New York City, New York Apr 11, 2018 (Issuewire.com) - Bruckner Mass in E Minor, infrequently performed in NYC, to be presented by Riverside Choral Society, Patrick Gardner, conductor
May 12, 2018 at 8:00 p.m., Church of the Holy Trinity, 213 West 82nd Street (east of Broadway)
Although Bruckner continued the tradition of the symphonic Mass, as developed by Haydn and continued by many composers through the 18th and 19th centuries, his style particularly reflects the polyphony and graceful melodic lines of Palestrina, to which he added ever expanding Romantic harmonic language. The timbres of this Mass (its 2nd version, of 1882) are unusual: the chorus sings in 8 voice parts, sometimes a cappella, more frequently with the full symphonic power of the orchestral brass and woodwind sections. Choral singers enjoy the large amount of music written for them—there are no solo voices in this Mass setting.
The acoustical warmth of the Church of the Holy Trinity (whose magnificent vaulted ceiling is one of a few examples in NYC of work by the structural engineer Guastavino) is well suited to the varied sounds of the Mass as well as to the a cappella settings of motets by Bruckner, Hugo Wolf, and Brahms. The exception to the timbre of these motets is “Begräbnisgesang“ by Brahms (Opus 13). Its accompaniment has exactly the same instrumentation as that of the Bruckner Mass.
The Riverside Choral Society's eighty singers experience a wide variety of repertoire—from contemporary and 20th-century works to a series of symphonic Masses which included an acclaimed performance of Schubert's Mass in E-flat Major last spring in Alice Tully Hall.
Contact: Eliza Lansdale (lizor@aol.com) or Evan Sarzin (sarzin@gmail.com)
Media Contact
The Riverside Choral Society sarzin@gmail.com 212-595-3138 2753 Broadway No. 244 New York NY 10025 http://Riversidechoral.org
