Sestina presents
21st century choral masterpieces
David Lang and works by
Sir James Macmillan Jan SandstrÜm Philip Moore Roderick Williams 8th September 2017 St. Ann’s Church, Dublin 9th September 2017 Ulster Museum, Belfast
Supported by
“ What drew me to The Little Match Girl is that the strength of the story lies not in its plot but in the fact that all its parts—the horror and the beauty—are constantly suffused with their opposites.” David Lang
Cover photo by Ben McKee
It is hard to believe Sestina is so young: loosely created in 2011; formalised in 2013; and here we are, barely four years later, an established, renowned ensemble. Sestinas are wonderful young musicians; from its first members, now serious young professionals, to the young ones still in school and college. Tonight, under our formidable Director of Music, Mark Chambers, we offer another step in Sestina’s growth: a contemporary programme of choral masterpieces to caress the ears! James Kelley Chairman
My thanks, first and foremost to Mark and Oonagh Allport of Exitex Ltd, our sponsors and our rock of support from those first days in September 2011; without them, the group would not have left the ground. Grateful thanks also to The Friends of Sestina, to Ciaran Scullion at Arts Council NI for his sound advice and guidance and to the ACNI for its past funding and support this season for Sestina’s work. In the coming months, Sestina encourages young musicians in a new venture, our Exitex Next Generation Programme, for which thanks to the staff at Arts & Business NI. Last, but by no means least, our deep gratitude to all at Ulster Museum for their constant welcome during our mentoring sessions; Sestina is indeed blest in its friends. So much achieved in so little time; thank you for supporting Sestina in our amazing journey and may we continue together for many years to come!! James Kelley, Chairman
“ Music… will help dissolve your perplexities and purify your character and sensibilities, and in time of care and sorrow, will keep a fountain of joy alive in you.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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Mark Chambers Musical Director
No art is created in a vacuum. Whether the influence is a poem, text or a piece of music, conscious and subconscious connections to the work of other artists are inevitable. Tonight’s programme reflects upon this idea in the most fundamental way, with each work having a direct connection to the past. More specifically, in each of the pieces, we can read the influence of early music, whether this is in the form of a particular piece, text, or musical structure. It is surely fitting that this new departure for Sestina – our first programme of contemporary repertoire – draws its inspiration from what has been our core repertoire until now. With this new departure comes a fresh approach to rehearsal, and each of the works in tonight’s programme has presented its own unique challenges, from singing and accompanying solos to the fine and delicate singing required for the minimalist masterpiece, The Little Match Girl Passion. Sestina’s aim has always been to develop young singers to their fullest potential, and by exploring this repertoire and the new challenges it presents, we are helping them to become versatile professionals in their singing careers. Our opening music is based upon the carol tune Es ist ein Ros entsprungen. The tune set here appears in print in 1599 in the Speyer Hymnal, and we present three versions in various forms. The simple canon by Melchior Vulpius is followed by the familiar harmonisation by Michael Praetorius, which is then developed further by Swedish composer Jan Sandström. Sandström places the hymn tune in slow motion within an eight-part a cappella setting: Choir I singing Praetorius in four solo parts, and Choir II in eight parts in hummed accompaniment.
Three prayers of Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Philip Moore takes texts by the Lutheran pastor, theologian, and active critic of the Nazi regime, Dietrich Bonhoeffer (19061945). Bonhoeffer was arrested and executed at the Flossian concentration camp during the last month of the war, just two weeks before the camp was liberated by the Allies. The texts for this work are taken from his collection Letters and Papers from Prison, which was published after his death in 1954.
