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In The Beginning (Copland)
''In the Beginning'' is a 1947 choral work by Aaron Copland to a text from the Book of Genesis chapter 1:1 to 2:7. The 15'–20' minute long work is for mixed four-part chorus a capella and soprano or mezzo-soprano solo. The work is evocative of the Hebrew '' davening'' and shows the influence of polytonality with references to jazz and blues. ''In the Beginning'' was composed for Harvard University's Symposium on Music Criticism in May 1947. The premiere was performed by the Collegiate Chorale at the Harvard Memorial Church, Cambridge on 2 May of that year, conducted by Robert Shaw. Recordings *Martha Lipton (mezzo-soprano) ''In the Beginning'' Leonard Bernstein Sony *Ameral Gunson (mezzo-soprano) King's College Choir of Cambridge Stephen Cleobury, EMI 1991 (reissued by Warner on ''Copland: Billy the Kid, Rodeo & In the Beginning'' Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra Leonard Slatkin) *Catherine Denley, on ''American Choral Music''. with Barber: Agnus Dei, Bernstein: Chichester Psalms, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Composers". The open, slowly changing harmonies in much of his music are typical of what many people consider to be the sound of American music, evoking the vast American landscape and pioneer spirit. He is best known for the works he wrote in the 1930s and 1940s in a deliberately accessible style often referred to as "populist" and which the composer labeled his "vernacular" style. Works in this vein include the ballets ''Appalachian Spring'', ''Billy the Kid'' and ''Rodeo'', his ''Fanfare for the Common Man'' and Third Symphony. In addition to his ballets and orchestral works, he produced music in many other genres, including chamber music, vocal works, opera and film scores. After some initial studies with composer Rubin Goldmark, Copland ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Shaw (conductor)
Robert Lawson Shaw (30 April 191625 January 1999) was an American conductor most famous for his work with his namesake Chorale, with the Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. He was known for drawing public attention to choral music through his wide-ranging influence and mentoring of younger conductors, the high standard of his recordings, his support for racial integration in his choruses, and his support for modern music, winning many awards throughout his career. Oestreich, James R. (26 January 1999).‘Robert Shaw, Choral and Orchestral Leader, Is Dead at 82‘ ''The New York Times''. Biography Early life Shaw was born in Red Bluff, California. His father, Rev. Shirley R. Shaw, was a minister, and his mother was a concert singer. He had four siblings, one of whom was singer Hollace Shaw. Shaw attended Eagle Rock High School in the early 1930s where he sang in the choirs directed by Howard Swan; a man who would later have a lengthy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
D'Anna Fortunato
D'Anna Fortunato (born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on February 21, 1945) is an American mezzo-soprano. She has long been an admired favorite on the American orchestral-concert scene, while establishing herself as a respected operatic artist as well. Of her New York City Opera debut in Handel's ''Alcina'', the New Yorker called her "a Handelian of crisp accomplishment". She was brought up in Charleston, S.C., and studied primarily at the New England Conservatory of Music, where she is now a professor of voice. Roles Fortunato has gone on to create major roles in local premiere performances of Handel's operas in such venues as Merkin Hall, Carnegie Hall, New York's Town Hall, Emmanuel Music, and Monadnock Music, while singing major roles in eight premiere Handel recordings on CD for Albany, Newport Classic, and Vox. Other major roles have been created with companies such as Glimmerglass (Beatrice in Berlioz' '' Beatrice and Benedict'')ʌ, Kentucky Opera (artist-in-residence, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Susanne Mentzer
Susanne Mentzer (born January 21, 1957) is an American operatic mezzo-soprano. She is best known for singing trouser roles, such as Cherubino in Mozart's ''Le nozze di Figaro'', Idamante in Mozart's ''Idomeneo'', Octavian in Richard Strauss' ''Der Rosenkavalier'' and the composer in Strauss' ''Ariadne auf Naxos'', as well as other music of Mozart, Strauss, Rossini, Berlioz and Mahler. She created the role of the mother of Yueyang in Tan Dun's opera ''The First Emperor'' at the Metropolitan Opera on December 21, 2006. She has also premiered works by Libby Larsen, Daniel Brewbaker and Carlisle Floyd. Biography Mentzer was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and raised in Maryland and New Mexico. She was first introduced to opera as a teenager, when she worked as an usher at the Santa Fe Opera. She studied music therapy at the University of the Pacific and received her bachelor's and master's degrees at the Juilliard School. She later participated in the Houston Grand Opera Studio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dunedin Consort
Dunedin Consort is Scotland's leading baroque ensemble based in Edinburgh, Scotland, recognised for its vivid and insightful performances and recordings. Formed in 1995 and named after Din Eidyn, the ancient Brittonic Celtic name of Edinburgh Castle, Dunedin Consort’s ambition is to make early music newly relevant to the present day. Performing on period instruments, with choruses often numbering just one to a part, the group presents concerts that are both intimate and invigorating, often aiming to recreate the music as it was originally intended. Under the direction of John Butt, this has seen the ensemble earn two coveted Gramophone Awards – for the 2007 recording of Handel’s ''Messiah'' and the 2014 recording of Mozart’s ''Requiem'' – and a Grammy nomination. In 2018 it was shortlisted for a Royal Philharmonic Society Award in the Ensemble category. Dunedin Consort performs regularly at major festivals and venues across the UK, giving its BBC Proms debut in 2017 wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen Cleobury
