Vaughn Williams selected poetry by Walt Whitman and set it to a magnificent music setting. The Washington Post said, “This was without doubt one of the great musical events of the season, from the opening shout of “Behold! The sea itself . . .” through the whispered exhortation “O farther, farther, farther sail,” that brings this endearing leviathan to rest some 80 minutes later. This is a spacious, multidimensional and altogether glorious work originally performed in 1910.”

A reviewer, Rafael Collin says, “I fell asleep at a performance of Vaughan Williams’ “A Sea Symphony” some years ago. It is a LONG piece. I would not recommend it as a first Vaughan Williams purchase, unless you are a particular fan of choral music.
On the other hand, I couldn’t ignore it.

“Robert Shaw (America’s “Mr. Choral Music“) described this symphony on the radio as “the most beautiful piece of choral music written in the 20th century“. Wow! That covers 100 years, you know. And I deeply enjoy other pieces by RVW, including his Four Hymns and Five Mystical Songs.
“The symphony is a setting of poems by Walt Whitman that celebrate human daring, and RVW matched that by writing an immense symphony. If you have not heard this symphony before, you could not imagine the sonic images Vaughan Williams creates for ships, sailors, and the sea. The first notes at the music’s very beginning have the full chorus and orchestra at top voice singing ‘Behold, the Sea itself!‘ It is startlingly majestic, and yet it is followed by an almost vulgarly pop and spiky little tune for male voice (baritone) and bassoon that I now sing everyday while shaving ‘today, a rude brief recitative about ships sailing the sea …’ The diversity is wonderful -” [Review by Rafael Collin "Rafe"]

To get a preview, visit eMusic to download the 4 sound tracks or the entire album as recorded by the London Sympony Orchestra and Chorus. Another source, Classics Online, also has the tracks or album available as well.

London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus recording

San Francisco Classical Voice

San Francisco Classical Voice is the go-to place for classical music in the Bay Area, offering its visitors a multitude of ways to engage in classical music.

Our site is updated on a daily basis and our weekly newsletter gets published every Tuesday. The site reaches over 20,000 unique visitors on average per month. Roughly 90 percent of readers live in the Bay Area, with the rest spread across the U.S. and the world.

Wonderful concerts this month! Congratulations for making it to the end of a very full schedule of singing.

Our next project is preparing for the Washington D.C. tour.  Correspondence from the National Cathedral instructs us that there is no piano nor keyboard available and that there is a time limit, so refer to the revised list below for the National Cathedral concert.

Most of you have all of the music, but if you need copies of anything, copies will be available on June 2 at the Monterey venue, but please let me know what you need (via email) so Eleanor can retrieve the music from the symphony library before the rehearsal Tuesday. These are borrowed copies and will need to be returned.

Beatitude Mass Artwork

Our next rehearsal for the tour choir is Tuesday evening, June 2, in Monterey at the Unitarian Church just off Highway 1 on Aguajito Road.  I am proposing the following schedule. Locations are subject to change because of the rental agreements that we make for the year are no longer in force, so we need to arrange for space each week.  But Tuesday is definitely at the Unitarian Church.

Monday  June 1   final concert of Vaughan Williams, Faure and Host at Sunset Center, Carmel.
Call time is 7:30 PM  (Great job on Saturday and Sunday!)

Tuesday June 2 in Monterey at 7:30 PM at Unitarian Church
Monday  June 8 in San Jose at 7:00 PM
Tuesday June 16 in Monterey at 7:30 PM
Monday  June 22 In San Jose at 7:00 PM
One more rehearsal later in the week before we leave, if needed.

1.  Sicut Cervis  (Palestrina)
2.  Keep Your Lamps
3.  Prayer of the Children
4.  Sing me to heaven
5   Wondrous Love
6.  Ride the Chariot

8.  Bogoro ditse Devo

11. Little innocent Lamb

13. Beatitude Mass (July 1 only)
14. Selections from “Les Mis” (also on the July 1 concert) are being sent by the Georgetown Chorale and should be available at June 8 rehearsal.

In preparing for the San Jose Symphonic Choir’s contribution to the “Beatitude Mass” by Henry Mollicone, remember that we commissioned the work and sang the World Premier at Saint Joseph’s Cathedral in San Jose. For opening night, there were people left outside standing in line unable to get in! This performance with the Georgetown Chorale will raise much-needed funds to support the homeless.

This coming March, we will be singing another World Premier of a major work by Henry Mollicone: “Misa de los Inmigrantes”. Henry hopes to have it benefit undocumented workers in a similar way that his “Beatitude Mass” benefits the homeless.

