Nachtmusik program from last night
By
David YangHere is a list of the music that was performed last night at St. Anna's Chapel
There are two approaches to designing an addition to an old building: match the original or do something completely different. The obvious approach of trying to seamlessly blend the new with the old can be challenging when the craftmanship doesn’t exist anymore. Sometimes it is better to agree that they don’t build things like they used to, and do something dissimilar but in the spirit of what existed before.
Composers are faced with a similar dilemma when arranging folk songs. Do you stick to the original or expand and even transform the entire feeling into something new. Early 20th century English composer Ralph Vaughan Willaims arranged traditional folk songs such as Loch Lomond into exquisitely harmonized versions for a cappella choir, taking the music out of pubs and country lanes into the hallowed halls of thousand-year-old churches.
Closer to home, Aaron Copland used the Shaker tune Simple Gifts as the core of his majestic orchestral suite, Appalachian Spring. He also created a more modest version for voice and piano (including four other songs). Violist John Largess subsequently expanded Copland’s piano part into a string quartet which we’ll be performing this summer with renowned soprano Lucy Shelton from the Metropolitan Opera. In addition to Simple Gifts, we’ll perform the soulful At the River, sweet lullaby All the Pretty Little Horses, and the leg-slapping Ching-a-Ring-Chaw.
David Yang, Artistic Director
By
David YangHere is a list of the music that was performed last night at St. Anna's Chapel
By
David YangIs it weird that the piece I’m most excited about this summer is only three minutes long?
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