Below is a listing of Sacred Music at the Red Door concerts from 2010-2014, moved from the previous website.
Sunday, May 4, 2014 4:00 p.m.
Celebrating Connecticut Composers, a concert combining the St. John’s Choirs, the Choir of Church of Christ, Congregational (UCC), Newington, members of CitySingers of Hartford, and chamber orchestra including works by Douglas Bruce Johnson (Trinity College, Hartford), John Abdenour (St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Fairfield), Gwyneth Walker (New Canaan), Peter Niedmann’s Five New England Songs(recently premiered by The Chorus of Westerly), and the premiere of A Poet’s Requiem by Peter Stoltzfus Berton.Tickets $15, $12 seniors/students.
Made possible in part by a grant from the Richard P. Garmany Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.
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Palm Sunday, April 13, 2014 5:00 p.m.
Hereford Variations, a 40 minute Lenten meditation for organ and choir, played by the composer Peter Stoltzfus Berton with the St. John’s Choirs. Includes three hymn stanzas sung by the audience. For information about this unique meditation based on stained glass windows at Hereford Cathedral in England, visit: herefordvariations.org
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Tuesday, March 4, 2014 7:00 p.m. (please note updated concert time)
The Bonifantes Boychoir from from Pardubice in the Czech Republic sings a program of classical and folk music with a few surprises in store! Known for their thorough music education academy, and winning rapport with American audiences, Bonifantes will astound and delight in this evening showcasing the vast potential of well-trained children (including changed-voice teenagers) in the choral medium. Tickets $10, $7 seniors/students. This concert immediately follows a Mardi Gras dessert “pre-reception” at 6 pm in the Parish Hall.
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Wednesday, October 30, 2013 7:30 p.m. FOUR CHOIRS FESTIVAL CONCERT
Sacred Music at the Red Door presents a FOUR CHOIRS FESTIVAL
featuring Hereford Cathedral Choir, joined with the intergenerational St. John’s Choirs and those of Trinity Church, Hartford and St. James’s Episcopal Church, West Hartford. A sublime evening of music from one of England’s finest Cathedral Choirs of Men and Boys (host of the triennial Three Choirs Festival nearly 300 years running), who will sing Duruflé’s Requiem by candlelight for the first half of the program. The second half combines 120 boys, girls and adults trained in the Anglican choral tradition, including Elgar’s festival anthem Give unto the Lord and Parry’s I was glad.
Tickets $15, $12 seniors/students.
WEDNESDAY, July 17, 2013 at 6:00 p.m.
Ice Cream Social and Hymn Sing in the Cloister Garden. Free.
Sacred Music at the Red Door and the St. John’s Parish Life Committee are organized another
summer hymn sing, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m., with ice cream refreshment. We repeated last summer’s favorite, “Drop-kick me, Jesus, through the goal posts of life.” (Yes, it really exists), took requests, and had a good time!
SUNDAY, June 30, 2013 at 8:30 p.m.
International concert organist Isabelle Demers in recital, the opening concert of the Regions I/II Regional Convention of the American Guild of Organists in Hartford.
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Sunday May 5, 2013 at 4 pm: A Celebration of Psalms
Click to download the concert poster
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD THE CONCERT PROGRAM
(Note: Fonts, espescially Hebrew, may not appear as actually printed, due to file size compression)
A literally progressive concert combines the St. John’s Choirs with those of Congregation Beth Israel next door to us, and Temple Beth El, in an exploration of Judeo-Christian common tradition. The concert begins at St. John’s and moves to Beth Israel at intermission. As we heard taught in our Adult Forum from Beth Israel’s Senior Rabbi Michael Pincus last month, the Psalms reflect and illuminate our own conversations with God. Don’t miss this spectacular event with chamber orchestra and music from many centuries (Palestrina to Stephen Schwartz), concluding with Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms. Made possible in part by a grant from the Richard P. Garmany Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.
Reception following. Shuttle transportation provided for concert-goers with mobility concerns.
Tickets were $10 general admission/$7 seniors and students. (2 for 1 discount when presenting your LetsGoArts Card).
Sunday March 10, 2013 at 4 pm: CONCERT
‘Celtic Fire,’ a choral and instrumental concert presented by CitySingers of Hartford. Reception following. Tickets $10 general admission/$7 seniors and students. (2 for 1 discount when presenting your LetsGoArtsCard)
The sacred Celtic tradition is a flame that ignites the imagination with captivating melodies and entrancing poetry. CitySingers of Hartford will explore this tradition and trace its evolution from ancient roots. Our musical journey will inspire our listeners with verse that reflects the Celtic spirit, and musical expression in chant, beautiful folk melodies and compositions by celebrated composers such as Turlough O’Carolan, Sean O’Riada, and Michael McGlynn.
CitySingers will be joined by Celtic musicians known throughout our region, who will add traditional color and style to the music with Irish harp, wooden flute, fiddle, mandolin, concertina, bodhran and double bass, along with pipe organ and highland pipes.
