This week we honor Dads with some of the most celebratory paternal works in the repertoire. Dads deserve some regalia every now and then, and we've got it for you in this episode. Happy Father's Day, choristers!
To start off the show, we play movements from Handel’s, Solomon, an oratorio of pageantry and pomp. The Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists led by John Eliot Gardiner sing with choruses of celebration and reflection. There are ecstatic calls from the chorus, "Live for Ever, Mighty Solomon!"
We move from the Old Testament story of King Solomon to his father, King David. Arthur Honegger’s King David is considered one of the greatest oratorios of the 20th century, and we listen to its original orchestration in Dance before the Ark. We hear a performance by the Choer Regional Vittoria d’Ile de France, the Orchestre de la Cite, under the direction of Michel Piquemal.
We also hear a movement from Gustav Mahler's Eighth Symphony: Veni, Creator Spiritus in a version led by Leif Segerstam, and then move to Beethoven's glorious Ninth Symphony. We hear the "Ode to Joy" in a truly infectious performance led by Roger Norrington with the Schutz Choir of London, and the London Classical Players.
Happy Father's Day, choristers!
Playlist:
Handel/Solomon/Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardner
Your harps and cymbals
With pious heart
From the censer
Honegger/King David/Choer Regional Vittoria d’Ile de France, Orchestre de la Cite, Michel Piquemal
Dance before the Ark
Mahler/Symphony No. 8/The Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir, Leif Segerstam
Veni, Creator Spiritus
Beethoven/Symphonies 1-9/ The Schutz Choir of London,The London Classical Players, Roger Norrington
Presto-Allegro
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About The Choral Mix with Kent Tritle
The Choral Mix with Kent Tritle explores the vibrant and transformative world of choral music in New York and beyond.
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Comments [3]
It was a real treat to hear selections from "Solomon!" I have sung about a dozen Handel oratorios over the years, & that was one of my favorites! I remember especially loving one of its choruses, "Music, spread thy voice around."
I also think that selections from "Jephtha" might have been a fitting addition to the Father's Day theme, in light of the story line re him & his daughter. And speaking of "Jephtha," I absolutely adored the gorgeous mezzo aria, "In gentle murmurs will I mourn," as sung in our performance by the inimitable and ravishing Jan de Gaetani.
I really like this performance of the Ninth. As a professional choral singer, I had to sing the Ode to Joy many times and grew to dislike it because it often seemed more like hysteria than joy. The lighter touch in this performance is less like "a fox got in the chicken coop!" and would have been much easier on the singers, too.
The Beethoven is magnificently familiar, of course, but the Honegger and the Mahler are a revelation. Orgiastic indeed! Once again I end the hour slightly more musically educated than when I started it.
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