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Article_Sacred music for sacred spaces

Parish News | Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Sacred music for sacred spaces

Epiphany, other parishes kick off concert series and Masses full of classical music

MIAMI | Long before posh symphonic halls and modern concert venues showcased classical music, there was early Christian liturgical music, which later gave a creative platform for celebrated composers such as Bach and Beethoven. 

Old World churches and monasteries were, and still sometimes are, the setting for serious chamber music and choral works. But the connection between the Church and fine music will be readily, and affordably, accessible this fall and winter at several parishes now kicking off their annual concert series around the Miami Archdiocese. 

“Anyone can be in our choir but if you don’t have some background in music, it’s difficult,” said Linda Milani, who had lengthy experience singing in modern church choirs previously, and who came back to the choir at Epiphany Parish in South Miami after her children finished high school.  

The parish has taken a classical approach to sacred music. Holding the music to Schubert’s Mass in C — a piece the choir is performing this season — Milani recalled, “I was in the choir a number of years before, but I went to one rehearsal and said, ‘I can’t sing this music, this is so different than what I am used to. It’s the top: Beethoven, Bach, Rachmaninoff.” 

She enrolled in voice lessons for five years and has studied music theory for three years. 

“Now I can recognize the notes. We can sing next to some of the top professionals in the area, and we just lost two of our top sopranos to New York. The level of music is all professional; it’s intimidating, but it’s beautiful,” Milani said.  

Classical musicians and student choir members prepare for the Sept. 26 opening gala program of a concert series at Epiphany Parish and School in South Miami, previewing some of the year's upcoming concert highlights with works by Handel, Schubert, Brahms, Faure and others.

Photographer: TOM TRACY | FC

Classical musicians and student choir members prepare for the Sept. 26 opening gala program of a concert series at Epiphany Parish and School in South Miami, previewing some of the year's upcoming concert highlights with works by Handel, Schubert, Brahms, Faure and others.

The soaring Italian-made pipe organ at Epiphany Church was put to full use during the parish’s opening “Music at Epiphany” gala concert Sept. 26. The program featured an adult choir and the children’s choir from Epiphany School, along with professional musicians from the community performing works by Handel, Brahms and Faure. 

The following Sunday, the adult choir performed sacred liturgical music at one of Epiphany’s 11 a.m. orchestral Masses.  

Both the evening concert music series and the Orchestral Mass series at Epiphany will continue through the Christmas holidays and into next spring, under Thomas Schuster, director of music, and Georgi Danchev, conductor and choirmaster. 

The concert series is entering its second decade of providing the community with a free opportunity to experience high quality sacred music in their own backyard. The concerts feature various styles and traditions in a one-hour format that is digestible for all ages, according to Schuster.  A group of private donors help support the programming which also includes touring guest artists. 

“In the history of arts and music the Church has always been one of the main sponsors — it is hard to think of a composer who wasn’t commissioned by the Church, influenced by or written works for the Church,” Schuster said. “Beethoven, Schubert, Haydn, Puccini, Mozart and Bach all wrote major works for the Church, whether a Mass or a requiem. It has always been a partnership and collaboration in a way.” 

This season, Epiphany’s concert series will welcome appearances from the Habaneros Quintet, an ensemble of the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba; the Grammy Award-winning Chanticleer vocal ensemble; virtuoso organist Alcee Chriss III, recent winner of an organ competition hosted annually at Epiphany; classical guitarist Angelo Marchese and a vocalist of the same name performing works for guitar and voice. Flute and harp duo Julia Coronelli and Emma Gerstein conclude the series with works by Mozart. 

The orchestral Masses programming will feature sacred musical works adapted for select Sunday Masses or special liturgies including the solemnity of All Souls; a Thanksgiving Mass; Christmas week; and Holy Week next year. 

Conductor Danchev, a native of Bulgaria, is in his 10th season at Epiphany, tweaking sacred music selections for a contemporary application to the Sunday Mass while still keeping that connection with the historical music. 

Anyone who hasn’t seen such a sacred music Mass here is “missing the connection and the nature of the Mass itself, because most of the great classical music was commissioned by the Church,” he said.  

The secular aspect of classical music appeared much later as the concert life gradually developed. But earlier, the composition of great music was often limited to chapels, cathedrals and courts, Danchev added. 

“All the professional musicians were involved in that. Of course there was a lot of secular music going on out on the street, and they influenced each other,” he said. 

He noted that the choir at Epiphany spends a lot of time selecting the music, ranging from the Renaissance period all the way to the 20th century and even newly-composed pieces. 

“We try to be interesting and evolving,” he said. “When we put something into use we want to make sure it is reasonable, and it fits the purpose of the liturgy, or if we have special concert events we will use it.” 

Other parishes in the archdiocese also have a variety of orchestral music and concert series in the works for the coming season, including Corpus Christi Parish in Miami with a Concierto Bach Society program set for 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 2. 

St. Mary Cathedral’s Cathedral Arts Series features several concerts performed at the cathedral by its own choir as well as visiting ensembles, according to Gustavo Zayas, who is music director for both the cathedral and archdiocese. 

The Cathedral Arts series will begin with a concert set for 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 2, All Souls Day, with a program entitled “In Memoriam: Choral Music for All Souls Day.” 

“This concert will definitely fall under the ‘classical’ genre, but the other genres featured will be Renaissance, Romantic and Impressionistic in terms of selections that day,” Zayas said, adding that Gregorian chant also will be featured. 