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The first piece, Morning Prayers, features an alto soloist (Laura Lamph) calling to the Lord for help. Moore then introduces a ‘call and response’ feature between the men’s voices and the full choir: ‘In me there is darkness, but with Thee there is light’. In the second piece, Prayers in times of distress, we hear a more desperate voice pleading to God to give comfort in this time of turmoil. This is contrasted by a more reflective middle section as the poet pleads for intercession for his ‘lov’d ones’. Moore uses the interval of an augmented fourth, once known as the ‘Devil’s interval’, to enhance the feeling of a disturbed and troubled mind. The final piece of the set is based on the melody of one of Bonhoeffer’s favourite hymns, the Advent chorale Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland. Beginning as a fugue in flowing 5/4 metre, the individual strands finally come together in a quietly harmonized chorale: ‘Into thy hands I commend my loved ones’. The legendary setting of the Miserere text by Allegri is the starting point of inspiration for Macmillan’s companion piece, and although echoes of the plainchant of the Allegri are clear within the piece, Macmillan brings his unique voice to this affecting text. Opening with a chorale-like theme in the men’s voices, the upper voices join (with an expression mark of ‘Keening, crying’) weaving interlocking lines above the accompanying lower voices. The choir join together for the text ‘Ecce enim in iniquitatibus conceptus sum (Behold I was shapen in wickedness)’ as if the words are etched into monumental stone. At the next change in texture, we hear the first echoes of the Allegri setting, using the fauxbordon chant in free rhythm alternating lower and upper voices as before. Macmillan then reintroduces the opening theme, but scored for altos and tenors, falling into a unison soprano melody which is interrupted once again by the full choir with the words ‘Libera me domine (Deliver me Lord)’. This then falls into another section of the chant-like music, using solo voices rising above the textures one by one: tenor, bass, soprano, alto. The final section uses an old Scottish tune (published previously by Macmillan as simply Scot’s Song) providing a rousing and moving climax to the work.
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We continue with another pair of works which share a text, with William Byrd’s original Ave Verum Corpus followed by a setting of the same text by Roderick Williams. Williams himself acknowledges the huge influence of the earlier work, writing, “William Byrd’s Ave Verum Corpus is a piece that I have known since my days as a treble chorister and I grew up in awe of its carefully measured harmony and effortless counterpoint. Like any choral singer, I have my favourite moments within the piece - the scrunching false relations, the question and answer exclamations, the mournful coda - and so I sought to write a piece that would focus specifically on these highlights and expand upon them. Its composition is an act of homage to a masterful composer.” To close the first half we perform The Gallant Weaver. Setting a poem by Robert Burns, Macmillan uses three soprano voices in canon to create an echo effect above held chords in the lower voices – as if one voice is singing to her lover in the mountains beyond, and the voice travels back to her from beyond the hills. About his minimalist masterpiece The Little Match Girl Passion, David Lang simply writes, ‘I wanted to tell a story.’ It is, of course, the story written by Hans Christian Anderson, but Lang also cleverly incorporates the text and format of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, exploiting the dramatic potential of the Passion story. He writes, “The most interesting thing about how the Passion story is told is that it can include texts other than the story itself. These texts are the reactions of the crowd, penitential thoughts, statements of general sorrow, shock, or remorse. These are devotional guideposts, the markers for our own responses to the story, and they have the effect of making the audience more than spectators to the sorrowful events onstage. [...] The Passion format— the telling of a story while simultaneously commenting upon it—has the effect of placing us in the middle of the action, and it gives the narrative a powerful inevitability.”
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Musically, Lang creates a space in which we have time to reflect on either the sound world he creates or the story he is telling. He is neither directive nor instructive, but allows the listener to take from his work their own emotional response. The challenge for the musician is to be the conduit to that simplicity, both vocally and emotionally, without seeming to be disengaged from the text. The genius, in my opinion, is that David Lang manages to echo the emotional power of the St Matthew Passion (especially with the repeated “Eli” figure in movement 11) and ties in the simplest and most tragic of folk tales in a devastatingly direct way. To have the the last words of the final chorus of the St Matthew Passion – ‘Ruhe sanfte, sanfte Ruh (Rest gently (soft), gently rest)’ – echoing in our ears as the Little Match Girl lies in the snow brings both stories together in a profoundly moving way. Allow the music to work its haunting magic on you. Mark Chambers, Musical Director
Mark Chambers
Since leaving the Royal Northern College of Music in 1992, Mark Chambers has enjoyed a varied career both as a soloist and ensemble singer. He has performed opera at the Royal Opera House, The Globe Theatre, Sansoucci Palace, Potsdam, Beijing, Jerusalem and New York. As an ensemble singer Mark has performed with Tenebrae, The Monteverdi Choir, The Gabrieli Consort, Gallicantus, Theatre of Voices and Alamire. In the commercial world, Mark provided the Voice of the Ood for the BBC Dr Who series, and has appeared on soundtracks to many movies. Mark currently lives in Buncrana, Co. Donegal and combines his singing career with teaching voice at the University of Birmingham, and directing Sestina's musical development.