Thanks,

Leroy Kromm

Posted in Uncategorized Tagged: SJSC ]]> http://sjsc.wordpress.com/2009/05/20/23/feed/ 1 santawalter Choir_85years http://sjsc.wordpress.com/2009/05/16/choir-tour-to-washington-dc/ http://sjsc.wordpress.com/2009/05/16/choir-tour-to-washington-dc/#comments Sat, 16 May 2009 02:58:39 +0000 Santa Walter http://sjsc.wordpress.com/?p=111 ]]> The San Jose Symphonic Tour Choir is traveling to Washington, DC to sing with the Georgetown Chorale. In addition to joining with the composer Henry Mollicone directing the “Beatitude Mass”, Maestro Leroy Kromm will be leading us in singing for 30 minutes just prior  to the Evensong service at the National Cathedral on Sunday, June 28, from 3:30 to 4:00 PM. We will rehearse with the Georgetown Chorale leading into the performance on July 1, 2009.

The Georgetown Chorale is a 60 member singing group that performs classic choral literature with a mix of contemporary literature, opera choruses and show tunes. We invite you to join us. Our mission is to provide for the musical excellence and education of members and give them an opportunity to perform their community service through music. The Chorale meets once a week on Wednesdays and performs a winter holiday concert in December and a benefit concert in April or May.

Georgetown Chorale in Concert

40th Anniversary Concert for S.O.M.E. on July 1
On July 1, 2009, 7:30 pm, we will perform Henry Mollicone’s Beatitude Mass (for the homeless) under the direction of the composer at the Crypt Church of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. to inaugurate the 40th anniversary of S.O.M.E. (So Others Might Eat). Featured soloists will be Christopher Walker of Los Angeles and Kathryn Hearden of northern Virginia

Purchase Concert Tickets for preferred seating now. Preferred seating tickets will not be available at the door. You may also Make a Donation and become a S.O.M.E. sponsor! Sponsorship levels include tickets:

• SOME Angel ($2500 or above) – 10 tickets
• Seraphim ($1000 to $2499) – 6 tickets
• Archangels ($500 to $999) – 4 tickets
• Choir Angels ($250 to $499) – 2 tickets
• Guardian Angels ($100 to $249) – 2 tickets

Enjoy an evening of spine-tingling music

Dear Friends,

Treat yourselves to a night out and enjoy a masterful performance of Carl Orff’s ever-popular Carmina Burana. Tickets are now available for the final concerts of our season, May 15th in San Mateo and May 16th at Flint Center in Cupertino. (See the flyer below for details.)

Purchase your tickets in advance from a San Jose Symphonic Choir member or by contacting our Ticket Sales Manager, Carol Gavette, at sjsctickets@sbcglobal.net.

Orff's Carmina Burana Concert

Misa de los Inmigrantes by Henry Mollicone

Misa de los Inmigrantes Preview / Fundraiser

Previewing a new work Misa de los Inmigrantes by Henry Mollicone.

Friday 24 April 7 pm

St. Julie’s Church 366 Saint Julie Dr. San Jose 95119

Featuring musical excerpts

An introduction by Fr. Jon Pedigo Stories from Mr. Rigo Chacon

Meet the composer

Refreshments

No entry fee

Donations of Any Amount Welcome

[Editor's Note: There is now a website set up for "Misa de los Inmigrantes".]

PLEASE NOTE: Time change!

Rehearsal at Westminster Presbyterian Church at 7:30 PM.

April Birthdays

• Angele Bagley Apr 10
• Mary Burfine Apr 08
• Elizabeth Esterly Apr 28
• Stephen Ferro Apr 29
• Janice Goertz Apr 12
• Sally Logothetti Apr 22
• Pamela McCulloch April 4
• Eileen Parker Apr 02
• Brant Ruggles April
• Laura Spoelstra Apr 13

Carmina Burana

Midi’s
For those in need of a few note checks, Carlos has put downloadable midi files for Carmina Burana on the members only section of the San Jose Symphonic Choir website. The files are in zip file format (just because there are so many of them). If you have problems or would like them in a different format contact Chris Brown. You can listen to the files using Microsoft Mediaplayer, Quicktime, or iTunes. There are also several free players such as Notation Player or Noteworthy Player which actually show the music score and words while playing the music.

Bus to San Mateo

We are investigating hiring a bus for the dress rehearsal and concert in San Mateo and would like to know how many people would be interested to utilizing that service. Please let Stephen Ferro know by EOD Monday your intent on taking the bus on both or either days. ($20 per trip).