FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Chorus pro Musica, led by Music Director Jeffrey Rink, begins its 2006-2007 season on Friday, November 3, with beautiful, contemporary a cappella choral expressions of the deepest spirituality. The Chorus will perform Frank Martin's Mass for Double Chorus and Henryk Górecki's Miserere beginning at 8 pm at Old South Church, Copley Square, Boston.
Son of a Swiss Calvinist minister, Frank Martin's deeply-held religious beliefs led him to distrust public expressions of personal faith. It was not until 1963 that Martin was persuaded to allow the performance of his Mass for Double Chorus, which he had written in the 1920s. Austere yet deeply inspiring, the Mass is today recognized as one of the great choral monuments of the 20th century.
Polish composer Henryk Górecki is probably best known for the 1992 worldwide sensation created by the best-selling recording of his Third Symphony with Dawn Upshaw and the London Sinfonietta under David Zinman. Górecki composed Miserere in 1981, dedicating it to the then-clandestine trade union Solidarity, but Polish authorities did not permit its performance until 1987. It stands today as an urgent, sonorous plea for peace.
The program also includes a sublime setting of the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis from the Evensong service by Herbert Murrill, who, at his death in 1952 at age 43, was Head of Music at the BBC.
Tickets to the concert are reserved seating and may be purchased for $25, $35 or $45, with a limited number of rush tickets to be sold at $15. Discounts are available for seniors, students, WGBH members and parties of 6 or more. Subscriptions are available for the season; subscribers save 10% off single-ticket prices and may buy extra discounted single-concert tickets. Tickets may be obtained and seats selected online at www.choruspromusica.org or by calling at any time 800-658-4276. For wheelchair-accessible seats, call 617-267-7442.
Now in its 58th season, Chorus pro Musica is a distinguished, independent Boston-based chorus, recognized for versatility and excellence in performing traditional, adventurous and seldom-heard works. The Chorus was founded in 1949 by the late Alfred Nash Patterson and has built a superb reputation for professional-level musical standards and innovative programming. Jeffrey Rink, now in his 17th year as Music Director, is the 2005 recipient of the Jacopo Peri Award of the New England Opera Club for outstanding contributions in the art of opera.
Other highlights of the 2006-2007 season include: An English Christmas, featuring Benjamin Britten's Ceremony of Carols on Friday, December 22 at Old South Church; the St. John Passion of J.S. Bach, performed with a period instrument orchestra, on Friday, March 23, 2007 at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul; and a concert opera performance of Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana and Ruggiero Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, featuring soloists Michael Hayes, Victoria Livengood, Jason Stearns, Maryann Mootos, Philip Candilis, and Joshua Benaim, on Sunday, June 3, 2007, at NEC's Jordan Hall.
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For more information, contact Peter Pulsifer, Concert Promotions Director, at 617-267-7442.
Chorus pro Musica online press kit at: http://www.choruspromusica.org/press.shtml
Posted October 10, 2006.