Sunday March 3, 2013: Tea, Evensong (5 pm) and Recital for Lent
(February 10 Tea, Evensong and Organ Recital canceled due to snow)
Sunday December 2, 2012 at 5 pm: Advent Procession of Lessons and Carols, a dramatic sequence of music and readings as the St. John’s Choirs proceed literally and symbolically through the Nave from darkness to light. This highly atmospheric and literally moving service intersperses Advent readings with hymns for all to sing, and carols sung from around the building. Lights are gradually added, revealing the coming of Christ. A lovely way to savor the fleeting spirit of Advent, the day after our Christmas Festival!
Annual Candlelight Concert
MUSIC OF REMEMBRANCE Storm Sandy Benefit Event
Sunday November 4, 2012 at 5:00 p.m.
THE INTERGENERATIONAL ST. JOHN’S CHOIRS train children in the centuries-old English cathedral tradition to sing the demanding music originally written for children plus adults. The result is a tone of unusual beauty and power. Hear the effect in Fauré’s timeless Requiem and Cantique de Jean Racine originally written for children and adult voices, and in Bach’s Jesu, joy of man’s desiring similarly conceived. Two more modern meditations, accompanied by principals from the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, round out this hour-long concert.
Thanks to the exceptional generosity of underwriters, 100% of ticket sales were donated to Episcopal Relief and Development.
Tickets were $10 (Senior/student); $15 (General admission); $30 (preferred reserved seating).
(2 for 1 discount when presenting your LetsGoArts Card)
Friday October 26, 2012 at 7 pm: PipeScreams, a wacky hour of performances by members of the Hartford Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, with trains and video mayhem. Reception following.
Sunday October 21, 2012: Tea, Evensong (5 pm) and Organ/Flute Recital commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the St. John’s Fire
Prelude: Carillon de Westminster Louis Vierne
Responses: William Smith
Psalm : 115
Canticle: Nunc Dimittis in A Charles Villiers Stanford
Festival Anthem: Sanctuary Doves Peter Stoltzfus Berton
with double choir, flute and percussion. The text combines Psalms, a poem commemorating the rebuilding of another church after a fire, and participation by the congregation singing “For all
the Saints.”
CONCERT FOLLOWING EVENSONG October 21
DUO MYDO
Myriam Hidber Dickinson, flute, and Douglas Bruce, organ
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Prelude and Fugue in G major, BWV 541
Frederick the Great (1712-1786)
Sonata in D major for flute and basso continuo
1. Con spirito
2. Allegro
3. Allegro assai
Alfred Hollins (1865-1942)
A Trumpet Minuet
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Andante in C major, K315 (arr. flute and organ)
Théodore Dubois (1837-1924)
Toccata in G
PROGRAM NOTES
In 1708 Johann Sebastian Bach secured an appointment as organist and chamber musician to Duke Wilhelm Ernst at Weimar, during which tenure the Prelude and Fugue in G major, BWV 541 was originally written (it was revised 1742, after the composer had taken up his final appointment in Leipzig). ThePrelude opens with a single melodic line that descends, then rises to greet the entry of the pedals and a fuller chordal texture. The key of G major is among the brightest in the compass, and radiates a mood of magnificence and elation (in German, the same word, Stimmung, denotes both “tuning” and “mood”), which Bach tempers throughout the piece with short excursions into more serious and reflective keys. The theme of the Fugue was taken from Bach’s earlier choral cantata “I had so much distressand woe within my heart” and here again, the use of the G major key dispenses a feeling of relief from such worries. The subject is first announced in the alto voice, answered in the tenor, followed by the bass in the pedals and finally the soprano, continuing on an impressive scale to conclude with a sustained upper note, followed by a final tonic pedal below.
Poet and soldier, misanthrope and philospher, Frederick the Great was a contradictory, almost unfathomable man. His conquests made him one of the most formindable and feared leaders of his era. But as a patron of artists and intellectuals, Frederick re-created Berlin as one of the continent’s great cities, matching his state’s reputation for military ferocity with one for cultural achievement. He was an accomplished flutist, and wrote many works for his instrument, including 121 sonatas.
Blind from earliest childhood, Yorkshire-born Alfred Hollins long cherished an ambition to become a concert pianist, and at the age of 19 performed three piano concertos (by Beethoven, Liszt and Schumann) during one concert in Berlin. However his disability prompted him to follow a career as an organist, in which capacity he served St George’s West Church, Edinburgh from 1897 until his death. Famed as a recitalist on several continents, Hollins was fluent in the art of improvisation, and left a sizeable corpus of organ music, much of which – after long neglect – has now been re-published. A Trumpet Minuet was written in 1929, and first played at St George’s West during a large evening gathering of Church of Scotland ministers, who doubtless found this music less solemn than their own proceedings.
The Andante in C, scored originally for flute solo with an orchestra of two oboes, two horns and strings, was likely written by Mozart in Mannheim early in 1778, having been commissioned by a Dutchman called De Jean. The single movement has a charm of its own, with its brief plucked string introduction, a recurrent element, and poignant melodic material.
