Masterworks presents Brahms Requiem with Orchestra

Coming up on March 23rd and 24th at Canada College Theater, Masterworks Chorale presents its largest production of the season, Brahms’ Requiem, with full orchestra, soloists and 100+ singers. Intensely spiritual, Ein deutsches Requiem is Brahms’ most beloved choral work. Unique among the great settings of the Requiem, its focus is on comfort for the living. Brahms chose verses from the German Bible that lead from suffering and mourning to solace and exquisite consolation. This strong humanist slant gives it a universal, direct message - as the New York Times recently wrote, “…it is an anthem for our times.”

This description of Ein deutsches Requiem appeared in an NPR article in 2009: “The idea of composing a requiem in the German language based on texts from the Lutheran Bible and the Apocrypha began to take shape in Brahms' mind in 1857, a year after the death of his friend and mentor, Robert Schumann. But it wasn't until 1865, following the death of Brahms' mother, that he took up composition of the music in earnest. After another three years, the work stood complete, having grown from a choral piece into a cantata, and then into a seven-movement Requiem for chorus, soloists and orchestra. In the process, it became the central work of Brahms' career, the one that established him as a composer of major stature and linked two of the most important spheres of his lifelong musical endeavor, the vocal and the symphonic. A northerner, Brahms was steeped in the traditions of Protestantism, though unlike Bach, he remained unconvinced of man's afterlife. It was not his intention to pattern his Requiem after the Latin mass for the dead, nor to proclaim what he felt were false hopes for resurrection. Instead, Ein Deutsches Requiem is a work of consolation for those left behind.”

This Masterworks program also features works by two living American composers, Steven Sametz and Kirke Mechem. “Child of Song” by Sametz is connected with Brahms’ Requiem through its ethereal setting of the fifth movement as background for a powerful expression of grief for loss of loved ones through natural disasters or personal circumstances. Soloist Julie Adams will give voice to this very personal sense of loss. “Child of Song is small portrait of the tragedy of a parent who loses a child. It’s offered humbly to all those who mourn for the loss of their children.” More about Mr. Sametz and the genesis of this very moving work may be found at: http://stevensametz.com/compos... and http://stevensametz.com/compos...works/info/child-of-song/

As part of a season-long tribute to composer Kirke Mechem, the chorale will also perform “Blow Ye the Trumpet”. Mechem's compositions cover almost every genre, but vocal music is the core of his work. His extensive choral works have garnered him the title of "dean of American choral composers." The premiere of Mechem’s large-scale dramatic opera based on American abolitionist John Brown (from which “Blow Ye the Trumpet” is taken) was commissioned to celebrate Lyric Opera Kansas City's 50th anniversary. You can learn more about Mr. Mechem here: http://kirkemechem.com/index.h...

Our soprano soloist for both the Requiem and “Child of Song” is a winner of the 2014 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, 2015 George London Award, 2015 Elizabeth Connell prize for aspiring dramatic sopranos, and recipient of a 2015 Sara Tucker Study Grant. Julie Adams has been praised by the New York Times for possessing a voice that is "rich, full and slightly earthy in an expressive way." A former San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow, Julie most recently appeared with San Francisco Opera as Freia in Das Rheingold. Bay Area opera lovers may have seen her as a marvelous Mimi in West Bay Opera’s La Boheme last fall.

Our baritone soloist for the Requeim, Eugene Brancoveanu, is a graduate of the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz and the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg. He is also a recent winner of the National Young Opera Singer Competition in Leipzig, the International Music Award in Loenberg, and the International Opera contest “Ferruccio Tagliavini”. Following recent performances of San Francisco Opera's The Little Prince, the San Francisco Chronicle lauds the superb cast as being "led by extravagantly gifted baritone Eugene Brancoveanu as the Pilot. With his unforced charisma, vocal clarity, and total heft, Brancoveanu managed the tricky feat of doing most of the show's heavy lifting." We are excited to share this wonderful artist with you.

Refreshments will be served after both performances, and Sunday’s
concert also includes a lively pre-concert talk by Dr. Bryan Baker. Don’t miss this opportunity to discover Masterworks for yourself!

Saturday, March 23, 2019 at 7:00pm AND

Sunday, March 24, 2019 at 4:00pm

Cañada College Theater, 4200 Farm Hill Boulevard, Redwood City - map
Adult (advance): $30 Adult (door): $35 Student (w/ID): $10

Tickets at www.masterworks.org