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Es ist ein Ros entsprungen, aus einer Wurzel zart, wie uns die Alten sungen, von Jesse war die Art Und hat ein Blümlein bracht mitten im kalten Winter, wohl zu der halben Nacht.
A rose has sprung up, from a tender root. As the old ones sang to us, Its lineage was from Jesse. And it has brought forth a floweret In the middle of the cold winter Well at half the night.
Das Röslein, das ich meine, davon Isaias sagt, ist Maria die reine die uns das Blümlein bracht. Aus Gottes ew'gem Rat hat sie ein Kind geboren Welches uns selig macht.
The rosebud that I mean, Of which Isaiah told Is Mary, the pure, Who brought us the floweret. At God’s immortal word, She has borne a child Who makes us blessed.
Das Blümelein, so kleine, das duftet uns so süß, mit seinem hellen Scheine vertreibt's die Finsternis. Wahr Mensch und wahrer Gott, hilft uns aus allem Leide, rettet von Sünd und Tod.
The floweret, so small That smells so sweet to us With its clear light Dispels the darkness. True man and true God! He helps us from all trouble, Saves us from sin and death.
“ Where words fail, music speaks.” Hans Christian Andersen
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Morning Prayers O God, early in the morning do I cry unto thee, Help me to pray, and to think only of thee. I cannot pray alone. In me there is darkness, But with Thee there is light. I am lonely, But Thou leavest me not. I am feeble in heart, But Thou leavest me not. I am restless, but with Thee there is peace. In me there is bitterness, But with Thee there is patience; Thy ways are past understanding, But Thou knowest the way for me. O heav’nly Father I praise and thank Thee for the peace of the night. I praise and thank Thee for this new day. I praise and thank Thee for all Thy goodness and faithfulness throughout my life. Thou hast granted me many blessings: now let me accept tribulation from Thy hand. Thou will not lay on me more than I can bear. Thou makest all things work together for good for Thy children. Lord Jesus Christ Thou wast poor and in misery, A captive and forsaken. As I am. Thou knowest all man’s distress; Thou abidest with me when all others have deserted me; Thou dost not forget me but seekest me. Thou willest that I should know Thee and turn to Thee. Lord I hear Thy call and follow Thee; Do thou help me.
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Chiefly do I remember all my loved ones, My fellow prisoners, and all who in this house perform their hard service. Lord have mercy, restore me to liberty, and enable me so to live now that I may answer before Thee and before the world. Lord, whatever this day may bring, Thy name be praised. 2
Prayers in Time of Distress O Lord God, great is the misery that hath come upon me; My cares would overwhelm me, I know not what to do. O God, be gracious unto me and help me. Grant me strength to bear what Thou dost send, and let not fear rule over me. As a loving Father take care of my lov’d ones My wife and children. O merciful God, forgive me all the sins I have committed against Thee, and against my fellow men. I trust in Thy grace, and commit my life wholly into Thy hands. Do with me as seemeth best to Thee, and as is best for me. Whether I live or die, I am with Thee, and Thou art my God. Lord I wait for Thy salvation, and for Thy Kingdom.
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Evening Prayers O Lord my God, I thank Thee that Thou hast brought this day to a close; I thank Thee that Thou hast giv’n me peace in body and in soul. O Lord my God, Thy hand has been over me and has protected and preserved me. Forgive my puny faith, the ill that I this day have done, and help me to forgive all who have wronged me. Grant me a quiet night’s sleep beneath Thy tender care. And defend me from all the temptations of darkness. (Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland) Into Thy hands I commend my loved ones, And all who dwell in this house; I commend my body and soul, O God, Thy Holy name be praised.
