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Home > Press FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE March 9, 2007
CHICAGO A CAPPELLA UNCOVERS MUSICAL RICHES OF ARGENTINA
New concert by the acclaimed classical vocal ensemble features Chicago, IL — Chicago a cappella will celebrate the musical riches of Argentina with a very special event, Through Argentine Eyes. Presented by an expanded ensemble of twelve singers conducted by Jonathan Miller, the concert will include the Midwest premiere of a major new work, Ezequiel Viñao’s The Wanderer, co-commissioned by Chicago a cappella and Chanticleer. The group will also sing treasures from Argentina’s great classical-music composers such as Alberto Ginastera and Carlos Guastavino, and the Chicago premiere of a piece by CSO composer-in-residence Osvaldo Golijov (the “Coral del Arrecife” from his work Oceana). The ensemble will also perform Argentine dance pieces featuring brilliant tango dancers Daniel Noce and Ramona Nita. Each performance will feature a free pre-concert discussion with artistic director Jonathan Miller and composer Ezequiel Viñao. Through Argentine Eyes will take place Friday, April 13, 2007, at 8:00 pm (pre-concert discussion at 7:30 pm), at DePaul Concert Hall, 800 W. Belden Ave. in Chicago; Saturday, April 14, at 8:00 pm (pre-concert discussion at 7:30 pm), at Pilgrim Congregational Church, 460 Lake Street in Oak Park, IL; and Sunday, April 15, at 7:30 pm (pre-concert discussion at 7:00 pm), at the Music Institute of Chicago, 1490 Chicago Ave. in Evanston, IL. Major Work Premiered Chicago a cappella will sing the Midwest premiere of composer Ezequiel Viñao’s The Wanderer at the ensemble’s upcoming concerts. Co-commissioned by Chicago a cappella and the acclaimed men’s ensemble Chanticleer, The Wanderer traces the thoughts and feelings of a knight who has lost his lord in battle and is adrift amid war’s desolation, seeking a worthy new leader. This remarkable 32-minute work is a significant addition to Chicago a cappella’s acclaimed programming. The work is written to a medieval Anglo-Saxon poem in the composer’s own English translation. Composed in six voice parts, the work is both stark and rich, haunting and complex. Viñao creates a unique sound-world that combines the open harmonies and rhythmic modes of early medieval polyphony, such as that written by Perotin for Notre Dame Cathedral around the year 1200, with dramatic contemporary dissonances. With this potent combination of styles, the music illuminates both the wanderer’s heartfelt lament and his dispassionate reflections on fate, with the narrator’s voice alternating among the singers over gently shifting harmonic backdrops of great power and intensity. Ezequiel Viñao was born in Argentina and studied with Milton Babbitt at the Juilliard School and with Olivier Messiaen in France. His works have been heard at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and Vienna’s Musikverein, and performed by musicians including Dennis Russell Davies, the Julliard String Quartet, and the New York New Music Ensemble. His music has been described as “concentrated, evocative…of austerely theatrical force (The Times, London). Mr. Viñao will participate in an informal pre-concert discussion of The Wanderer with Chicago a cappella’s artistic director Jonathan Miller before each performance. Argentine Gems Through Argentine Eyes shines the spotlight on Argentine composers past and present. Perhaps the country’s most famed composer, Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983), is represented by his brilliant 1946 choral work Lamentations of Jeremiah. The music of Carlos Guastavino (1912-2000) is rooted in traditional Argentinean dance rhythms and melodies. One of his best-known songs, “Se Equivocó la Paloma” (“The Dove was Wrong”), will be heard along with the delightful “Arroz con leche,” based on a melody that Guastavino learned from his mother. Chicago Premiere by Golijov Chicago a cappella will also sing the Chicago premiere of “Coral del Arrecife” (Chorale of the Reef), a work by one of today’s most acclaimed composers, Osvaldo Golijov. Currently Composer-In-Residence at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Golijov wrote the piece as the finale of his Oceana for orchestra, chorus and soloists. Set to poetry of Pablo Neruda, “Coral del Arrecife” is an a cappella tour de force for double chorus, hypnotically invoking the ocean’s swelling and receding waves. These performances are the first opportunity for Chicago audiences to hear this work; a recording of Oceana by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is to be released later this year. Tango a cappella Perhaps nothing is more closely associated with Argentina’s music than the tango, and Chicago a cappella won’t disappoint. The ensemble will perform dance music of Argentina—tangos, milongas and malambos, including two works by Astor Piazzolla—featuring a pair of brilliant tango dancers, Daniel Noce and Ramona Nita. A native of Argentina, Daniel Noce is a well-known artistic director in his home country and an award-winning dancer, choreographer and instructor, specializing in the arts of Argentine tango and folk dances. He wrote, directed and starred in the critically acclaimed Entre Tango y Tango, which toured Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. Since 1995, he has been the choreographer and lead dancer in the annual Carnival Parade of Corrientes, Argentina. Born in Europe and raised in Chicago, Ramona Nita began her professional dance career as a member of the Joel Hall Dancers. She has performed at the Athenaeum Theatre, Schubert Theatre, Merle Reskin Theatre, Chicago Cultural Center, and with the dance company Culture Shock, France in Paris. Chicago a cappella Chicago a cappella is recognized as one of the area’s most accomplished and innovative vocal ensembles. Spanning a repertoire from Gregorian chant to the Beatles, the group offers superb ensemble singing, fascinating programs, and intimate, engaging performances under founder and artistic director Jonathan Miller. Since 1993, Chicago a cappella has presented over 120 concerts in the Chicago area in addition to appearances in ten states and in Mexico. The group appeared at the Ravinia Festival and the Chicago Humanities Festival and has released six CDs. The Washington Post has praised the ensemble for its “clarity, well-balanced tone, and deep emotional involvement.” And American Organist magazine wrote in 2006, “Chicago a cappella is a jewel in the crown of Chicago's musical life.” Calendar Editors, Please Note: [Category:
Performing Arts / Music / Classical Music] ### The Wanderer was commissioned as part of the national series of works from Meet The Composer Commissioning Music/USA, which is made possible by generous support from the National Endowment for the Arts, The Helen F. Whitaker Fund, and the Target Foundation. “Through Argentine Eyes” is underwritten in part by a generous grant from the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation Chicago a cappella is partially supported by The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation; the MacArthur Fund for Arts & Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation; a CityArts Program 2 grant from the City of Chicago Dept. of Cultural Affairs and the Illinois Arts Council; the Oak Park Area Arts Council, in partnership with the Villages of Oak Park, Forest Park and River Forest; and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. ### |
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