A glimpse into the Reformation
With 2017 being the quincentenary of the Reformation, you may have been wondering where all the Reformation music is.
Well, wonder no further. This Sunday at 3 p.m. in Melrose United, 86 Homewood Ave., Capella Intima, the house vocal quartet of tenor Bud Roach’s Hammer Baroque series, presents “Treasures of the Reformation” spotlighting the music of German evangelical composers.
This program originated during Lent when Roach was contacted by the organizers of Reformation Intersections who eventually commissioned CI to present an evening of sacred music from the Reformation as part of their celebratory three-part concert series held in a trinity of Lutheran Church-Canada affiliated churches in Kitchener-Waterloo. With CI’s RI concert slated for Sept. 23 in Kitchener, Roach see-sawed on whether to present the same concert on his HB series in Hamilton.
“At first I thought it might be a little too overtly religious because there will be some readings of some of the teachings of (Martin) Luther,” said Roach from his Hamilton home. “It’s becoming a little less about that and more about a glimpse into the Reformation and the music of the Reformation. And I thought, ‘Oh, I can put that on a Hammer Baroque series, no problem.’”
Roach asked the RI organizers to come up with four distinct themes or pillars around which he could program the concert. And they duly came up with the following: 1) Becoming Children of God, 2) Nourished by the Word, 3) Delivering the Message Faithfully, and 4) Departing in Peace.
Within those four themes, Roach and his CI colleagues, soprano Sheila Dietrich, alto Jennifer Enns Modolo, and bass David Roth, will present readings culled from Luther’s writings as well as several vocal works. Each theme will conclude with a 16th century Lutheran hymn in English translation such as “Christ Our Lord to the Jordan Came,” “Isaiah, Mighty Seer” or “Lord Jesus Christ, with Us Abide.” Fittingly for a concert of Reformation music, these will be sung by the audience-cum-congregation.
Now, don’t expect to hear any propagandistic or polemical songs with scurrilous invective or mocking, insulting, anti-clerical (read: anti-Roman Catholic) lyrics, the kind that sprang up in the early Reformation like mushrooms overnight. However, do expect to hear CI sing a number of lesser known gems from the 17th century such as Samuel Scheidt’s “Deutsches Magnificat” (German Magnificat), Johann Hermann Schein’s setting of “Aus tiefer Noth” (Out of the Depths), and Johann Rosenmueller’s “Die Gnade unsers Herren Jesu Christi” (The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ). The fourth theme will conclude with a motet on Luther’s famous hymn, “Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott” (A Mighty Fortress is Our God), composed by Georg Philipp Telemann for Hamburg’s bicentennial celebrations of the Augsburg Confession in 1730. Following that, the audience will let loose, likely lustily, on the hymn itself.
Joel Vanderzee, Dietrich’s husband, and the builder of Roach’s portative organ which was unveiled at an HB concert earlier this year, will accompany at said portative.
“We’re not going to convert anyone on this program,” said Roach. “What I’m trying to do is come up with a compelling musical concert where both the readings and the music complement each other.”
Saturday, Sept. 23, at 2 p.m., the Hamilton Suzuki School of Music, 2 King St. W., celebrates its 50th anniversary with an open house. Admission: all ages free.
On Sunday, Sept. 24, at 7 p.m. in the Staircase Theatre, 27 Dundurn St. N., classical guitarist Emma Rush holds her CD release concert for “Canadiana,” a collection of Floyd Turner’s arrangements of songs by Joni Mitchell, Gordon Lightfoot, and Stan Rogers as well as “Appalachian Colours,” a work written for her by William Beauvais. The disc was recorded in Central Presbyterian, produced and engineered by Kirk Starkey, and supported in part by Hamilton’s City Enrichment Fund. Tickets: $20, for an extra $5 you’ll receive the “Canadiana” CD. Call 905-8074792.