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Ave verum corpus, natum de Maria Virgine, vere passum, immolatum in cruce pro homine cuius latus perforatum fluxit aqua et sanguine: esto nobis praegustatum in mortis examine.
Hail, true Body, born of the Virgin Mary, having truly suffered, sacrificed on the cross for mankind, from whose pierced side water and blood flowed: Be for us a foretaste [of the Heavenly banquet] in the trial of death!
O Iesu dulcis, O Iesu pie, O Iesu, fili Mariae. Miserere mei. Amen
O sweet Jesus, O holy Jesus, O Jesus, son of Mary, have mercy on me. Amen.
“ Life is like a beautiful melody, only the lyrics are messed up.� Hans Christian Andersen
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CHAMBER CHOIR IRELAND
visions
CULTURE NIGHT Friday 22 September St Ann’s Church, Dawson Street, Dublin 2 6.30pm | Free but ticketed Conductor Nils Schweckendiek
ES IST EIN ROS ENTSPRUNGEN (1615) Melchior Vulpius (ca. 1570-1615) ES IST EIN ROS ENTSPRUNGEN (1609) Michael Praetorius (1571-1621) ES IST EIN ROS ENTSPRUNGEN (1990) Jan Sandström (b. 1954) THREE PRAYERS OF DIETRICH BONHOEFFER (2002) Phillip Moore (b. 1943) • Morning prayers • Prayers in Time of Distress • Evening prayers MISERERE (2009) Sir James Macmillan (b. 1959) AVE VERUM CORPUS (1605) William Byrd (ca. 1539/40-1623) AVE VERUM CORPUS RE-IMAGINED (2016) Roderick Williams (b. 1965) THE GALLANT WEAVER (1997) Sir James Macmillan (b. 1959) INTERVAL THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL PASSION (2008) David Lang (b. 1957)
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Miserere mei, Deus: secundum magnam misericordiam tuam. Et secundum multitudinem miserationum tuarum, dele iniquitatem meam. Amplius lava me ab iniquitate mea: et a peccato meo munda me. Quoniam iniquitatem meam ego cognosco: et peccatum meum contra me est semper. Tibi soli peccavi, et malum coram te feci: ut justificeris in sermonibus tuis, et vincas cum judicaris. Ecce enim in iniquitatibus conceptus sum: et in peccatis concepit me mater mea. Ecce enim veritatem dilexisti: incerta et occulta sapientiae tuae manifestasti mihi. Asperges me hyssopo, et mundabor: lavabis me, et super nivem dealbabor. Auditui meo dabis gaudium et laetitiam: et exsultabunt ossa humiliata. Averte faciem tuam a peccatis meis: et omnes iniquitates meas dele. Cor mundum crea in me, Deus: et spiritum rectum innova in visceribus meis. Ne projicias me a facie tua: et spiritum sanctum tuum ne auferas a me. Redde mihi laetitiam salutaris tui: et spiritu principali confirma me. Docebo iniquos vias tuas: et impii ad te convertentur. Libera me de sanguinibus, Deus, Deus salutis meae: et exsultabit lingua mea justitiam tuam. Domine, labia mea aperies: et os meum annuntiabit laudem tuam. Quoniam si voluisses sacrificium, dedissem utique: holocaustis non delectaberis. Sacrificium Deo spiritus contribulatus: cor contritum, et humiliatum, Deus, non despicies. Benigne fac, Domine, in bona voluntate tua Sion: ut aedificentur muri Ierusalem. Tunc acceptabis sacrificium justitiae, oblationes, et holocausta: tunc imponent super altare tuum vitulos.
