EXUBERANT, SOARING, AND RADIANT—“GLORIA” BRIMS WITH VITALITY AND JOY
Vivaldi’s Gloria
SATURDAY, JANUARY 31 • 7:30 pm
Myers Park Presbyterian Church
2501 Oxford Place, Charlotte, NC 28207
Exuberant trumpet, soaring voices, and radiant orchestral colors—Vivaldi’s Gloria brims with vitality and joy. Alongside Bach’s rarely heard Lutheran Mass in G minor and Heinichen’s sparkling concerto, this program reveals the Baroque at its most inventive and uplifting.
PROGRAM
Lutheran Mass in G minor, BWV 235
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
28'
Concerto in G major, S.214
Johann David Heinichen (1683– 729)
9'30"
Gloria in D major, RV 589
Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741)
30'
Concert Duration:
Approximately 75 minutes plus intermission
MUSICIANS
Kristin Olson, Oboe
Luke Conklin, Oboe
Aisslinn Nosky, Violin
Renée Hemsing, Violin
Maureen Murchie, Viola
Guy Fishman, Cello
Heather Miller Lardin, Bass
Perry Sutton, Trumpet
Ian Watson, Organ
Arwen Myers, Soprano
MaryRuth Miller, Soprano
Nicholas Garza, Countertenor
Laura Atkinson, Alto
Gene Stenger, Tenor
Haitham Haidar, Tenor
Edmund Milly, Bass
Andrew Padgett, Bass
VENUE
Myers Park Presbyterian Church
2501 Oxford Place, Charlotte, NC 28207
Myers Park Presbyterian Church's address is the location of their accessible parking lot. Primary parking is available at the Outreach Center and is an easy walk from the main church campus. Limited street parking is also available.
GO DEEPER
A Jubilant Work Composed for Extraordinary Women
Scholars know of at least three settings by Antonio Vivaldi of the Gloria (a part of the Roman Catholic Mass), but there is little specific information about the context for which he composed the most famous of these, the Gloria in D (RV 589).
Across its sequence of twelve concise, colorful movements, Gloria shifts between jubilant choral fanfare and introspective lyricism. Its blend of sacred focus and operatic flair has made it a lasting centerpiece of the choral repertoire.
Vivaldi composed the Gloria for the musicians of the Ospedale della Pietà—an institution in Venice that served as both a charitable home for girls and one of Europe’s most respected music schools. Vivaldi held a variety of posts at the Pietà on and off until near the end of his life, focusing primarily on his duties as head of violin instruction.
Many of the young women there received extensive musical training and became highly skilled singers and instrumentalists, forming ensembles that drew visitors from across the continent. Because propriety required them to remain out of public view, they performed from screened galleries above the church floor, a setting that lent the music an added sense of mystery and drama.
The four short Masses that Johann Sebastian Bach wrote in the 1730s (including the Mass in G minor, BWV 235) are shrouded in mystery. These “Lutheran” masses are written in Latin—unusual for Bach—and they are comprised almost entirely of material from other Bach’s cantatas. The Mass in G minor derives its opening from Herr, deine Augen sehen nach dem Glauben, BWV 102 (Lord, Your eyes look for faith), while the other two choruses and three arias are taken from Es wartet alles auf dich, BWV 187 (Everything waits for You), and Alles nur nach Gottes Willen, BWV 72 (Everything according to God's will alone).
Venetian Gala Concert
Date: 1782
Artist: Francesco Guardi
The painting depicts a gala concert given in January 1782 at the Ospedale della Pietà in Venice for the Tsarevich Paul of Russia and his wife, Maria Feodorovna.
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