SF Lyric Chorus presents music by Amy Beach, Henry Purcell & John Blow August 26, 2007

Tickets: $20 general; $17 advance sale/seniors; free admission for students 5-18 with ID. Please, no children under 5.

Tickets can be purchased by phone at (415) 721-4077 or online at http://www.sflc.org/concerts

Program:
Amy Beach--Grand Mass in E Flat Major
John Blow--Begin the Song; Ode on St. Cecilia's Day, 1684 (selections)
Henry Purcell--Come Ye Sons of Art (selections)

Featured Accompanist:
Robert Train Adams, Organ

Featured Soloists:
Mitzie Kay Weiner, Soprano
Katherine McKee, Alto
Colby Roberts, Tenor
Kevin Baum, Tenor
Thomas Hart, Bass

A little background on the music:

This Summer, the San Francisco Lyric Chorus presents the dramatic and passionate Grand Mass in E Flat Major by Amy Marcy Cheney Beach, America's first major woman composer (1867-1944). This work is the first Mass composed by an American woman. Amy Beach was a child prodigy, and could sing 40 tunes in key at the age of one. She began to compose before she was two! By age four, she was playing the piano and memorizing correctly everything that she heard. By age seven, she was giving concerts, playing the works of such composers as Beethoven, Chopin, Handel, Mozart and Schubert, as well as her own compositions. She made her debut as a pianist in Boston in 1883, and appeared eleven times as a soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She lived briefly in San Francisco during her teen-age years, residing with an aunt.

In 1885, she was married to a prominent Boston doctor, and turned to composition, rather than continuing on the concert stage. Between 1885 and the death of her husband in 1910, she composed a number of major works, including the Mass, the Gaelic Symphony (the first symphony written by an American woman), and a piano concerto. After her husband's death, she traveled to Europe for four years, resuming her concert career as a pianist, and performing her own works, as well as those of others. She returned to the United States in 1914, giving many concerts over the next several years. She was commissioned to write the opening work for San Francisco's 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition, the Panama Hymn. She continued performing and composing until her death in 1944. Considered the dean of American women composers, she wrote over 300 works during her career. A late Romantic composer, her music is melodic, harmonic, and especially, emotional. The Grand Mass in E Flat Major is a beautiful example of Mrs. Beach's sense of melody and creation of inspired, emotion-filled music.

In addition to our major work, we will present two delights from the English Baroque selections from John Blow's rarely performed Begin the Song, 1684, and Henry Purcell's Come Ye Sons of Art. John Blow (1649-1708) is considered the first English Baroque composer, and there is no recording of this joyful ode on St. Cecilia's Day. Blow's pupil, Henry Purcell (1659-1695), is regarded as one of the greatest English composers, and Come Ye Sons of Art is a wonderful example of his graceful artistry.

It's going to be a FABULOUS concert and I hope to see you there. Trinity is a wonderful performance space that really shows off choral music. We look forward to performing to full houses. Please bring a friend. For more information, visit our Web site at http://www.sflc.org.

Thanks for your support.

Official Website: http://www.sflc.org/concerts