|
News Release Sept. 18, 2006
|
 |
| Stephanie Wendt (click to enlarge image) |
Starting in October, the popular
Sunday classical music program on KBSU, "Sacred Classics" with Stephanie
Wendt expands to three full hours. The program will now be heard from 7-10 a.m.
each week. "Pipedreams" with Michael Barone, formerly heard at 7 a.m., will
continue to be heard each Sunday evening at 9 p.m. on KBSU.
There are ambitious plans for the program during its October debut as a
three-hour program on KBSU. In commemoration of Yom Kippur, the Oct. 1 program
will feature Ernest Bloch’s “Sacred Service (Avodath Hakodesh).” Dating from
1930 to 1933, Bloch based this composition on the sacred text of the American
Union Reform Prayer Book at San Francisco’s Temple Emmanuel. While definitions
of Jewish music tend to be complex, this piece is known as the most expansive of
Bloch’s Jewish works and is noted as being a landmark in the evolution of Jewish
music. After composing the work in a Swiss village high above Lake Lugano, Bloch
reflected, “I have now memorized entirely the whole service in Hebrew ... I know
its significance word by word ... It has become a ‘private affair’ between God
and me.” This performance features the UK’s leading mixed-voice Zemel Choir with
the London Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Geoffrey Simon.
Stephanie Wendt will bring a special presentation on Oct. 8 featuring the
esteemed Westminster Choir of Westminster College at Rider University. The choir
is acclaimed for its 80-year history and what The New York Times called its
“full-bodied, incisive singing.” This program honors the choir’s celebrated
conductor, Joseph Flummerfelt, who after 34 years will be passing the baton to
Joe Miller, and includes conversations with both as the legacy of one of the
foremost choirs is carried on.
Oct. 15 features the eloquently expressive “Hymnus Paradisi” by Herbert Howell.
Following the tragic death of his 9-year-old son Michael, Howell called this
work his “medical document,” helping him come to terms with his grief. This
modern masterpiece covers a full range of emotions — hope, defiance,
consolation, even ecstasy — but remains a moving expression of the anguish of
bereavement. This deeply personal work has been described as one of the most
strongly emotional English choral works of the 20th century. This performance
features the BBC Symphony Chorus and Orchestra under the direction of Richard
Hickox.
The Stabat Mater represents the kind of religious poetry that flourished in
Central Italy in late medieval times. Oct. 22 features the version written by
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi while at the Capuchin monastery in 1736. From a
uniquely feminine perspective, the Stabat Mater is based upon the prophecy of
Simeon that a sword was to pierce the heart of Christ’s mother, Mary (Luke
2:35). The piece expresses deep compassion as Mary stands and watches her son
suffer on the cross. This performance features soprano Gillian Fisher and
countertenor Michael Chance, accompanied by The King’s Consort under the
direction of Robert King.
The compositions of Guillaume Dufay stand at the watershed between the
strictness of the Middle Ages and the newfound freedom of the Renaissance. On
Sunday, Oct. 29, Stephanie Wendt will feature his four-voice Missa “Se la face
ay pale.” Based on the chanson of the same name, this masterpiece is one of the
most famous compositions in
Western music. The work is considered to be the first of Dufay’s four mature
cantus firmus masses. With its austere medieval treatment set against the more
liberating influence of the Renaissance, it set the stage for the complex masses
of the later 15th century. David Monrow leads the Early Music Consort of London
in this electric performance.
"Sacred Classics" is a production of the Classical Public Radio Network and
National Public Radio. The program highlights classical works from the sacred
repertoire.
Information on the Boise State Radio network, including KBSU-Arts and Cultural
Programming, Idaho Jazz Station and NPR News 91, is available at
http://radio.boisestate.edu.
-30-
Contacts: John Hess, General Manager, Boise State Radio, (208) 426-1984,
johnhess@boisestate.edu;
Jim East, Associate General Manager, Network Programming, (208) 947-5659,
jeast@boisestate.edu
Media Contact: Kathleen Craven, University Communications, (208)
426-3275, kraven@boisestate.edu
The Office of Communications and Marketing
-
Boise State University
1910 University Drive -
Boise Idaho 83725-1030
Located in Capitol Village, 2225 W. University Drive
208-426-1577
(fax)208-426-4001
email communications@boisestate.edu
Last reviewed on Wednesday, January 03, 2007
|
|