Although regarded as only a minor composer in French musical circles during his lifetime, Theodore Dubois nevertheless won the coveted Premier Grand Prix de Rome in 1861, and became Maitre de Chapelle at César Franck’s church (St. Clothilde) in 1866, eventually succeeding Saint-Saens at the Church of the Madeleine. The Toccata in G major is his best-known piece, the third of the first set of Douze Pièces pour orgue ou piano-pédalier. Like the Prelude and Fugue in G major of Bach, Dubois steers the piece through various tonalities, subtly creating a fascinating constellation of colors and moods. (The Toccata is heard from time to time as a wedding recessional; like the best nuptial pieces, it contains a quieter section in the middle, allowing the bride to cast a nostalgic glance back over her shoulder – before proceeding onward).
DB
Sunday September 30, 2012: Tea (4-5 pm), Evensong (5 pm) and half hour Organ Recital for Michaelmas
SUNG BY THE ST. PAUL’S CHOIR, FAIRFIELD, CT
is a 50 voice choir consisting of treble boys and girls who sing together with an ensemble of skilled and carefully chosen adult altos, tenors, and basses. The boys and girls receive careful, systematic, and thorough training, and many study voice with one of the choir’s professional section leaders. This represents one Connecticut reinterpretation of the Anglican choral tradition, founded in the cathedrals and collegiate chapels of England, where choirs of boys and men have sung daily services for nearly a thousand years, chanting the psalms and singing a magnificent and ever expanding repertoire of anthems and canticles.
Since 1996, the St. Paul’s choir has enjoyed an artistic relationship with the noted British choirmaster Barry Rose (formerly of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, and St. Alban’s and Guildford Cathedrals). Over the intervening years, the choir has come to be considered by many to be one of the outstanding choirs of its type in the United States. In recent years the choir has sung at many of the principal churches in New York City and at Carnegie Hall, and treble members have appeared to critical acclaim in Yale Opera productions at the Shubert Theater in New Haven. Since 1998, the choir has sung numerous services throughout the British Isles, specifically in the cathedrals in Norwich, Ely, St Albans, Exeter, Bristol, Edinburgh, and Durham. In July, 2011, the choir was in residence at Hereford, Worcester, and Gloucester Cathedrals. The choir also enjoys an ongoing artistic collaboration with The American Baroque Orchestra, directed by Mark Bailey.
Recital following Evensong played by Erik Eickhoff, Music Director, Westminster Presbyterian Church, West Hartford, with video projection of the organ console during the music.
Thursday, July 12, 2012 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
Summer Hymn Sing
Sacred Music at the Red Door and the Parish Life Committee are organizing a summer hymn sing , from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m., with pot-luck dinner and dessert on the church grounds. To cast a vote for your favorite hymn(s), please send an email of up to five suggestions to music@sjparish.net, to be added to the book being assembled to sing outdoors. Someone has already suggested that perennial summer-season favorite, “Drop-kick me, Jesus, through the goal posts of life.” It really exists and you have to sing it to believe it! Mark your calendars and invite a friend to the fun.
Sunday May 20, 2012 at 5:00 p.m.
Sunday Tea (4:00 p.m.), Choral Evensong (5:00 p.m.) and a half-hour Organ Recital (Approx. 5:45 p.m.) Feel free to come for any or all of the afternoon; a brief break following Evensong permits easy coming and going. A video screen shows the organist’s hands and feet during the Recital.
May 20: Sung by the St. John’s Youth Choir (who will also provide entertainment during the Tea preceding).
Preces and Responses: John Abdenour
Phos Hilaron: Andrew Walker
Psalms 19 and 46 Anglican Chants by C. Hubert H. Parry and after Martin Luther
Evening Canticles: David Hogan “Washington”
Anthem: For the beauty of the earth – John Rutter
Organ Recital by Andy Kotylo, Trinity Church on the Green, New Haven.
PROGRAM:
Toccata in D-flat, Op. 104 (1935) Joseph Jongen (1873-1953)
Adagio in E Frank Bridge (1879-1941)
Serenade Derek Bourgeois (b. 1944)
From Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 42 Alexandre Guilmant (1837-1911)
II. Pastorale
III. Final
Andrew Kotylo is Associate Director of Music at Trinity Church on the Green in New Haven, Connecticut where he has been on the music staff since 2008. He holds degrees from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he wrote his dissertation on the life and music of the late Searle Wright. His organ teachers have included Carolyn Albaugh, Searle Wright, Christopher Young, and Larry Smith, and he has also coached with Jonathan Biggers. Dr. Kotylo has been a prize-winner in several competitions, including the National Young Artists Competition of the American Guild of Organists, the Arthur Poister Competition, and the San Marino Competition. He has performed in England and throughout the United States, including regional and national conventions of the A.G.O., and has been featured on American Public Media’s nationally syndicated radio show Pipedreams.
Sunday April 22, 2012 at 5:00 p.m.
Sunday Tea (4:00 p.m.), Choral Evensong (5:00 p.m.) and a half-hour Organ Recital (Approx. 5:45 p.m.) Feel free to come for any or all of the afternoon; a brief break following Evensong permits easy coming and going. A video screen shows the organist’s hands and feet during the Recital.
April 22: Sung by the Anglican Singers.
Introit: Sing my soul, his wondrous love – Ned Rorem
Responses: Martin Neary
Psalms 114 and 115 Anglican Chants by George Mursell Garrett and Gerald Knight
Evening Canticles: Herbert Howells “Sarum”
Anthem: Greater love hath no man – John Ireland
Organ Recital by Joseph Ripka, Calvary Church (Episcopal), Stonington.
