Katherine McKee conducting the SFRV vocalists (from the SFRV Web site)
Next month will mark the beginning of the fifteenth anniversary season of San Francisco Renaissance Voices (SFRV), led by Music Director Katherine McKee. One of the earliest efforts to be taken by this ensemble was a five-year “Polyphony Project,” during which each year explored a different Renaissance “school” of polyphonic practice. The group decided that an appropriate anniversary celebration would be a revival of that project, which is being called “The Polyphony Project Sequel.” The “school-based” approach will resume with a focus on the Hispanic School, which will include music from Spain, Portugal, Mexico and the Philippines. Given the cultural implications, SFRV has decided to call this season their year-long quinceañera!
As was the case last season, all San Francisco performances will take place at the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation, located in the Sunset at 1750 29th Avenue, about halfway between Moraga Street and Noriega Street. Thus far, ticket prices have been announced only for the first concert of the season. They will be $30 for general admission with a $25 rate for students and seniors and a $20 charge for children aged twelve and younger. Tickets are currently on sale only for the first concert of the season and may be purchased online through a Brown Paper Tickets event page. Dates and times for all San Francisco performances are as follows:
Sunday, December 16, 8 p.m.: This program will offer a Mexican approach to the Nativity story in the form of a Pastorela. As the name implies, the narrative is related from the perspective of the shepherds that were the first to see the Christ child. By way of comic relief, the enactment includes a somewhat humorous fight between good and evil. The former will be embodied as the Archangel Michael, sung by soprano Susan Gundunas, opposing the Devil, portrayed by actor Joseph Schmitz. The music will include the Missa Queramus cum pastoribus (Mass of the quaking shepherds), composed in the early sixteenth century by Cristóbal de Morales. The Guest Conductor for this performance will be Don Scott Carpenter, Executive Director of American Bach Soloists and Music Director at Lakeside Presbyterian Church.
Saturday, December 22, 4 p.m.: This will be the annual Festival of Lessons & Carols concert, a re-creation of the service that originated in 1918 at King’s College, Cambridge (in England) for the first celebration of the Christmas season following the end of World War I. These programs traditionally involve an interleaving of music from the past and the recent present. The latter will be represented by “Ring Out, Wild Bells,” a setting of the poem of the same name by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, composed on commission by Kyle Hovatter. Guest Conductor will be Derek Tam, Music Director of both MUSA and Ars Minerva; and organ accompaniment will be provided by Stacy Cullison. This will be a free event. However, due to its popularity, reservations are strongly recommended and may be made through an Eventbrite event page.
Sunday, April 28, 7:30 p.m.: Passion & Lamentations will be a program of music for Holy Week. The program will feature a Requiem setting by Portuguese composer Manuel Cardoso, a setting of the “In Paradisum” from the Requiem text by Spanish composer Juan Esquivel Barahona, and the “Miserere mei, Deus” Psalm setting by Italian composer Gregorio Allegri, best known for having been transcribed from memory by a young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Saturday, August 10, 7:30 p.m.: The program for Manila Galleon Music will focus on the Harana, the traditional serenade music in rural areas of the Philippines. The program will explore the commonality of music traced through the giant ships that plied the Pacific waters for over 300 years. Guitarist Florante Aguilar will make a guest appearance. He will perform music from his CD, The Manila Galleon Guitar Project; and the chorus will perform Mexican polyphony and music of the Aztecs and Incas.
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