2012-2013 Masterworks Series
Saturday Evenings at 8 p.m.
at UNCW Kenan Auditorium
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Home for the Holidays
Saturday, December 1, 2012, 8 p.m. UNCW Choirs, Joe Hickman, director
Sponsored by
The Davis Community
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Program notes for this performance Here.
The Wilmington Symphony Orchestra rings in the holiday season with two performances on Saturday evening, December 1st at 8:00 p.m. and again on Sunday afternoon, December 2nd at 4:00 p.m. Both performances take place at Kenan Auditorium on the UNCW campus. In addition to selections from Handel's venerated Messiah, there is A Musical Sleigh Ride by Leopold Mozart (Wolfgang's dad), and wonderful carol sing-along arrangements by John Rutter!
Joining the Wilmington Symphony will be the UNCW Chamber Choir directed by Joe Hickman.
George Frideric Handel 's (1685 – 1759) crowning musical achievement, Messiah, was first performed in 1742 in Dublin. The timing could not have been better for the composer. Handel's fortunes in London were at their lowest ebb. Several of his recent operas had failed there and he was said to be "finished as a composer" and a broken man under threat of being sent to debtors' prison. Working almost non-stop, the entire masterpiece was completed in twenty-five days and nights. What makes this particular oratorio so popular lies in Handel's understanding of the text and his genius in creating musical images that match the text. The audience is introduced to dramatic silences, stirring contrasts in mood, elegant melodies, varied movement and range, and the interweaving of melodic and harmonic lines by orchestra, chorus and soloists.
Selections being performed from Messiah include the breathtaking Overture, and arias such as "Comfort ye my people," "Every valley shall be exalted," "Behold, a virgin shall conceive" and "O thou that tallest good tidings to Zion." Featured soloists are Sophie Amelkin, Heather Bobeck, Cameron Jackson, Whitney Lanier and Matthew Talley. Among the memorable choruses being performed are "And the glory of the Lord," "For unto us a child is born," "Glory to God In the highest," and that most stirring chorus of all, the glorious "Hallelujah!"
Leopold Mozart (1719-1787) distinguished himself as a violin teacher but also devoted an inordinate amount of time guiding the musical path of his unpredictable son Wolfgang. The consequence of this was to miss out on his own advancement to higher court and career status. Leopold was fond of humor and musical jokes and utilized percussive instruments — bells, rattle, whip and triangle — in his own compositions to achieve naturalistic sounds. His Sleigh Ride from 1755 musically depicts a trip to a ball on a horse-drawn sleigh. The titles of the movements describe the hustle and bustle of trip preparations, the sleigh ride itself, shivering passengers, a minuet which begins the ball, and the ride home in the sleigh.
English composer John Rutter (1945-) is renowned throughout the world for his original choral music and unusual arrangements of Christmas carols and anthems. His compositions also include a Gloria, a Magnificat, a Requiem, and an opera for young people called Bang! A London Evening Standard review in 2005 summons up his style: "for the infectiousness of his melodic invention and consummate craftsmanship, Rutter has few peers."
Dr. Steven Errante will present a concert preview for 20 minutes on Saturday evening only starting at 7:00 p.m. just prior to the concert, providing background about the composers and discussion of some pre-recorded highlights of the music to be played. Program notes for the concert are available at www.wilmingtonsymphony.org .
For tickets call Kenan Auditorium Ticket Office at 962-3500 or 1-800-732-3643 weekdays from 12 noon to 6 p.m. Reserved seats are $25, $23, and just $6 for students and youth under 17.
Purchase tickets online below:
For Saturday Night at 8 p.m. | Home for the Holidays
For Sunday Afternoon at 4 p.m. | Family Holiday Matinee
