February 10, 2015, Cincinnati, Ohio: The Knox Music Series, a community outreach program featuring sacred choral/orchestral masterworks produced by Knox Presbyterian Church presents:
Mozart and Haydn at Knox
W.A. Mozart Vespers (Vesperae solennes de confessor) K. 339
F.J. Haydn Harmoniemesse (Wind-Band Mass)
Sunday, March 8, 2015 | 2:00 PM
Knox Choir, Knox Soloists, Chamber Orchestra Earl Rivers, conductor
Knox Presbyterian Church
Michigan and Observatory Avenues, Hyde Park
Free admission – Free-will offering
Performers include the 50-voice Knox Choir, Knox Soloists, and Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Earl Rivers, Knox Church Director of Music. Featured Knox Soloists include Erin Keesy and Jasmine Habersham, sopranos; Theresa Merrill and Debra VanEngen, mezzo-sopranos; T.J. Capobianco and John Humphrey, tenors; Michael Young, baritone; and Derrell Acon, bass. A full Classical chamber orchestra of winds, brass, timpani, strings, and continuo organ will add a rich coloring to the work. Admission to this performance is free.
Composed in 1802, the 40-minute Harmoniemesse (Wind-Band Mass) is the last major choral/orchestral work of F.J. Haydn, the “father of the string quartet and the symphony.” Haydn’s Harmoniemesse is considered to be his last “symphony,” as the scale of the work exhibits the grand scope of a symphony with added voices. (In German, Harmonie means a band of wind instruments, and Haydn’s last masterwork is so named because of its large woodwind section.) Mozart composed his Vespers K. 339 in Salzburg in 1780, and he considered the work to be among his “finest sacred” compositions, circulating the score among the Viennese to display his skills as a composer of sacred music. The 25-minute Vespers comprises settings of five Psalms and the Magnificat from St. Luke.
Additional information about the Knox Music Series and the March 8 performance can be found at http://www.knox.org/musicseries or by calling the Knox Church office at (513) 321-2573.
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