PROGRAM:
Evocation II—Thierry Escaich (b. 1965)
Suite Pour Orgue Op 5Maurice Duruflé
- Prélude(1902-1986)
- Sicilienne
- Toccata
Joseph Ripka is organist and choirmaster at Calvary Church in Stonington where he directs the adult and youth choirs and serves as artistic director for the Calvary Music School. He is also organist for the Anglican Singers and assists Kevin Jones at Christ Church Cathedral in Hartford for services of choral evensong. He was previously organ scholar at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Fairfield, Connecticut, organist/choirmaster at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Kansas City, and organist/choir director at St. Paul’s United Church of Christ in Parma, OH. During the 2006-2007 academic year, Joseph served on the piano faculty at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota. Joseph has served as a jurist for the 2010 L. Cameron Johnson Memorial Competition for high school organ students and the North American round of the 2009 Tariverdiev International Organ Competition. As the first prize winner of the 2008 Dublin International Organ Competition, the 2008 Fort Wayne National Organ Competition and the 2008 San Marino/Elizabeth Elftman National Organ Competition, Joseph Ripka has earned national and international recognition as one of today’s finest young organ talents. Joseph was awarded first prize at the Dublin competition by a unanimous decision of all five international jurors. Joseph is in demand as a concert organist and has performed recitals throughout the United States. He received high praise in a review from the Boston Musical Intelligencer for his performance at Holy Cross College in Worcester Massachusetts on the renowned Taylor and Boody Opus 9 instrument, and most recently, received praise from the New York publication “Lucid Culture” for his performance at St Thomas Church 5th Avenue in New York City. Joseph has performed with the New World Symphony, the Boston Philharmonic, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra under conductors Michael Tilson Thomas, Benjamin Zander, and Alan Gilbert. Mr. Ripka’s recitals have been aired on American Public Media’s Pipedreams several times; he was invited by Michael Barone to be the featured artist for the 25th anniversary celebration of Pipedreams in 2008 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. During the summer of 2009, Joseph made his European concert debut with recitals at St. Sulpice in Paris, Bavo Kerk in Haarlem, Oude Kerk in Amsterdam, and Hooglandse Kerk in Leiden, Netherlands. Joseph has since played recitals at Westminster Cathedral in London, St. Michael’s Church in Dun Laoghaire, St Paul’s Cathedral in London, St Columb’s Cathedral in Derry, Noorderkerk in Amsterdam, Kings College Cambridge and many more. Mr. Ripka received the prestigious Artist Diploma in organ from the Oberlin Conservatory where he studied with James David Christie. He holds Master of Music degrees in piano and organ performance from the University of Kansas and Bachelor of Music degrees in piano and organ performance from Saint Cloud State University, MN. His previous teachers include James Higdon, Charles Echols, Jack Winerock, Carmen Wilhite, and Yakov Gelfand. He has coached with Olivier Latry, Marie Claire Alain, Wilma Jensen, Jean-Baptiste Robin, John Scott, and Phillipe Lefebvre. Joseph recently completed further graduate studies at the Yale Institute of Sacred music, where he studied organ with Martin Jean and organ improvisation with Jeff Brillhart. At Yale, he was the recipient of the Robert Baker stipend, which is given to a student deemed to be among the top 1 or 2 percent of the young organists in the country, the 2010 Charles Ives Prize by the Yale School of Music as the most outstanding organ student, the 2010 Mary Baker scholarship in organ accompanying by the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, and the 2011 Alumni Prize awarded by the Yale School of Music. www.josephripka.com
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Sunday April 29, 2012 at 10:30 a.m.
Excerpts from Missa Gaia (Earth Mass) will be sung during the 10:30 a.m. service in a liturgical celebration of Earth Day, with the Adult and Youth Choirs, percussion, and the pre-recorded sounds of wolves and seal pups!
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Sunday March 25, 2012 at 5:00 p.m.
International Celebrity Organ Recital by Wilma Jensen. A Lenten program tracing the path from Palm Sunday to Easter. General admission $10; students and seniors $7. Two for one admission (or half price single ticket) when you show your Let’s Go Arts card (a program of the Greater Hartford Arts Council). Reception following. (Dr. Jensen’s biography follows this program listing.)
Dr. Jensen will also teach a Public Masterclass on Friday, March 23 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., featuring three students from the Hartt School of Music already selected. This Class may be audited for $5.00. A video projector will show the students’ hands and feet during the masterclass.
PROGRAM
Méditation à Ste-Clotilde Philip James (1890-1975)
Symphonie VI, Op. 42 Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937)
Allegro
Kindly hold applause until the conclusion of the remainder of the program.