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Have mercy upon me, O God, after Thy great goodness According to the multitude of Thy mercies do away mine offences. Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness: and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my faults: and my sin is ever before me. Against Thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that Thou mightest be justified in Thy saying, and clear when Thou art judged. Behold, I was shapen in wickedness: and in sin hath my mother conceived me. But lo, Thou requirest truth in the inward parts: and shalt make me to understand wisdom secretly. Thou shalt purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: Thou shalt wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Thou shalt make me hear of joy and gladness: that the bones which Thou hast broken may rejoice. Turn Thy face from my sins: and put out all my misdeeds. Make me a clean heart, O God: and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence: and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. O give me the comfort of Thy help again: and stablish me with Thy free Spirit. Then shall I teach Thy ways unto the wicked: and sinners shall be converted unto Thee. Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, Thou that art the God of my health: and my tongue shall sing of Thy righteousness. Thou shalt open my lips, O Lord: and my mouth shall shew Thy praise. For Thou desirest no sacrifice, else would I give it Thee: but Thou delightest not in burnt-offerings. The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit: a broken and contrite heart, O God, shalt Thou not despise. O be favourable and gracious unto Sion: build Thou the walls of Jerusalem. Then shalt Thou be pleased with the sacrifice of righteousness, with the burnt-offerings and oblations: then shall they offer young bullocks upon Thine altar.
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Where Cart rins rowin' to the sea, By mony a flower and spreading tree, There lives a lad, the lad for me, He is a gallant Weaver. O, I had wooers aught or nine, They gied me rings and ribbons fine; And I was fear'd my heart wad tine, And I gied it to the Weaver. My daddie sign'd my tocher-band, To gie the lad that has the land, But to my heart I'll add my hand, And give it to the Weaver. While birds rejoice in leafy bowers, While bees delight in opening flowers, While corn grows green in summer showers, I love my gallant Weaver.
“ Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.� Leonardo da Vinci, 1452
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Come, daughter Help me, daughter Help me cry Look, daughter Where, daughter What, daughter Who, daughter Why, daughter Patient daughter Guiltless daughter Gone
4 In an old apron she carried a number of matches, and had a bundle of them in her hands. No one had bought anything of her the whole day, nor had anyone given her even a penny. Shivering with cold and hunger, she crept along; poor little child, she looked the picture of misery. The snowflakes fell on her long, fair hair, which hung in curls on her shoulders, but she regarded them not.
5 2 It was terribly cold and nearly dark on the last evening of the old year, and the snow was falling fast. In the cold and the darkness, a poor little girl, with bare head and naked feet, roamed through the streets. It is true she had on a pair of slippers when she left home, but they were not of much use. They were very large, so large, indeed, that they had belonged to her mother, and the poor little creature had lost them in running across the street to avoid two carriages that were rolling along at a terrible rate. One of the slippers she could not find, and a boy seized upon the other and ran away with it, saying that he could use it as a cradle, when he had children of his own. So the little girl went on with her little naked feet, which were quite red and blue with the cold. So the little girl went on. So the little girl went on. 6 3
Dearest heart Dearest heart What did you do that was so wrong? What was so wrong? Dearest heart Dearest heart Why is your sentence so hard?
Penance and remorse Tear my sinful heart in two My teardrops May they fall like rain down upon your poor face May they fall down like rain My teardrops Here, daughter, here I am I should be bound as you were bound All that I deserve is What you have endured Penance and remorse. Tear my sinful heart in two My penance My remorse My penance Lights were shining from every window, and there was a savory smell of roast goose, for it was New-Year’s eve—yes, she remembered that. In a corner, between two houses, one of which projected beyond the other, she sank down and huddled herself together. She had drawn her little feet under her, but she could not keep off the cold; and she dared not go home, for she had sold no matches, and could not take home even a penny of money.
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Her father would certainly beat her; besides, it was almost as cold at home as here, for they had only the roof to cover them, through which the wind howled, although the largest holes had been stopped up with straw and rags.
Her little hands were almost frozen with the cold. Her little hands were almost frozen with the cold.
7 Patience. Patience! 8 Ah! perhaps a burning match might be some good, if she could draw it from the bundle and strike it against the wall, just to warm her fingers. She drew one out—“scratch!” how it sputtered as it burnt! It gave a warm, bright light, like a little candle, as she held her hand over it. It was really a wonderful light. It seemed to the little girl that she was sitting by a large iron stove, with polished brass feet and a brass ornament. How the fire burned! and seemed so beautifully warm that the child stretched out her feet as if to warm them, when, lo! the flame of the match went out, the stove vanished, and she had only the remains of the half-burnt match in her hand.
