CHIAROSCURA: meditating on the cusp of light and darkness

by Scott Kovacs
(Seattle)

SEATTLE – The Esoterics opens its eighteenth season by reprising CHIAROSCURA, a concert celebrating light and darkness, good and evil, truth and falsehood, the known and the mysterious – opposite and yet interdependent forces in our lives. The repertoire of CHIAROSCURA features two motets by the South African composer John Joubert (Sleep canticle and Let there be light), the masterful Concerto for choir a cappella by Russian composer Alfred Schnittke, and a monument to choral virtuosity, Deutsche Motette, by German composer Richard Strauss. This concert series precedes the ensemble’s recording sessions of this same repertoire, as well as its upcoming invitation to perform at this year’s National Convention of the American Choral Directors Association in Chicago.

In Joubert’s Sleep canticle, entwined opposites emerge in verses by Norwich poet Sir Thomas Browne, in which sleep is portrayed as a midpoint between life and death, concluding with one line from the English mystic Julian of Norwich, “And all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.” Joubert’s Let there be light sets St Augustine’s prayer for clarity, wisdom, and virtue. Strauss’ Deutsche Motette, arguably the composer’s most well-known choral work, is rarely performed because of its sheer virtuosity. Scored for twenty parts that span over four octaves, Strauss set this poem by Friedrich Rückert in 1913, on a dare from the Berlin Radio Choir, “to write the most difficult piece possible.” Most of his motet in spent a raucous polyphonic fugue: “Oh show me, so I may rest in my dream, that this task I once began is now fulfilled, awaken me!” The centerpiece of the concert will be Alfred Schnittke’s Concerto for mixed choir, a setting of text from The book of sorrowful songs by another mystic, Gregory of Narek. The dramatic, 40-minute piece brings together the ancient and modern, evoking a reverence and solemnity that transports the listener to a distinctive, unquestionably Russian world of spirituality.

Please join The Esoterics for one of three performances:

Friday • 18 February 2011 • 8 pm • Seattle Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church •8900 35th Avenue NE

Saturday • 19 February 2011 • 8 pm • Tacoma Christ Episcopal Church •310 North K Street

Sunday • 20 February 2011 • 8 pm • West Seattle Holy Rosary Catholic Church •4152 42nd Ave SW

Ticket prices are $20 at the door, $18 in advance, and $15 for students, seniors, the un(der)employed, and the differently-abled. The ticket price for groups of five or more is $12 per person. Active singers of any choral group may attend for only $10.

Now in its eighteenth season with founding director Eric Banks,Esoterics has drawn national and international praise for presenting the many styles that comprise contemporary choral music. In 2001, 2003, 2006 and 2008, The Esoterics’ commitment to innovative concert repertoire was nationally recognized when ASCAP and Chorus America granted the ensemble its coveted Award for Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music. The ensemble was also honored to be selected as the only North American chorus to compete at the 2000 International Choral Festival in Cork, Ireland, the 2001 International Choral Festival in Tolosa, Spain, and the 2006 Andersén International Choir Competition in Helsinki, Finland, and is scheduled to sing at the 2011 American Choral Director’s Association Convention in Chicago.

If you have additional questions about CHIAROSCURA or The Esoterics, please contact Scott Kovacs.