THE SUNDAY OF THE PASSION: PALM SUNDAY
Pour la Fête des Rameaux sur Jeanne-Angèle-Désirée-Yvonne Joulain (1920-2010)
“Hosanna Filio David”
THE LAST SUPPER
The Washing of the Feet
Meditation Ubi caritas “Where charity and love prevail” Larry Visser (b. 1962)
The Holy Eucharist
Panis Angelicus “Bread of Angels” Pierre Camonin (1903-2003)
THE PASSION
Scène of the Passion Daniel Lesur (1908-2002)
Passion Symphony Paul de Maleingreau (1887-1956)
The Tumult in the Praetorium
Passion Symphony Marcel Dupré (1886-1971)
Crucifixion
Herzlich tut mich verlangen “My heart is filled with longing” Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Chorale Prelude, Op. 122, #10
THE RESURRECTION
Mors et resurrectio “Death and resurrection” Jean Langlais (1907-1991)
Resurrection Larry King (1932-1990)
Lament
The Rising
Ecstasy
Reflection
Fantasie-Improvisation sur le “Victimae Paschali” Charles Tournemire (1860-1939)
“The Paschal Victim” ed. Maurice Duruflé
WILMA JENSEN
An extensive career as a concert organist has taken WILMA JENSEN throughout the United States to play on such well-known instruments as those at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, The Riverside Church in New York City, and the West Point United States Military Academy. Having played for several Regional Conventions and three National Conventions of the American Guild of Organists, she is in demand as a recitalist, lecturer and clinician for choral workshops, church music workshops and organ master classes. Numerous European tours have taken her to Norway, Sweden, Denmark, West Germany, France, Poland, The Netherlands and England. In addition, she has made a recording for West German Broadcasting, Sender Freis Berlin.
Dr. Jensen earned her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where she was a student of Catharine Crozier and Harold Gleason. During that time she received the highly coveted Performer’s Certificate in Organ. The artist received an Honorary Doctorate from Piedmont College in May 2004. Recognized as a successful teacher, Wilma Jensen has been on the faculties of Oklahoma City University, the Blair School of Music of Vanderbilt University, Scarritt Graduate School, and Indiana University, where she was a tenured professor.
With a long, active musical career, Dr. Wilma Jensen has always had a focus in three directions- Church Music, Teaching and Performance. Now Choirmaster/Organist Emerita of St. George’s Episcopal Church, she was for 19 years Choirmaster/Organist, building the choir to a musical level which included an invitation to sing for the National Convention of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and an extended tour in Europe. On that tour, Dr. Jensen conducted St. George’s Choir in their singing of the Sunday morning Mass at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. The Mass featured the Vierne Messe Solennelle, which was written for choir and two organs for Notre Dame Cathedral. Before the service, the choir sang an extended group of a cappella repertoire.
Dr. Jensen has made two professional solo recordings; Mors et Resurrecto (Arkay label) and Sketches and Improvisations(Pro Organo label), which is in the French Tradition. Both recordings were made on the Casavant Organ at St. George’s Church. She also made two recordings conducting St George’s Choir on the Pro Organo label.
Wilma Jensen has resumed her concert career performing extensively the last two years in organ recitals, conducting church choral and organ music workshops, and teaching organ master classes. In the 2004-2005 season she preformed at The Riverside Church in New York City, in Jacksonville, FL, Oklahoma City, Atlanta, Perkasie, Pennsylvania, and at First Congregational Church in Los Angeles on one of the largest church pipe organs in the world.
Wilma Jensen was Dean of the Nashville Chapter of the American Guild of Organists for 2006-2007.
In June 2005, the artist traveled to France where she played an organ recital at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris on Sunday afternoon, June 26. This was her fourth concert appearance at the Cathedral. The summer Sunday organ recitals often draw a crowd of approximately 5,000 people.
Dr. Jensen has just released a 2 DVD set Teaching Video entitled ORGANIZING NOTES IN SPACE – Developing Organ Technique and Musicality. On the Video she explains the development of various touches and teaches seven of her former students.
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Sunday April 1, 2012 at 5:00 p.m.
A Bach organ Vespers for Holy Week. Played by St. John’s Music Director Peter Stoltzfus Berton, an hour of music of J. S. Bach, also tracing the path from Palm Sunday to Easter.
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Thursday February 16, 2012 at 7:00 p.m.
Passion and Folly in Baroque Song. Marian Maccarone, soprano and Tim Stella, harpsichord, in a Valentine’s Day-themed concert to feed the heart and soul. General admission $10; students and seniors $7. Two for one admission (or half price single ticket) when you show your Let’s Go Arts card (a program of the Greater Hartford Arts Council). Reception following.
Marian Maccarone and Tim Stella excite audiences with this concert of varied baroque music. Even though they perform at a high level of expertise, their rapport with each other and the audience generates energy with passion and fun. Both Marian and Tim enjoy speaking directly to the audience, sharing fascinating tidbits about the music or composer, putting the selection in a context to make it even more enjoyable. Audiences leave a performance enlightened and delighted.
Click here to order tickets online
PROGRAMNymphs and Shepherds Henry Purcell (1658-1695) from The Libertine Oh sleep, why dost thou leave me? from Semele, HWV 58 Verdi Prati from Alcina, HWV 34 Piangero la sorte mia George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) from Giulio Cesare, HWV 17 Pavana Dolorosa, harpsichord solo Peter Philips? (1560-1628) Oh, had I Jubal’s lyre George Frideric Handel from Joshua, HWV 64 Lasciatemi morire Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) from Ariana Lascia ch’io pianga George Frideric Handel from Rinaldo, HWV 7 Gia il sole dal Gange Alessandro Scarlatti (1659-1725) The Carman’s Whistle, harpsichord solo William Byrd (1543-1623) Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, BWV 147 Bist du bei mir, BWV 508 Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Ombrai mai fu George Frideric Handel from Xerxes, HWV 40 Vittoria, mio core Giacomo Carissimi
The harpsichord used in this concert was built in 1997 by Carl Dudash and decorated by Marilee Dudash. It incorporates a design feature found on just a handful of extant instruments from the 16th and 17th Centuries. The jacks that pluck the strings are arranged in three rows, or registers, that spread apart toward the bass. This produces great contrasts in timbre between registers giving the player an interesting variety of sounds from which to choose.