She rubbed another match on the wall. It burst into a flame, and where its light fell upon the wall it became as transparent as a veil, and she could see into the room. The table was covered with a snowy white table-cloth, on which stood a splendid dinner service, and a steaming roast goose, stuffed with apples and dried plums. And what was still more wonderful, the goose jumped down from the dish and waddled across the floor, with a knife and fork in its breast, to the little girl. Then the match went out, and there remained nothing but the thick, damp, cold wall before her.
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Have mercy, my God. Look here, my God. See my tears fall. See my tears fall. Have mercy, my God. Have mercy.
My eyes are crying. My heart is crying, my God. See my tears fall. See my tears fall, my God.
10 She lighted another match, and then she found herself sitting under a beautiful Christmas-tree. It was larger and more beautifully decorated than the one which she had seen through the glass door at the rich merchant’s. Thousands of tapers were burning upon the green branches, and colored pictures, like those she had seen in the showwindows, looked down upon it all. The little one stretched out her hand towards them, and the match went out.
The Christmas lights rose higher and higher, till they looked to her like the stars in the sky. Then she saw a star fall, leaving behind it a bright streak of fire. ‘Some one is dying,’ thought the little girl, for her old grandmother, the only one who had ever loved her, and who was now dead, had told her that when a star falls, a soul was going up to God.
11 From the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour she cried out:
Eli, Eli.
12 She again rubbed a match on the wall, and the light shone round her; in the brightness stood her old grandmother, clear and shining, yet mild and loving in her appearance. ‘Grandmother,’ cried the little one, ‘O take me with you; I know you will go away when the match burns out; you will vanish like the warm stove, the roast goose, and the large, glorious Christmas-tree.’ And she made haste to light the whole bundle of matches, for she wished to keep her grandmother there. And the matches glowed with a light that was brighter than the noon-day, and her grandmother had never appeared so large or so beautiful. She took the little girl in her arms, and they both flew upwards in brightness and joy far above the earth, where there was neither cold nor hunger nor pain, for they were with God. 13 When it is time for me to go Don’t go from me When it is time for me to leave Don’t leave me When it is time for me to die Stay with me When I am most scared Stay with me 14 In the dawn of morning there lay the poor little one, with pale cheeks and smiling mouth, leaning against the wall; she had been frozen to death on the last evening of the year; and the New-Year’s sun rose and shone upon a little corpse! The child still sat, in the stiffness of death, holding the matches in her hand, one bundle of which was burnt. ‘She tried to warm herself,’ said some. No one imagined what beautiful things she had seen, nor into what glory she had entered with her grandmother, on New-Year’s day.
15 We sit and cry And call to you Rest soft, daughter, rest soft Where is your grave, daughter? Where is your tomb? Where is your resting place? Rest soft, daughter, rest soft
Rest soft Rest soft Rest soft Rest soft
You closed your eyes. I closed my eyes. Rest soft
David Lang after H.C. Andersen, H.P. Paull, Picander, and St. Matthew
Sestina would like to thank the music department at Queen's University and Caitriona Frost for the loan of percussion instruments for tonight's performance.
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Sestina is a vocal ensemble based in Belfast made up of young singers who have been hand-picked at the beginning of their professional careers. It is Sestina’s aim to nurture and encourage their excellence through mentorship and collaboration with world-class professionals, and to present performances of the highest quality and energy. To date, the ensemble has performed all the major stage works of Henry Purcell (The Fairy Queen, King Arthur and Dido and Aeneas), and has collaborated with some of the finest specialist early music practitioners in the world: His Majesty’s Sagbutts and Cornetts, The Monteverdi String Band (in their 2015 production of Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610), and the Dutch violinist Johannes Leertouwer. In December 2016, the ensemble collaborated with Hillsborough Castle for the first time in A Georgian Family Christmas, providing informed period music for an immersive event taking place within the Castle, a project which culminated in a highly successful ‘Come and Sing’ Messiah event. In April 2018, Sestina will collaborate with the Irish Barqoue Orchestra for the first time for a production of Handel’s neglected masterpiece Theodora. Soprano Alto Tenor Bass
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Fiona Flynn, Rebecca Murphy, Sarah Rennix, Charlie Trepess Laura Lamph, Martha McLorinan, Beth Taylor, Joseph Zubier Graham Cooper, Peter Davoren, Caolan Keaveney, Matthew Keighley Malachy Frame, Brian McAlea, Richard Moore, Aaron O’Hare
Brian McAlea Baritone
Rebecca Murphy Soprano
In 2017-18, Sestina will expand its mentoring and development of young singers by introducing a new programme, ‘Exitex Next Generation’. In addition to workshops and education events that will be delivered throughout the year, Sestina will select a number of young artists each year who are either in the final stages of their studies or at the beginning of their professional singing careers, and give them the opportunity and support to deliver a solo recital. This year, we are pleased to announce that our Exitex Next Generation Artists are soprano Rebecca Murphy and baritone Brian McAlea. For details of all upcoming Next Generation events, please visit sestinamusic.com
We are grateful to our sponsors Exitex Ltd. and Arts and Business NI for supporting this project.
