production, Magnificat will be joined by the ‘comici’ of the Dell’Arte Company, who will bring Vecchi’s amorous and witty madrigals to life.
Singers for these concerts include soprano Laura Heimes, countertenor Roberto Balconi, tenor Paul Elliott and bass Peter Becker. Performances will be Friday March 18 2011 8:00 pm at St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, Saturday March 19 2011 8:00 pm at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Berkeley, and Sunday March 20 2011 4:00 pm at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in San Francisco.
Tickets can be purchased online at http://magnificatbaroque.tix.com or by phone at (800) 595-4849. You can also download this order form (PDF), and complete and mail it with payment to 1896 Pacific Avenue #102, San Francisco CA 94109.