The instrument was originally commissioned by the late Richard P. Garmany, a great patron of the arts and a fine amateur musician. Before his death in 2008, Mr. Garmany established a fund to support both the arts and medical research.
Sunday February 5, 2012 at 4:00 p.m. (Tea), 5:00 p.m. (Evensong), and 5:45 p.m. (30 minute Organ Recital)
Evensong sung by the St. John’s Youth and Adult Choirs. Recital by Graham Schultz, Lloyd Cast Organ Scholar, The Cathedral of All Saints, Albany, NY
Evensong:
Organ: Fugue on ‘How brightly shines the morning star’ Max Reger
My soul doth magnify the Lord, S. 643 Johann Sebastian Bach
Introit: O nata lux Thomas Tallis
Preces and Responses William Smith
Psalms 48 and 87 Anglican Chants by Edward Elgar and Jonathan Battishill
Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in D George Dyson
Anthem: When to the temple Mary went Johannes Eccard
Organ: Lord God, now open wide thy heaven, S. 617 Bach
Recital:
Sonata III in A Major, Op. 65 Felix Mendelssohn 1809-1847
I. Con moto maestoso
Ave Maria, Ave Maris Stella ( 3 Paraphrases grégoriennes, Op. 5) Jean Langlais 1907-1991
Chorale No. 3 in A minor César Franck (1822-1890)
Graham Schultz, originally from Fayetteville, Arkansas, received his Bachelor of Music in organ performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music studying with Mr. Todd Wilson. Prior to studying in Cleveland, Graham attended the Interlochen Arts Academy. A dedicated church musician, Graham served for five years as the Organist and Choirmaster at St. James Church, Cleveland while also serving as an Assistant Organist at the parish of the Immaculate Conception in Cleveland. For four years he was the accompanist and director of the training choir for the Ohio Boychoir.
Sunday November 13 at 4:00 p.m. (Tea), 5:00 p.m. (Evensong), and 5:45 p.m. (30 minute Organ Recital)
Tea, Evensong and Organ Recital. The first of the ‘regular format’ Sunday Evensongs at St. John’s [the October 15 Evensong was a Saturday with special hospitality in honor of The Rev’d Joseph L. Pace]. English Tea in the Parish Hall, then the renowned Choir of the Church of the Advent, Boston, directed by Mark Dwyer, sang Evensong. A recital of Elgar’s complete Enigma Variations, transcribed by Daniel Stipe, Assistant Organist, Trinity Church, Princeton, NJ followed.
Evensong:
Prelude: Priere Cesar Franck (Daniel Stipe, organ)
Bring us, O Lord God William H. Harris
Preces and Responses William Smith
Psalms 46 and 19 Anglican chants adapted from Martin Luther, and by John Goss
Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis for Worcester Cathedral Herbert Howells
Love of love and Light of light William H. Harris
Postlude: Te lucis ante terminum Marcel Dupre
Thursday November 10 at 7:00 p.m.
Candlelight Concert. J. S. Bach’s intimate Cantata 78 and John Rutter’s lyrical Requiem, an evocative meditation on life and death in observance of All Saints Day and Veterans Day, featured the Adult and Youth choirs of St. John’s with organ and chamber orchestra. Preferred Reserved Seating $30; General admission $15; students and seniors $10. Two for one admission when you show your Lets Go Arts card (a program of the Greater Hartford Arts Council). A candlelight reception followed.
Friday October 28 at 7:00 p.m.
Pipescreams, A Halloween concert co-presented by the Greater Hartford Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. The music of DEAD composers was performed by local keyboard wizards making mischief in a wacky, video-enhanced program. Special guests included the Seven Deadly Sins and the St. John’s Youth Choir. Treats followed; costumes were welcome! $5 suggested donation, or food for the local Food Bank.
THE PROGRAM WAS:
Toccata and fugue in d minor BWV 565 Johann Sebastian Bach
Peter Stoltzfus Berton, with cameo appearances by Lady Gaga and St. John’s Youth Choir
Theme and variation from Sonata VI (with the Seven Deadly Sins) Felix Mendelssohn
Cheryl Rita Wadsworth
Toccata from Pieces de Fantasie Op 53 Louis Vierne
Angela Salcedo
Allegro maestoso from Symphony III Louis Vierne
Monica Czausz
Funeral March of the Marionettes (Costume parade) Charles Gounod, arr. W.T. Best
Kari Miller
Toccata from Suite Gothique Leon Boellmann
Meg Smith
Chatanooga Choo-choo arr. Cheryl Wadsworth
Cheryl Wadsworth
The Great Gate of Kiev from Pictures at an Exhibition Modest Mussorgsky
Eugenia Sullivan
Strange Meadowlark Dave Brubeck
Toccata in b minor Eugène Gigout
Natasha Ulyanovsky
Ride of the Valkyries Richard Wagner, arr. Clarence Dickinson and Charlotte Mathewson Lockwood
Peter Stoltzfus and Peter Berton (ghost duet)
Saturday October 15 at 5:00 p.m.
