From Steven Zopfi’s desk…

Well, the Haydn Creation with Carlos Kalmar and the Oregon Symphony is behind us and I can’t telI you how exhilarating it was to perform. Our next project is our American Masters program in May. I have had a long fascination with American Choral music that goes back to some of my early choral experiences so it is especially fun for me to work on this repertoire. When I hear the sturdy simple harmonies and the vigorous rhythms of the music of William Billings and his colleagues, they seem to reflect the faith and endurance of the colonial New England experience. Easter Anthem by Billings is one of the most famous pieces by this first native-born American to make a living as a composer, and it will be a fun way to begin our exploration of our American choral heritage.

Leonard Bernstein’s Missa Brevis is an adaptation of the composer’s Latin Choruses written in the 1950s as incidental music for Lillian Hellman’s play, The Lark. Later, legendary conductor Robert Shaw encouraged the composer to reform the pieces into a missa brevis and the result is like a choral adrenaline rush. After a quiet opening Kyrie that is reminiscent of Frank Martin’s Mass for Double Choir, the work explodes with big sonorities and, of course, the mixed meter that Bernstein loves. We end the first half with Jeffrey Van’s civil war cantata, A Procession Winding¸ for guitar and choir. Van, a Minnesota-based guitarist and composer, based the piece on poetry by Walt Whitman. Each movement has a different feel. The somber first movement has an air of expectation.  The second movement depicting a battle is just ferocious. The third movement is remarkably still, mirroring the devastation of the battle field after a battle.  The poignant fourth movement speaks to the reconciliation of the two sides after death as well as the wish for peace. Some of this poetry, especially the men’s chorus in the middle of the last movement, reminds me very much of the reconciliation scene in Britten’s War Requiem, a work that PSC is performing with the Oregon Symphony in 2013..

Looking at the second half of the program, we start off with Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine, one of Eric Whitacre’s best works, I think. It certainly is one of the most creative with its two-soprano texture and frequent musical references to Monteverdi’s writing. It is dramatic, extravagant, and elegant all at the same time. Prepare for a wild flight with Mr. Whitacre and Mr. Da Vinci. Perhaps the most unknown piece on the program is Eric Sayre’s In Paradisum. Eric is a young composer from Minnesota who composed this piece on the death of this father. In the work, the composer tried to reconcile his multi-faith background by using texts from both the Christian and Jewish faiths. Sayre’s style is reminiscent of Morten Lauridsen and Eric Whitacre but there is also something very unique to this composer. It is a very powerful piece and the work is getting some traction in Minneapolis. I am excited that PSC will get to perform the Portland premiere of this new work. Finally, we end with Copland’s Promise of Living from his opera, “The Tender Land.” No other composer has been more identified with an “American” sound than Copland and I couldn’t think of a better ending to an “American” concert. Both the text and the music seem to mirror the promise of the best of our musical odyssey in this country.

I am looking forward to our “American” journey together. I hope to see you there!

Steven Zopfi