Local Artists and Composers in Masterworks Chorale Season Finale

Masterworks Chorale concludes its 55th season with a sweeping tribute to cross-cultural understanding and cooperation. Concerts this weekend on June 1st and 2nd at Messiah Lutheran Church in Redwood City, will be highlighting collaborations with local composers, guest musicians and children’s choirs and music from throughout the Americas. The Chorale revisits the season's theme, “Shining Night”, with three sublime Nocturnes by beloved American composer Morten Lauridsen, set to poems by Rainer Maria Rilke (Nuit d’été), Pablo Neruda (Soneto), and James Agee (Sure on this shining night).

The music of Morten Lauridsen occupies a permanent place in the standard repertoire. His eight vocal cycles, instrumental works, art songs and series of motets are performed throughout the world. An award-winning documentary by Michael Stillwater, Shining Night - A Portrait of Composer Morten Lauridsen, was released in 2012. In 2007 he was awarded the National Medal of Arts, the highest artistic award in the United States, by the President in a White House ceremony "for his composition of radiant choral works combining musical beauty, power, and spiritual depth."

The Chorale will also present a premiere of La Llorona, a new commissioned work by local composer Héctor Armienta. Enjoy this short video describing the story of La Llorona: https://www.facebook.com/maste...

Héctor Armienta, a nationally recognized Mexican-American composer, focuses on creating work that explores the Mexican and Mexican-American cultural experience. His awards and commissions include those from Meet the Composer, the National Endowment for the Arts, Opera Pacific, two San Francisco Arts Commissions, and Oakland East Bay Symphony. His work for orchestra and theater has received support from three NEA grants for artistic excellence. Mr. Armienta is the Artistic Director of Opera Cultura, based in San Jose.

San Francisco composer Kirke Mechem's Las Américas Unidas contains both Spanish and English texts echoing each other. Dr. Bryan Baker outlines the history of Mechem's creation of this work in this short video: https://www.facebook.com/maste... . Our performances will feature soprano soloist and the children's chorus from Casa Circulo. Founded in 2009 and located in Redwood City, Casa Circulo is a multidisciplinary arts organization seeking to provide a space for the development, preservation and encouragement of Latino and Hispanic arts and culture. https://www.facebook.com/circu...

Misa Criolla by Ariel Ramírez provides the rousing finale to these performances. It was one of the first masses not written in Latin, shortly after the Second Vatican Council (commonly known as Vatican II) permitted use of other languages in the Catholic church. The Washington Post wrote that it is "widely regarded as a stunning artistic achievement, combin[ing] Spanish text with indigenous instruments and rhythms". Composer Ariel Ramírez once told The Jerusalem Post how this work was inspired by a visit to Germany after World War II. While there, he had an encounter with two sisters (siblings), who had regularly risked their lives bringing food to Nazi prisoners in their neighborhood, which led him to consider writing "a spiritual piece". This would eventually become the Misa Criolla. Following the outlines of a traditional mass setting, the words are in Spanish, and the music is based on folk dances of Argentina, Bolivia and the Andes. With great vitality and invention, Ramírez created a work that at once brings a spiritual reverence and an earthy celebration. Along with the 100-voice chorale and guest soloists, Andean musician Oscar Reynolds Sainz will add the flavor of his distinctive playing to create a memorable performance like no other. It will make you want to put on your dancing shoes!

Event information may be found at: https://patch.com/california/r...