Choral Evensong The combined choirs of St. John’s and Trinity Church, Hartford sang Evensong in celebration of the Rev’d Joseph L. Pace’s 20 years as Rector of St. John’s. Passacaglia, a new organ work by Peter Stoltzfus Berton, in honor of Fr. Pace, premiered as the Prelude at 4:50 p.m. A reception followed.
A recording of this service has been posted here: https://stjohnswesthartford.podcastpeople.com/
Prelude Passacaglia, Op. 20 Peter Stoltzfus Berton
Introit When rooks fly homeward Arthur Baynon
Preces and Responses Anthony Piccolo
Phos Hilaron Hymn 31 Dunedin
Psalms 110:1-5, 116, 117 Anglican Chants by G. Thalben-Ball, W. H. Havergal, C. Dearnley
Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in C Charles Villiers Stanford
Hymn 521 Put forth, O God, thy Spirit’s might Chelsea Square
Anthem Thou, O God, art praised in Sion Malcolm C. Boyle
Hymn 525 The Church’s one foundation Aurelia
Postlude Apparition de l’Eglise Eternelle Olivier Messiaen
Thursday September 22, 2011 at 7:00 p.m.
Concert by Trio Cantabile. A program of sacred and secular favorites with soprano (Margaret Beers), piano (Stacy Cahoon) and harp (Amanda Evans). The program included many combinations of these three musicians, with instrumental solos and a duet for piano and harp. Highlights were Mozart’s Alleluia, Bach-Gounod’s Ave Maria, a Debussy duet for piano and harp, a Brahms piano solo, excerpts from The Marriage of Figaro and The Merry Widow, Maurice Ravel’s unusual and ravishing “Kaddisch” from Two Hebrew Melodies, and Leonard Bernstein’s “A Simple Song.” A reception followed. Click to download the complete program including listings of our patrons and advertisers: TrioCantabile092211.pdf
(Photo: Gay Ayers)
Tickets were General admission $10, Seniors/students $7, with Two-for-one admission when you show your LetsGoArts card (a program of the Greater Hartford Arts Council).
Sunday, May 22, 2011 from 5 to 7 pm at the New Britain Museum of American Art
A season preview party for Sacred Music at the Red Door, the new music series of St. John’s Church
Our expanded series of musical offerings to the Parish and wider community began in September 2011. The name of the series makes reference to our front doors, with their traditional color of welcome and sanctuary. The series will help to establish St. John’s as a destination for those seeking musical refreshment and excellence, drawing on the existing strengths of our choirs (and guest choirs and choir collaborations), architecture, organ, location, and Anglican heritage. The three main elements provided by the series to raise the visibility of St. John’s in the wider community are: concerts, monthly evening worship (Evensong), and enhanced Sunday morning worship on more occasions throughout the year (with special offerings with instruments, or formats like Lessons and Carols).
In advance of the new program year, Sacred Music at the Red Door hosted a special event on Sunday, May 22, 2011 at the New Britain Museum of American Art. This event was free and open to the entire Parish, as a thank-you to leadership donors and to ‘unveil’ the plans for the season, to help generate some advance excitement in the larger arts community. From 5 to 7 p.m. (just after the museum closes to the general public), the event involved beverages and nibbles, a presentation about the Series and delivery of an exciting season brochure, brief musical entertainment, and a private tour of the world-famous Museum by its Director, parishioner Douglas Hyland. Included were a revelation of music in the visual arts, and an opportunity to consider music’s transforming power in our lives. The musical entertainment was provided by Trio Cantabile (who also was the series’s first concert performer in September), consisting of Margaret Beers, soprano; Amanda Evans, harp; and Stacy Cahoon, piano.
Sunday, April 17 at 5:00 p.m. at St. John’s Church
A French Organ Vespers for Holy Week, played by Peter Stoltzfus Berton
Music by Lili Boulanger, Marcel Dupré, Olivier Messiaen,
Charles Tournemire and Charles-Marie Widor. Assisted by Louise Penfield Blood, soprano.
Sunday, April 10, 2011 at 4:00 p.m. at
The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, New York City
Choral Evensong
Sung by the combined Adult and Youth Choirs of St. John’s Church and Trinity Church, Hartford.
Click to view photos, listen to recordings, and read more about the day
Music by the combined Choirs:
Introit: God be in my head H. Walford Davies
Phos hilaron: O gracious light David Hogan
Preces and Responses John Barnard
Psalm 130 Anglican Chant after Henry Purcell
Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis David Hogan (Washington Service)
Anthems: Thou, O Lord, art my hope Peter Stoltzfus Berton
Lead, kindly light William H. Harris
Sunday, April 3, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. at Trinity Church, Hartford
Choral Evensong
Sung by the combined Youth Choirs of St. John’s Church; Trinity Church, Hartford; St. James’s Church, West Hartford and St. John’s Church, Waterbury, under the direction of Walden Moore, Organist and Choirmaster of Trinity Church on the Green, New Haven.
