IN THEIR MEMORY
Concert a tribute to those who have died during the pandemic
As the pandemic rages on, the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John will host “Music for the Soul” on Saturday, Nov. 6.
The musicians will perform in memory of all who have died during the pandemic. The concert marks the first time they have performed since February of 2020.
The 40-member cathedral choir will sing music by contemporary and classical composers with soloists Hayden Eberhart (soprano,) Sarah Nickerson (alto), tenor Jamie Flora and baritone Edmund Connolly. A orchestra of eight musicians led by violinist Stephen Redfield will accompany the singers.
The concert will open with the New Mexico premiere of “String Quartet No. 5 in G minor” by Joseph Boulogne, Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges.
“I chose it in part because he was the most important interpreter of African descent in European classical music,” conductor/pianist Maxine Thévenot said. “He was a contemporary of Mozart. He led the premieres of some of Joseph Haydn’s greatest symphonies.”
Next on the program comes Joseph Martin Kraus, who wrote his “Requiem” when he was 19 years old.
“It was designed to be 18th century utility music,” Thévenot said, “music for its own sake. We definitely know it was performed at the funeral of Emperor Josef II in 1790.”
Kraus was another Mozart contemporary.
“Nunc Dimittis” composer Geoffrey Burgon also wrote the theme music for the “Doctor Who” TV series and the music for Monty Python’s “Life of Brian.” The title means “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace.”
The musicians also will perform the “Kaddish” from Hebrew melodies by Maurice Ravel.
“They say in the ‘Kaddish’ that despite loss they still praise their God,” Thévenot said. Flora, who teaches voice and opera at the University of New Mexico, will solo.
Ernest Bloch’s “Prayer” from “Three Jewish Pieces” closes the concert with a New Mexico connection.
“He wrote this piece (in 1924) in New Mexico in a six-week time frame from the East Coast when he came to rest and relax,” Thévenot said.
The concert specifically honors three Friends of Cathedral Music; donors Dianne Brehmer Bailey, Tanner O. Gay and Carol Tucker Trelease.
“People will be invited to come up and light a candle,” Thévenot said.