Program Notes | December 3, 2011 | Holiday Concert
Notes researched & written by Joan Olsson
J. S. BACH 1985-1750
Christmas Oratorio 1730s: Sinfonia
This oratorio with its festive arias, choruses, and recitatives is similar to an opera without staging or costumes. In the mid to late 1730s, the composer decided to preserve what he viewed as his best cantatas by rearranging them into three oratorios which contained festive arias, choruses, and recitatives.
The Christmas Oratorio was divided into six parts to be performed over the 13 days of Christmas beginning December 15 and ending January 6th. Part 2 for the Second Christmas Day begins with tonight’s performance of Sinfonia in the meter of a siciliano, a Baroque dance. The flutes pair with a “halo of strings’ to personify lovely angels, while oboes represent humble shepherds. The two sets of instruments eventually join together to portray divine forces entering and occupying our mortal realm.
SAMUEL BARBER 1910 – 1981
Chorale Prelude (1969) on Silent Night
The orchestral work, Die Natoli, was commissioned in 1954 by the Serge Kousevitsky Foundation, and took Barber six years for the work to come to fruition. Barber often collaborated with Gian Carlo Menotti who he lived with for 40 years.
The piece is comprised of themes stemming from Christmas carols, including his personal favorite, Silent Night. Barber’s music represents a coming-together of 20th century tonal harmonies with 19th century structural form.
GIAN CARLO MENOTTI 1911 – 2007
Amahl and the Night Visitors 1951
Inspired by the famous Bosch painting, Adoration of the Magi, Menotti wrote his one act opera which was commissioned by NBC. It was telecast on December 1951 for an audience of approximately 5 million viewers, and has been a Christmas season “staple” since then.
A crippled shepherd, Amahl, living with his mother near a shepherds’ field, welcomes the Three Kings into their home for a short rest before continuing on their long journey. They have come to see a special newborn in nearby Bethlehem. “It is this special child”, they claim, “who will create a kingdom greater than the gold we kings bear.” Hearing of the gold, the desperately poor mother steals some of it, but loaded with guilt, she returns it. As his gift to the baby, Amahl offers his only possession, his crutch. Suddenly his mobility is restored, and he joins the Kings on a pilgrimage to the manger.
GOSPEL MUSIC
Gospel music is written to express either personal, spiritual, or a communal belief regarding Christian life. The creation, performance, significance, and even definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. It is performed and composed for many purposes including: aesthetic pleasure, religious or ceremonial purposes, and as an entertainment product for the marketplace. However, the most prevalent themes of gospel music are praise, worship, and/or thanks to God, Christ, or the Holy Spirit. Generally, the music is characterized by dominant vocals which are usually enhanced by a strong use of harmonic support.
Several forms of gospel music utilize choirs, piano and/or organ, drums, bass and/or electric guitar. In contrast to standard hymns, the gospel song is expected to have a refrain and often a more syncopated rhythm.
One can find the roots of gospel music throughout the academic discipline of ethno-musicology, going back to Europe and Africa, and also through a study of the 2,000 year history of church music and rural folk music. However, for practical purposes, gospel music, as we mostly know it today, can be traced to the l8th century. Coming out of an oral tradition, gospel music typically utilizes a great deal of repetition, as a carry-over from the time when many post-Reconstruction blacks and whites were unable to read.