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Sestina is very grateful for the support of its Friends, listed below GOLD Anonymous (4) Colin Chambers Alan Clarke Gerard & Helen Doherty Hilary Headley Prof. Desmond Hunter Richard Jay & Fionnuala O'Boyle CBE LL Irene Kingston William Lynn Olga & Irwin Thompson
SILVER Anonymous (2) Dr Sarah McCleave Peter McPolin
For as little as £5 per month, you can support Sestina’s vital work in nurturing local talent, and developing the next generation of Sestina singers and musicians. For further information, please enquire at the box office or visit sestinamusic.com.
“ What better investment of a few pounds than to see a young musician with bags of talent being nurtured by Sestina and launched on a successful musical career? In years to come, you will know 'I was part of that!'” Alan Clarke (Friend of Sestina)
Stay in touch Tickets
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To stay informed about future events, join our mailing list at the box office, visit sestinamusic.com, or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Tickets for all events available online at sestinamusic.com
NORTHERN LIGHTS MINI-FEST 8/10/15 OCTOBER 2017 AN ANNUAL SHOWCASE OF OUTSTANDING CLASSICAL MUSICIANS FROM NORTHERN IRELAND
In association with the 2017 Belfast International Arts Festival
TICKETS Online at www.belfastmusicsociety.org or www.belfastinternationalartsfestival.com By phone Belfast International Arts Festival 028 9089 2707 In person Festival Box Office at the MAC, 10 Exchange Street West, Belfast BT1 2NJ (Opening hours: Mon – Sun 10am – 7pm)
Belfast
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Belfast Derry-Londonderry Dublin
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Exitex Next Generation Solo Recital Series I – Songs of Travel Music by Vaughan Williams, Stranford and others. Brian McAlea (baritone), Michael Pandya (piano) 7th October 2017, 1pm First Presbyterian Church, Rosemary Street ‘Sing with Sestina’ – Handel’s Messiah Join Sestina for a day long workshop culminating in an authentic performance of Handel’s Messiah. 16th December 2017, 7.30pm (Workshop 10-5pm) St. George’s Church, High Street Exitex Next Generation Solo Recital Series II – Love’s Languish Songs from Strauss Letzte Blätter, Op.10, and works by Purcell and Puccini. Rebecca Murphy (soprano), Donal McCrisken (piano) 17th February 2018, 1pm First Presbyterian Church, Rosemary Street Handel’s Theodora Sestina is joined by the Irish Baroque Orchestra and soprano Aoife Miskelly in the title role for performances of Handel’s neglected masterpiece, Theodora. 7th April 2018, 7.30pm, Clonard Monastery 8th April 2018, 7.30pm, The Glassworks 9th April 2018, 7.30pm, Christ Church Cathedral Exitex Next Generation – Audition technique workshop A workshop aimed at A level students intending to audition for music college and for choral scholarships, led by Sestina’s musical director, Mark Chambers and Sestina founder member Brian McAlea. It will cover general audition techniques and skills, and there will also be the opportunity for a limited number of participants to try out their audition pieces. 7th October, 3-6pm First Presbyterian Church, Rosemary Street