Music by the combined Youth Choirs:
Introit: God be in my head H. Walford Davies
Phos hilaron: O gracious light David Hogan
Preces and Responses John Barnard
Psalm 46 Anglican Chant after Martin Luther
Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis David Hogan (Washington Service)
Anthems: Thou, O Lord, art my hope Peter Stoltzfus Berton
Lead, kindly light William H. Harris
Sunday, March 6, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. at Trinity Church, Hartford
Choral Evensong
Sung by the St. John’s Adult Choir and Trinity Church Adult Choir combined, at Trinity Church.
Music by the combined Adult Choirs:
Introit: O nata lux Thomas Tallis
Preces and Responses Paul Halley
Psalms 114 and 115 Anglican Chants by George Thalben-Ball and Michael Camidge
Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis Herbert Murrill in E
Anthem: Evening Hymn H. Balfour Gardiner
Sunday, February 6, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. Choral Evensong for Candlemass
A candlelight reception followed in Hubbard Hall.
Download the service leaflet: Evensong020611.pdf
Read about this event in West Hartford News: Choral Evensong at St. John’s
Listen (in two parts): Part1.mp3 Part2.mp3
Music by the Youth and Adult Choirs:
Introit: O nata lux Thomas Tallis
Preces and Responses Plainsong
Psalms 87 and 48 Anglican Chants by Jonathan Battishill and Edward Elgar
Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis David Hogan (Washington Service)
Anthem: When to the temple Mary went Johannes Eccard
Organ: Lord God, now open wide thy heaven, S. 617 Johann Sebastian Bach
Organ: Fugue on ‘How brightly shines the morning star’ Max Reger
Saturday, December 4, 2010 at 10:30 and 11:30 a.m.
During the St. John’s annual Christmas Festival, two short carol concerts were given by members of the adult and youth choirs including some audience sing-along merriment.
Sunday, November 7, 2010 at 10:30 a.m.
Special music for the celebration of All Saints’ Day featured excerpts from the Requiems of John Rutter and Mack Wilberg, accompanied by organ, flute, cello and harp. The St. John’s Choirs were joined by six choristers from the St. Cecilia Choir of All Saints Church, Worcester, Massachusetts.
Friday, October 29 2010 at 7:00 pm.
PIPE SCREAMS
An hour-long spooky, wacky concert for all ages, sponsored and played by members of the Greater Hartford Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. Free admission; reception following. With a video introduction to the King of Instruments, a screen to watch hands and feet and pipes as they play, and a wicked brief appearance by the St. John’s Youth Choir. Costumes welcome!
The program, featuring music of DEAD composers, was:
1. Toccata and Fugue in d minor by Johann Sebastian Bach
Played by Kari Magg, Director of Music, Central Baptist Church, Hartford
2. A Video Introduction to the Pipe Organ
By Peter Stoltzfus Berton, Director of Music, St. John’s Church, West Hartford
3. Fantasy on the name BACH by Max Reger
Played by Eugenia Sullivan, Director of Music, St. Mary’s Church, Simsbury
4. Three Teeny Preludes – by P.D.Q. Bach (Duet arranged for organ by the performers)
Played by Peter Stoltzfus Berton, Director of Music, St. John’s Church, West Hartford and Jane Penfield, of the Greater Hartford Arts Council
SPECIAL APPEARANCE OF THE FELONIOUS MONKS (members of the St. John’s Youth Choir) occurred here, singing in solemn procession the Advent hymn-tune ‘Nun Komm, der Heiden Heiland’ which is the basis for the next piece. Text:
Savior of the nations, come! Virgin’s Son, make here your home.
Marvel now, both heav’n and earth, that the Lord chose such a birth.
Something wicked this way comes! Wicked cool, on earth your home.
Wicked good the holy boy; Wicked excellent our joy.
Stanza 3: Kazoos.
5. Dance of Darkness from Advent Dances by Douglas Major (Duet originally
written for organ) Played by Cheryl Wadsworth, Director of Music, United Methodist Church of Hartford, and Lori Bourret, Poquonock Community Congregational Church, Windsor
6. Funeral March of a Marionette by Charles Gounod, played by Francesco Blackmore, a student of Meg Smith
7. Imperial March from Star Wars (Darth Vader’s Theme) by John Williams (not dead yet)
Played by Meg Smith, Minister of Music, Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church, East Hampton
8. Ronde Française by Léon Boëllmann
Played by Peter Stoltzfus Berton, Director of Music, St. John’s Church, West Hartford
9. Sabre Dance (from Gayene) by Aram Khachaturian, played by Natasha Ulyanovsky, Director of Music of Beth Israel Congregation (Synagogue), West Hartford and Director of Music of St. Bridget’s Church, West Hartford
10. Blue Shadows in the Street by Dave Brubeck, played by Natasha Ulyanovsky
11. Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saens (organ duet transcription by Edwin H. Lemare)Played by Jason Roberts, Director of Music, St. James’s Church, West Hartford, and Natasha Ulyanovsky