Ravinia 2021 - Issue 3

PAVILION 7:30 PM TUESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2021 DAVÓNE TINES, bass-baritone † ADAM NIELSEN, piano Recital No. 1: Mass KYRIE CAROLINE SHAW Kyrie * BACH “Wie jammern mich” from Cantata No. 170 * AGNUS DEI CAROLINE SHAW Agnus Dei * TYSHAWN SOREY Songs for Death * after “Were YouThere WhenThey Crucified My Lord?” after “Sweet Little Jesus Boy” after “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” CREDO CAROLINE SHAW Credo * BACH “Mache dich, mein Herze, rein” from Saint Matthew Passion GLORIA CAROLINE SHAW Gloria * MOSES HOGAN, arr. “Give Me Jesus” * SANCTUS CAROLINE SHAW Sanctus * EASTMAN Prelude to ‘The Holy Presence of Joan d’Arc’ * BENEDICTUS IGEE DIEUDONNÉ VIGIL * & DAVÓNE TINES There will be no intermission in this program. † Ravinia debut * First performance at Ravinia CAROLINE SHAW (b. 1982) Mass No one was more surprised to learn that 30-year-old Caroline Shaw had become the youngest recipient of the Pulitzer Prize in Music than Shaw herself. A third-year doctor- al student in composition at Princeton Uni- versity, Shaw submitted Partita for 8 Voices for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize on a whim, as a way of attracting attention to the choral ensemble Roomful of Teeth, in which she sings alto: “We weren’t very known and we were having trouble getting concerts, and I thought, ‘I would really love for somebody else to listen to this music, and I’m really proud of this piece that I wrote and this group’; so I just sent it in.” That bold action, and the prize commit- tee’s daring selection of an unknown compos- er, became a defining moment in Shaw’s mul- tifaceted, boundary-crossing career. Growing up in Greenville, NC, Shaw studied Suzuki violin from the age of 2, later earnign degrees in violin performance from Rice and Yale Universities. Shaw regularly performs her own violin music ( In manus tuas for solo violin and Lo for violin and orchestra) and composes extensively for strings, with a particular affinity for the string quartet. Vocal music has been another prominent element in Shaw’s musical life since her early years singing in an Episcopal church choir. Beyond her ongoing involvement with the choral ensemble Roomful of Teeth, she recently re- leased an album with Sō Percussion entitled Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part , singing her original compositions as well as collaborative creations with the four percussionists. Add to that her collaborations with hip-hop artists Kanye West (“Say You Will,” “Only One,” The Life of Pablo , and Ye ) and Nas (“Everything” ). Shaw recently composed a small-scale Mass for bass-baritone Davóne Tines, who has constructed his “Recital No. 1: Mass” around its unconventional form. Shaw’s Mass was commissioned by Vocal Arts DC for Tines. The five movements of the Mass Ordinary appear in modified order—“Kyrie,” “Agnus Dei,” “Credo,” “Gloria,” and “Sanctus/Ben- edictus”—creating a spiritual progression Caroline Shaw through supplication, faith, and praise. Cer- tain texts have been truncated and others altered to strengthen the narrative. Only the “Kyrie” text remains unchanged. The third in- vocation of the “Agnus Dei” (Lamb of God) incorporates a phrase from the “Gloria”: “Dona nobis pacem / hominibus bonae vol- untatis” (Grant us peace, goodwill to all peo- ple). The “Credo,” the longest text of the Mass Ordinary, is reduced to a single word—“cre- do” (I believe)—without a continuation or object, allowing the listener to mentally insert the remainder of the traditional text or insert their own beliefs. Shaw similarly shortens the “Gloria” and “Sanctus” texts, retaining the lines of praise and adoration. As in a tradi- tional Mass, the movements are not heard in immediate succession but are separated in time by other elements of the “liturgy.” JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685–1750) “Wie jammern mich doch die verkehrten Herzen” from Cantata No. 170: Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust During his long career as a church and court musician, Bach composed close to 500 canta- tas, although fewer than half have survived. The cantata enjoyed growing popularity in Germany during the 17th and 18th centuries. Although intended primarily for Lutheran worship services, cantatas also were com- posed for civic occasions. Their texts were a mixture of Scripture and modern religious poetry. Musically, cantatas varied from one region to the next. Recitatives and arias for the solo voice were included in most works and as choral numbers in some. Bach grouped his cantatas into cycles for use during a single church year. They tend- ed to follow a regular succession of individ- ual numbers. The opening piece usually was choral with an extended introduction for or- chestra in the style of an overture or sinfonia. The final number was normally a hymn-like setting of a Lutheran chorale melody for full choir and congregation. Between the two choral numbers came a series of pieces for one or more solo voices. The sacred cantata formed part of the Lutheran worship service. Johann Sebastian Bach by Elias Gottlob Haussmann (1748) RAVINIA MAGAZINE • AUGUST 18 – SEPTEMBER 6, 2021 48