2012-2013 Season
PAST CONCERTS
CRSP Presents • A Renaissance Christmas: Music for Choir and Brass
December 2, 2012 @ 3 pm
This concert opened and closed with works for choir and brass, including Gabrieli’s triumphant Hodie Christus Natus Est. As one of its choral selections, CRSP performed a radiant gem of the Renaissance repertoire: Victoria’s O magnum mysterium. This was paired with a more modern interpretation by the American composer Morten Lauridsen; this gorgeous O magnum mysterium is one of the top-ten repertoire favourites of every choral conductor. The audience was regaled with Renaissance carols in German, French, and English.
The Foothills Brass brought a much-loved mix of excellent musicianship and good clean fun. The quintet performed everything from rafter-raising Christmas fanfares to (with the help of CRSP) some slightly silly takes on well-known carols. As a special treat, trumpeter Chris Morrison gave a short lecture-demonstration of Renaissance-era brass instruments. He was aided in this effort by the Calgary Crumhorn Band (formed especially for this concert!)
Added to this were some audience singalong carols accompanied by brass, which was a festive experience!
Jewish Music of the Renaissance
Featuring String Theory Music Collective
March 10, 2013 @ 7:30 pm
Temple B’nai Tikvah
CRSP presented some of the music of Salomone Rossi (c. 1570 – 1630), an Italian Jewish composer and violinist who played in Claudio Monteverdi’s orchestra in Mantua. Special musical guests were cantor Rebecca Levant and cellist Tom Mirhady.
The inspiration for this concert came when Jane Perry, Artistic Director, was introduced to the music of Salamone Rossi (1570-1630) by one of the choristers. Rossi was a Jewish violinist and composer who played in Monteverdi’s orchestra at the court of the Duke of Mantua. He wrote several liturgical songs in Hebrew, under the title Songs of Solomon. It is thought that, since the text he used is not actually from that Biblical book, the reference to Solomon was in fact to himself! The choir sung three pieces by Rossi: Adon Olam, Elohim Hashivenu, and Kaddish. While the liturgical texts may well be familiar, the settings are likely to be less so. Speaking of this new repertoire, Jane Perry exclaims, “I can’t help but wonder why we’ve never done it before because it is so beautiful!”
In addition to the selections by Rossi, the choir performed other music from the period by Palestrina (a setting of a text from the biblical Song of Solomon or Song of Songs). Modern works include a setting of another text from the Song of Solomon by Ola Gjeilo, and Psalm 150 by chorister Marcia Epstein. The program also featured Rebecca Levant, cantor, and Tom Mirhadi, cellist, who performed with the choir and as soloists. In particular, Tom played the Kol Nidrei by Max Bruch, and Rebecca offered sacred and secular cantorial pieces, including both modern melodies and those from the Italian Renaissance.
This was the first time in its history that the Renaissance Singers presented Jewish music of this period. Says Lorna Rowsell, one of the founding members of the choir, “This concert is an example of true ‘Renaissance’, that is, bringing to birth again the beautiful music and arts of the past which may have been forgotten.”
CRSP Presents • Music of Three Faiths
May 5, 2013 @ 7:30 pm
Scarboro United Church
The concept of religious pluralism is as relevant today as it was on the Iberian peninsula in 15th-century Spain, when communities of Christians, Jews and Muslims co-existed relatively peacefully with an attitude of “live and let live.”
Taking this as its starting point, CRSP presented a program that includes little-known Spanish Medieval and Renaissance music from the Christian tradition, along with some recent works. Guest dancers and instrumentalists, including oud player Mehdi Pouragha, offered creative expressions representing more modern Jewish and Muslim traditions.
As well, three invited guest speakers, each representing one of these three faiths, shared their respective thoughts on religious pluralism in Calgary today. We were delighted Mayor Naheed Nenshi accepted our invitation to be our honoured guest at this concert.
It is a happy coincidence that on May 5, 2013, many Canadian Christian communities marked Pluralism Sunday. This is just one example of many in which members of one faith reach out to meet and learn about their brothers and sisters in other faith communities. CRSP is proud to be contributing to this worthwhile discussion.
Marcia Epstein presented the pre-concert talk which featured information on the religious communities of 15th-century Spain and about the one thing they all had in common: hand-drawn miniatures of architecture, musical instruments and daily life.