Photo of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine by Scott Matthews.
The Cathedral of St. John the Divine on 112th Street and Amsterdam Avenue is looking for musicians who want to participate in a concert designed to show support for refugees. The concert is free to attend. Information is below and you can RSVP here.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2017
7 PM – 8:30 PM, CATHEDRALInstrumentalists, singers and music lovers are invited to participate or take refuge in the sounds of Bach, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Mozart and Fauré. This community gathering will be a show of support for refugees and reaffirm our commitment that immigrants make America great.
Instrumentalists: RSVP to sbiegner@stjohndivine.org and we will have music on hand for you to play.
Singers: Bring your own scores; you will find selections on CPDL if you do not own scores.
Music lovers: Just come and sit anywhere you like!
Repertoire (music of hope and consolation)
Bach: Dona nobis pacem & Qui tollis peccata mundi (from Mass in B Minor)
Brahms: Selig sind die toten & Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit (from German Requiem, movement 1)
Fauré: Libera me, Domine (from Requiem)
Mendelssohn: Verleigh uns Frieden Gnädiglich (Grant us peace)
Mendelssohn: He, watching over Israel & Cast thy burden (from Elijah)
Mozart: Recordare, Confutatis & Lacrymosa (from Requiem, Süssmayr version)In preparation, we’ve been thinking about this quote, which has been posted in many different places online in the past week:
“This morning I have been pondering a nearly forgotten lesson I learned in high school music. Sometimes in band or choir, music requires players or singers to hold a note longer than they actually can hold a note. In those cases, we were taught to mindfully stagger when we took a breath so the sound appeared uninterrupted. Everyone got to breathe, and the music stayed strong and vibrant. Yesterday, I read an article that suggested the administration’s litany of bad executive orders (more expected on LGBTQ next week) is a way of giving us “protest fatigue” – we will literally lose our will to continue the fight in the face of the onslaught of negative action. Let’s remember MUSIC. Take a breath. The rest of the chorus will sing. The rest of the band will play. Rejoin so others can breathe. Together, we can sustain a very long, beautiful song for a very, very long time. You don’t have to do it all, but you must add your voice to the song. With special love to all the musicians and music teachers in my life.”This event is sponsored by the Music Department at the Cathedral of St John the Divine and will feature Kent Tritle, Anna Lenti, Raymond Nagem, Bryan Zaros, Stephen Biegner, Arthur Fiacco, Jorge Avila and the Cathedral Choirs.
