2008-2009 Season
Magnificat
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Sunday, December 7, 2008
First Church, Cambridge
Old South Church, Boston
Of all the figures in Christianity few are as well-known and revered as Mary, the mother of Jesus. Boston Choral Ensemble will kick off the holiday season with a program of music written in praise of Mary.
This program features choral treasures written in the 16th, 17th, and 20th centuries by composers from Norway, Britain, Spain, Ireland, Lithuaina, and Germany. These featured works represent a precious glimpse into the wide spectrum of Marian reverence through music—embracing both the traditional and the new—and the quiet wonder that is the spiritual heart and soul of the Christmas season.
A Hymn to the Mother God — John Tavener
Alma redemptoris mater — Francisco Guerrero
Ave Maris Stella, EG 150 — Edvard Grieg
Ave Maris Stella — Trond Kverno
Ave Regina coelorum — Alonso Lobo
Sancta et immaculata — Francisco Guerrero
Magnificat — Seamas de Barra
Nunc dimittis from Gradualia — William Byrd
Regina coeli — Robert White
Mirabile myserium — Jacobus Handl
Aurei Regina Caeli No. 3 — Raminta Serksnyte
Salve Regina a 5 — Josquin des Prez
Magnifiat tertia toni a 8 — Sebastian Aguilera de Heredia
Nunc dimittis — Herbert Howells
Voces Latinas
Friday, March 6, 2009
Sunday, March 8, 2009
First Church, Cambridge
Old South Church, Boston
Heat up your winter nights with the fiery music of Latin America! Voces Latinas offers a taste of contemporary choral works by Latin American composers including Chavez, Villa-lobos, and Ginastera. Experience the passion and vitality of Ginastera’s Lamentations, the striking simplicity of Villa-Lobos' Bendita Sabedoria and the poetry of Chavez's Three Nocturnes. This performance is guaranteed to ignite sparks powerful enough to drive away the winter's chill!
Bendita Sabedoria — Heiter Villa-Lobos
Sapientia foris prædicat
Vas pretiosum labia scientiæ
Principium sapientiæ
Vir sapiens
Beatus homo
Dexteram tuam
Hieremiae prophetae lamentationes, Op.14 — Alberto Ginastera
O vos omnes
Ego vir vivens
Recordare
"Coral del Arricefe" from Oceana — Osvaldo Golijov
Three Nocturnes — Carlos Chavez
Sonnet to Sleep
To the Moon
So We'll Go No More A-Roving
Verano Porteño — Astor Piazzolla (arr. Oscar Escalada)
Salseo — Oscar Galián
Meditations
Friday, June 5, 2009
Sunday, June 7, 2009
First Church Cambridge
Old South Church, Boston
Boston Choral Ensemble presents Meditations, a series of choral works from composers that were particularly drawn to the mysticism and poetry of the Eastern world, translating ancient ideas and philosophies through the lens of their own cultural experiences.
This reflective collection of Eastern texts set by Western composers uses music as a dialogue to bridge the sacred and secular, eastern and western, new and old worlds. The result is a vivid tapestry of sound that inspires curiosity about life’s transcendent mysteries and broadens our sensual understanding of the world. Meditations includes the premiere of Forrest Pierce’s The Jasmine Arrow Sutra. Forrest Pierce is the winner of BCE’s 2nd Annual Commission Competition. We’re also proud to premiere Eric Banks’s Twelve Flowers, commissioned by the Boston Choral Ensemble for this program.
Meditations of Li Po — Stephen Paulus
...and even my soul remains quiet
I lift my eyes to watch the mountain moon
...and now the last cloud drains away
Twelve Flowers — Eric Banks
World Premiere
5 "When I..." a cycle of miniatures — Vytautas Miskinis
US Premiere
The Jasmine Arrow Sutra — Forrest Pierce
Thousands
Freedom
Arrow
Jasmine
World premiere, Winner of BCE’s 2009 Commission Competition