Ravinia 2023 Issue 6

RANDEE ST. NICHOLAS (UNDERWOOD) PAVILION 8:00 PM FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2023 8:00 PM SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2023 CARRIE UNDERWOOD CARRIE UNDERWOOD Born and raised in Oklahoma, Carrie Un- derwood had her eyes on a career in singing from a young age, and though she studied to become a broadcast journalist, she ultimate- ly manifested her dream as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol . Her first single, “Inside Your Heaven,” immediately set her atop the Billboard Hot 100 and was the best-selling song of 2005. That same year, Underwood released her debut album, Some Hearts , which became the best-selling album of 2006 as well as the best-selling country album of the decade ending 2010. She was named Best New Artist at the 2007 Grammy Awards, and between the album’s top sin- gles—number-one country hits “Jesus, Take the Wheel” and “Before He Cheats”—Underwood hoisted her first Academy of Country Music (ACM) and Country Music Association (CMA) Awards. Her 2007 follow-up, Carnival Ride , featured four country number-ones—“So Small,” “All-American Girl,” “Last Name,” and “Just a Dream”—as well as the Grammy-winning duet with Randy Travis “I Told You So.” Play On (2009) added another three number-ones to her cat- alogue—“Cowboy Casanova,” “Temporary Home,” and “Undo It”—and then 2012’s Blown Away added the hits “Good Girl” and “Two Black Cadillacs.” Following her first Greatest Hits album at the decade mark, Underwood crossed the threshold of 20 platinum-selling solo singles with Storyteller (2015)’s “Smoke Break,” “Heartbeat,” “Church Bells,” and “Dirty Laundry.” She then marked her seventh straight platinum album with 2018’s Cry Pretty , released her first holiday album in 2020 with My Gift , and covered gospel classics on 2021’s My Savior . Underwood’s latest album, Denim & Rhinestones (2022), saw her continue to hold court on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Ghost Story.” In addition to seeing all of her albums debut in Billboard ’s top 10, Underwood has won over 100 major awards—including 8 Grammys, 16 ACMs (only woman to win Enter- tainer of the Year three times), 25 fromCMT (most wins in its history), 7 CMAs, and 17 American Music Awards—and was voted The Country Star of 2022, her 10th win from the People’s Choice Awards. Carrie Underwood first played Ravinia in 2009 and is returning for her fifth season at the festival, her first since 2014. BENNETT GORDON HALL 2:00 PM SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2023 JORY VINIKOUR, harpsichord BACH Overture in the French Style Ouverture Courante Gavotte I—Gavotte II Passepied I—Passepied II Sarabande Bourrée I—Bourrée II Gigue Echo –Intermission– RAMEAU Suite in D from Pièces de Clavecin (1724) * Les tendres plaintes (Rondeau) Les niais de Sologne Les soupirs (Tendrement) La joyeuse (Rondeau) La follette (Rondeau) L’entretien des muses Les tourbillons (Rondeau) Le lardon (Menuet) La boiteuse Les cyclopes (Rondeau) * First performance at Ravinia JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685–1750) Ouvertüre nach Französischer Art , BWV 831 Bach self-published his first formal opus, the six keyboard partitas issued as the first vol- ume of his Clavier-Übung (Keyboard Study), in 1731 at the mature age of 46. The title owes its origin to two volumes of seven partitas each—the Neue Clavier-Übung —published by his predecessor as Leipzig cantor, Johann Kuhnau, in 1689 and 1692. With his own col- lections of popular dances and “other gallant- ries,” Bach extended his impeccable reputa- tion as a skilled contrapuntist to the popular market of “connoisseurs and amateurs.” A second Clavier-Übung volume (there were ultimately four) was issued in 1735 by a lit- tle-known Nuremberg printer, Christoph Weigel Jr. Careless engraving resulted in an inconsistent, flawed score. Fortunately, Bach’s proof sheets have survived, allowing for easy correction of the errors. The contents of this volume differed radically from the first book—two diametrically opposed large-scale keyboard pieces modeled on orchestral forms. One is the three-movement Concerto in the Italian Manner , which pays homage to the Vivaldian form, and the other is the Over- ture in the French Style , a multi-movement dance suite, or ouverture in French RAVINIA MAGAZINE • AUGUST 28 – SEPTEMBER 10, 2023 28