The School of Music performs works by Handel, Battista, and Vivaldi: 2 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 26
TACOMA, Wash. – Baroque Fest at University of Puget Sound, on Sunday, Feb. 26, will bring a special selection of works performed by musicians ranging from a student choral group, to a string ensemble, to a vocal artist and harpsichord.
The afternoon concert will include compositions chosen by faculty members from three different sections of the School of Music: strings, choral, and vocal. The works are by George Frideric Handel, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, and Antonio Vivaldi—all renowned Western European artists during the Baroque period (1600–1750), between the Renaissance and the Classical era. It was a period when composers used contrast to create drama, often giving the trumpet and violin a larger role, and when the solo voice was regularly enlisted to communicate the passions of a score.
Baroque Fest will take place at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26, in Kilworth Memorial Chapel. Everyone is welcome and ticket information is below.
The concert will feature segments highlighting the student Dorian Singers, with conductor Kathryn Lehmann; Dawn Padula, mezzo-soprano; and Maria Sampen and Timothy Christie on violin, with University of Puget Sound string students. Accompanying Padula, will be Michael Seregow, harpsichord, and Alistair MacRae, cello. MacRae also will join the string ensemble.
To open, Dawn Padula, Michael Seregow, and Alistair MacRae will perform Handel’s cantata Lungi da voi, che siete poli, HWV 126c. Most likely composed in Rome in 1708, the piece is one of more than a hundred Italian cantatas written by Handel. The Italian cantatas are little known and often use secular texts of a pastoral or mythological nature.
“As a mezzo-soprano I have had the privilege of performing a wide variety of Baroque literature throughout my career, since my voice type most mimics, in timbre and range, the voice of the historic castrato—a common voice type of the Baroque era,” said Padula. “It is always a pleasure to delve into such colorful and virtuosic repertoire, and to have the opportunity to collaborate in performance with my talented colleagues.”
Maria Sampen, Timothy Christie, Alistair MacRae, and the string students will then perform Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Violins in A minor, RV 522. Described by SHAR Music as possibly “one of the most beloved works for two violins ever written,” the 1711 concerto has retained its popularity through three centuries.
“Tim and I love opportunities like this, where we can perform side by side with our wonderful students,” Sampen said. “Tim and I will be performing the same concerto next fall at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music in Chengdu, China. This concert will be a great preview for our trip.”
In the second half the Dorian Singers, conducted by Kathryn Lehmann, will perform Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, with soloists Danielle Rogers ’18, soprano, and Dawn Padula, mezzo-soprano, and Hyun-Ja Choi on harpsichord and organ. The composition was derived from a 13th-century Catholic hymn to Mary that portrays her suffering during Jesus Christ’s crucifixion. The title comes from the first line of the hymn, Stabat mater dolorosa, which means “the sorrowful mother was standing.”
“Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, written in 1736, shortly before Pergolesi’s death from tuberculosis, is considered his best-known sacred work,” said Lehmann. “It was commissioned to be presented at a Good Friday meditation in honor of the Virgin Mary.”
The Jacobsen Series, named in honor of Leonard Jacobsen, former chair of the piano department at Puget Sound, has been running since 1984. The Jacobsen Series Scholarship Fund awards annual music scholarships to outstanding student performers and scholars. The fund is sustained entirely by season subscribers and ticket sales.
FOR TICKETS: Tickets are available online at tickets.pugetsound.edu, or at Wheelock Information Center, 253.879.3100. Admission is $15 for the general public; $10 for seniors (55+), students, military, and Puget Sound faculty and staff. The concert is free for current Puget Sound students. Group ticket rates are available for parties of 10 or more by calling 253.879.3555 in advance. Any remaining tickets will be available at the door.
For directions and a map of the campus: pugetsound.edu/directions
For accessibility information please contact accessibility@pugetsound.edu or 253.879.3931, or visit pugetsound.edu/accessibility.
Press photos of several of the artists can be downloaded from pugetsound.edu/pressphotos.
Photos on page: From top right: Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, by unknown artist; George Frideric Handel, by unknown artist, c. 1720; Antonio Vivaldi, by Francois Morellon la Cave, 1725.
Tweet this: Winter cold deserves the warmth of #Baroque music. Baroque Fest @univpugetsound.edu 2pm, Sun., Feb. 26. #Tacoma
Follow us on Twitter! twitter.com/univpugetsound