FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 8, 2010
For More Information: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) (773) 281-7820
The acclaimed vocal ensemble unveils a clever collection of music ranging from English Renaissance through 1970s pop and a world premiere
Chicago, IL —Chicago a cappella warms up April in Chicago with music about birds, bees, and “the birds and the bees” at a new concert premiering April 16. The Birds and The Bees will feature the acclaimed vocal ensemble singing charming Renaissance madrigals about birds, sublime works by Mendelssohn and Hindemith, Daniel Pinkham’s witty cycle Bugs, passionate standards by Cole Porter and Hoagy Carmichael, and guilty pleasures from 1970s pop radio. Chicago a cappella’s celebrated musical range and irresistible charisma will give music lovers a delightful way to welcome spring to the city.
The Birds and The Bees will take place Friday, April 16, at 8:00 PM, at Anne and Howard Gottlieb Hall, 38 S. Peoria St. in Chicago; Sunday, April 18, at 4:00 PM, at Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Ave. in Evanston, IL; Saturday, April 24, at 8:00 PM, at Wentz Concert Hall, 171 E. Chicago Ave. in Naperville, IL; and on Sunday, April 25, at 4:00 PM, at Pilgrim Congregational Church, 460 Lake St. in Oak Park, IL. For tickets and information, visit www.chicagoacappella.org or call (773) 755-1628.
When Shakespeare wrote “Where the bee sucks, there suck I” for the spirit Ariel to sing in The Tempest, he likely imagined a tune like the one Robert Johnson wrote for the play in the early 17th century. Chicago a cappella artistic director Jonathan Miller has re-scored Johnson’s song for the group’s upcoming concert The Birds and The Bees, but he also went further. Miller composed a new, original setting that owes more to funk superstar George Clinton than it does to the Elizabethan Age, and Chicago a cappella sings the world premiere at these performances. Hungarian composer György Orbán’s “O Mistress Mine!” provides yet another take on the Bard, with a playful, contemporary setting of the Twelfth Night text. That musical range will be heard throughout the concert, with works by Renaissance composers Thomas Weelkes, Claudio Monteverdi, Clement Janequin, and Josquin de Prez, alongside jazz-pop standards by Cole Porter, Hoagy Carmichael and Nat King Cole, and the Beatles’ “Honey Pie.”
“The Birds and The Bees” has both literal and figurative connotations, and Chicago a cappella’s new concert covers both with a delightfully diverse musical collection. The group will sing of birds in Paul Hindemith’s tender setting of the Rilke poem “Un Cygne” (“A Swan,” 1939) and in Felix Mendelssohn’s song “Die Nachtigall” (The Nightingale, 1843), based on a Goethe text. Settings of English folk songs by Ralph Vaughan Williams (“The Turtle Dove”) and Paul Crabtree (a selection from his cycle Five Bird Songs) offer more feathered creatures. Bees take center stage in Ward Swingle’s wild a cappella arrangement of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee, and—along with a few other insects—in Daniel Pinkham’s clever five-movement cycle Bugs. When it comes to “the birds and the bees” in the figurative sense, audiences will get a steamy helping of passion with the jazz classic “Fever,” a movement from Jonathan Miller’s cycle Kisses of Myrrh (“Thy Two Breasts”), and the 1976 pop hit “Afternoon Delight,” in an a cappella arrangement by Chicagoan Chris Rishel.
Chicago a cappella is one of the area’s most accomplished and innovative vocal ensembles. Spanning a repertoire from Gregorian chant to the Beatles, the group is celebrating its 17th season under founding Artistic Director Jonathan Miller. With musical preparation by Music Director Patrick Sinozich, the ensemble was recently lauded for its “appealing charisma and seamless blend” (Chicago Tribune). Tour engagements have taken Chicago a cappella to 11 U.S. states and Mexico, and the group has appeared on national radio broadcasts, including American Public Media’s Performance Today. The group has commissioned works by Tania León, Chen Yi, Ezequiel Viñao, Rollo Dilworth and Stacy Garrop, and has given world premieres of dozens of new works. Chicago a cappella has recorded seven acclaimed CDs, including releases on the Cedille and Centaur labels, and has been hailed as “a jewel in the crown of Chicago’s musical life” (American Organist).
[Category: Performing Arts / Music / Classical Music]
Fri., 4/16/10, 8:00 pm, Anne & Howard Gottlieb Hall, 38 S. Peoria St., Chicago, IL
Sun., 4/18/10, 4:00 pm, Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Ave., Evanston, IL
Sat., 4/24/10, 8:00 pm, Wentz Concert Hall, 171 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville, IL
Sun, 4/25/10, 4:00 pm, Pilgrim Congregational Church, 460 Lake St., Oak Park, IL
Tickets: $35/$28/$22 seniors (62+)/$12 students (23 and under)/group rates available.
For tickets and information call (773) 755-1628 or visit www.chicagoacappella.org.
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