The cathedral will also offer its “Lessons and Carols” annual Christmas concert before the Christmas Eve Mass Dec. 24, starting at 9 p.m. and featuring a program of English Christmas carols sung by the cathedral choir. 

In Coconut Grove, St. Hugh Parish continues its annual Steinway Concert Series to benefit community charities. The series features some top guest operatic voices under the artistic direction of concert pianist Roberto Berrocal, formerly a voice coach at the Florida Grand Opera. 

The parish opened its concert season Sept. 26 with a program featuring soprano Sandra Lopez and tenor Stuart Neill. A Nov. 14 program will feature soprano Janai Brugger, who has won several major music competitions and has appeared in leading roles with several American opera companies. 

“The idea was to bring world class artists and help charities by doing so,” Berrocal said, adding that it’s a treat to hear great operatic voices in a piano concert setting without all the hoopla of the operatic stage. “It is a different genre in itself: to hear these singers in a place that holds 500 people with a voice there in your face is rare. You won’t have that intimate experience in any theater in the world,” he said. 

St. Martha Parish in Miami Shores also continues with its Yamaha Concert Series in its acoustically outstanding church. The series kicks off with the Emmet Cohen Trio at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 16. That performance will be followed by at least four other major programs, including a Latin-Baroque Fusion ensemble called Rumbarroco; the Axiom Brass quintet; and soprano Lisa Vroman, a world-renowned star of “Phantom of the Opera” and member of Florida Grand Opera. 

Julie Williamson, a local attorney who chairs the concert series, said St. Martha’s is building up the wider Church through its concert series. In its 10th year, the Yamaha series at St. Martha’s reflects much of the outward-looking spirit Williamson said she hears in the teachings of Pope Francis. 

“In terms of bringing everybody together in a supportive environment — to us that is the best of what the Church has been about for 2,000 years,” Williamson said. “We bring everybody together and God takes it from there, and he does that part better than we ever could.”   

Enjoy the sounds of top-notch music, in a church near you 

Following is a list of the upcoming concerts at some archdiocesan churches. Not all concerts at all churches were available at press time. For more updated listings, go to www.miamiarch.org and click on Events/Concerts. 

Epiphany Church, 8235 S.W. 57 Ave., Miami, 33143. Free admission. 305-667-4911. www.epiphanycatholicchurch.com:

  • Habaneros Quintet, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 7:30 p.m. Program includes Mozart Clarinet Quintet and new arrangements of Cuban and South American compositions.
  • Holy Night, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 7:30 p.m. Traditional Christmas concert featuring festive music by Handel, Puccini, Weber, Gounod.
  • Chanticleer: An Orchestra of Voices, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015, 7:30 p.m. Grammy Award winners will provide an evening of enchanting sounds from every period of vocal music.
  • Alcee Chriss III, Organ Recital, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015, 7:30 p.m. Young virtuoso performs a selection of masterworks by Boely, Dupre, Durufle, and others.
  • • Angelo Marchese & Angelo Marchese, Wednesday, March 25, 2015, 7:30 p.m. Italian guitarist and Miami tenor perform favorite melodies for voice and guitar, including music by Monteverdi, Handel, Schubert, Tosti, de Falla, and more.
  • Mozart’s Graces, Wednesday, May 13, 2015, 7:30 p.m., Epiphany Choir and Orchestra present timeless and rarely performed works by Mozart, with guest soloists Julia Coronelli, harp, and Emma Gerstein, flute. Works include “Litaniae Lauretanae,” a complete musical setting of the prayer originating from the first centuries of Christianity, the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

St. Martha Yamaha Concert Series, 9201 Biscayne Blvd., Miami Shores, 33138. Tickets $10 and $20, include post-concert reception with artists. 305-751-0005. www.saint-martha.com:

  • The Emmet Cohen Trio, Sunday, Nov. 16, 3 p.m. An exciting afternoon of beloved standards and jazz evergreens by jazz piano prodigy Emmet Cohen.
  • Rumbarroco, Saturday, Dec. 13, 7:30 p.m. Latin-Baroque Fusion ensemble plays Renaissance, Baroque and Afro-Hispanic music from Spain, Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, and Cuba with Baroque, folk, and popular instruments.
  • The Axiom Brass, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015, 3 p.m. Recipients of 2011 Fischoff Educator Award, the quintet will perform music from Bach to Piazzola tangos to jazz á la française.
  • The Paul Posnak-Glen Basham-Ross Harbaugh Trio, Sunday, March 22, 2015, 3 p.m. An exciting and varied program of trio masterpieces for piano, violin and cello.
  • Lisa Vroman, Friday, April 17, 8 p.m. Vocalist extraordinaire performs with the Florida Grand Opera Young Artists, a joyous evening of Broadway and opera. 

St. Hugh Steinway Concert Series, 3460 Royal Road, Coconut Grove, 33133. Ticket prices $40 and $60, proceeds benefit local charities. 305-444-8363. www.sthughmiami.com:

  • Soprano Janai Brugger, Friday, Nov. 14, 8 p.m. The 2012 winner of Metropolitan National Council Auditions and Operalia competition sings works by Puccini and Barber as well as zarzuela and Broadway favorites
  • Pianist Horacio Gutiérrez, Friday, Feb. 13, 2015, 8 p.m. Considered one of the great pianists of our time, he will bring his poetic insight and technical mastery to a diverse repertoire.  
  • Tenor Martín Nusspaumer, Friday, April 10, 2015, 8 p.m., performing Schumann’s “Dichterliebe” with pianist Roberto Berrocal, and tangos from his native Uruguay accompanied by bandoneón player Emmanuel Trifilio.  

 

 


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