Sir Stephen John Cleobury ( ; 31 December 1948 – 22 November 2019)Sir Stephen Cleobury: Former King's College choir conductor dies aged 70 23 November 2019 was an English and . He worked with the |
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first American conductor to receive international acclaim. According to music critic Donal Henahan, he was "one of the most prodigiously talented and successful musicians in American history". Bernstein was the recipient of many honors, including seven Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, sixteen Grammy Awards including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Kennedy Center Honors, Kennedy Center Honor. As a composer he wrote in many genres, including symphonic and orchestral music, ballet, film and theatre music, choral works, opera, chamber music and works for the piano. His best-known work is the Broadway theatre, Broadway musical ''West Side Story'', which continues to be regularly performed worldwide, and has been adapted into two (West Side Story (1961 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martha Lipton
Martha Lipton (April 6, 1913 – November 28, 2006) was an American operatic mezzo-soprano. Biography Lipton was born in New York City. She won a scholarship to the Juilliard School and made her debut as Pauline in Tchaikovsky's opera '' The Queen of Spades'' for the New Opera Company in Manhattan in 1941. After making her first appearance with the New York City Opera in 1944 (their first season, and returned in 1958 and 1961), she went on to appear 401 times at the Metropolitan Opera. Her most frequent assignments at the Met were as Annina in ''Der Rosenkavalier'' and Emilia in ''Otello''. She also performed as Mrs. Sedley in ''Peter Grimes'' in 1948, Mother Goose in ''The Rake's Progress'', in 1953, and Madame Larina in the 1957 Peter Brook staging of ''Eugene Onegin''. Her final appearance at the Met was as the Innkeeper in ''Boris Godunov'' in 1961. Lipton also sang in Europe. She sang the title role in Benjamin Britten's ''The Rape of Lucretia'' for the English Opera Group i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harvard Memorial Church
The Memorial Church of Harvard University is a building on the campus of Harvard University. It is an inter-denominational Protestant church. History Predecessors The first distinct building for worship at Harvard University was Holden Chapel, built in 1744. The college soon outgrew the building, which was replaced by a chapel inside Harvard Hall in 1766, then a chapel in University Hall in 1814, and finally by Appleton Chapel, a building dedicated solely to worship sited where Memorial Church now stands. Standing for 73 years before the current building, Appleton Chapel was home to religious life at Harvard until 1932. Its namesake is preserved inside Memorial Church, as the Appleton Chapel portion of the main building houses the daily service of Morning Prayer. When Appleton Chapel was built in 1858 thanks to the generosity of Samuel Appleton, Morning Prayer attendance was compulsory. When attendance became voluntary in 1886, the college was left with a building that had beco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Book Of Genesis
The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning"). Genesis is an account of the creation of the world, the early history of humanity, and of Israel's ancestors and the origins of the Jewish people. Tradition credits Moses as the author of Genesis, as well as the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and most of Deuteronomy; however, modern scholars, especially from the 19th century onward, place the books' authorship in the 6th and 5th centuries BC, hundreds of years after Moses is supposed to have lived.Davies (1998), p. 37 Based on scientific interpretation of archaeological, genetic, and linguistic evidence, most scholars consider Genesis to be primarily mythological rather than historical. It is divisible into two parts, the primeval history (chapters 1–11) and the ancestr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Collegiate Chorale
MasterVoices (formerly the Collegiate Chorale) is a symphonic choir based in New York City, USA. It was founded in 1941 by Robert Shaw, who was later to found the professional Robert Shaw Chorale. MasterVoices continues to give several performances annually in Carnegie Hall, New York City Center, Lincoln Center and other major venues. In July 2007 the choir was invited to perform Brahms' ''Ein Deutsches Requiem'' at Switzerland's Verbier Festival. Robert Bass was its music director from 1979 until his death in August, 2008. James Bagwell was appointed music director from 2009 to 2015. The organization is currently under the leadership of Artistic Director Ted Sperling.Cooper, Michael"Collegiate Chorale, Under a New Name, Is Teaming Up With City Center" ''The New York Times'', August 3, 2015. The group was originally named for its first home, Manhattan's Marble Collegiate Church, and was notable for Robert Shaw's insistence, from its inception, that the group be racially integrated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and one of the most prestigious and highly ranked universities in the world. The university is composed of ten academic faculties plus Harvard Radcliffe Institute. The Faculty of Arts and Sciences offers study in a wide range of undergraduate and graduate academic disciplines, and other faculties offer only graduate degrees, including professional degrees. Harvard has three main campuses: the Cambridge campus centered on Harvard Yard; an adjoining campus immediately across Charles River in the Allston neighborhood of Boston; and the medical campus in Boston's Longwood Medical Area. Harvard's endowment is valued at $50.9 billion, making it the wealthiest academic institution in the world. Endowment inco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
