Contact: Philina McNeil, (801) 718-6374
Dr. Brady Allred, (801) 824-5428
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 26, 2012
Ernest Bloch’s “sacred Service” performed in utah for the first time in a generation
Performance Saturday April 28, 2012 at Libby Gardner Concert Hall
SALT LAKE CITY – It was 1977: Jimmy Carter was president, gas was sixty-five cents a gallon, the Oakland Raiders won the Superbowl, and Maurice Abravanel held the baton at the Utah Symphony. That was the last time this powerful and compelling work was performed in Utah. In keeping with their practice of performing challenging, beautiful music, Dr. Brady Allred and the members of the Salt Lake Choral Artists are proud to reintroduce the Sacred Service to audiences in Salt Lake City.
According to Bloch, this work, which took three years to complete, became, “a cosmic poem, a glorification of the Laws of the Universe, the very text I was after since the age of ten, a dream of stars, of forces. I declaim out loud, amidst the rocks and forests in the great silence, the Primordial Element before worlds existed. It has become a 'private affair' between God and me." Finished in 1933 and premiered in 1934, the work has been called dramatic and highly spiritual.
Musically the Sacred Service is a summary of Bloch’s compositional style. Scored for cantor (baritone soloist), SATB chorus, and a full orchestra that includes large wind and percussion sections, it features elements of “overt Judaic expression.” The call-and-response nature of the work reflects Jewish liturgical practice: the baritone soloist serves as the cantor while the choir responds as a congregation might to the words the cantor sings. In addition to being sung primarily in Hebrew, the music is more modal than major or minor in nature, making it more closely associated to chant in places than to modern classical music.
From a present-day perspective, Ernest Bloch (1880-1959) seems to have been an almost unknown early 20th-century composer. Yet at the height of his career, Bloch’s music was considered important enough that some critics added him as a fourth member of the “three Bs”of classical music: Bach, Beethoven, Brahms...and Bloch. Festivals celebrating his works were organized in the mid-1930s; and an Ernest Bloch Society was founded in 1937, with Albert Einstein serving as its first president.
Tyler Oliphant, a local favorite in the music scene, will be our baritone soloist, singing the part of the Cantor. SLCA is pleased to have him back after his work with us on the Bach B Minor Mass last spring. He has had recent performances in Rigoletto at Utah Opera, and the Dvorak Stabat Mater with the Cathedral of the Madeleine. As principle soloist with the Cathedral, he has sung many works including Bach’s St John Passion, Britten’s Cantata Misericordium, and Mendlessohn’s St. Paul oratorio. Tyler is also an active regional opera performer, singing roles with Indiana Opera, Opera Pacific, Michigan Opera Theatre, Portland’s Third Angle Opera, and Ohio Light Opera, as well as locally with Hale Center Theatre. Tyler will next be seen as
The Bonze in the Intermountain Opera’s production of Madame Butterfly, and will be making a premiere recording of Richard Proulx’s The Pilgrim with Sono Luminous Records. He has also been a featured soloist with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Utah Symphony, and Jackson Symphony.
Laurence Loeb, Cantor of Congregation Kol Ami in Salt Lake, graciously served as advisor for the work. He spent time with the SLCA during rehearsals, commenting on pronunciation, the meanings of the various sections in the piece, and the history of Jewish music. He is a
graduate of the Cantors Institute of the Jewish Theological Seminary and has a PhD in Anthropology from Columbia University. He had seven years of graduate training in ethnomusicology with an emphasis on the liturgical music of Jews, especially those living in Iran and Yemen. Dr Loeb taught at the University of Utah for 38 years until his retirement in 2011 as Associate Professor Emeritus in Anthropology. He has written and lectured extensively on the
Middle East, Jewish communities, Judaism and Jewish music.
The SLCA is excited to share this piece, and hopes that people of all faiths will come together to celebrate and enjoy the passion and beauty of the music.
Who: Salt Lake Choral Artists
What: Ernest Bloch’s “Sacred Service” [Avodash Hakodesh]
Where/When: Libby Gardner Concert Hall at the University of Utah, Saturday, April 28, 2012 at 7:30 pm.
How Much: Tickets for Libby Gardner Hall performance are: $20/General Admission, $8/Student (Group Rates are available for 10 or more).
Tickets:
Tickets can be purchased by calling 801-232-7521 or obtaining in person at Libby Gardner Hall one hour prior to show-time. Tickets can also be purchased from any SLCA choir member; or by visiting the website at www.saltlakechoralartists.org.
Concert Program
AVODATH HAKODESH (Sacred Service) Ernest Bloch (1880 – 1959)
PART I
Meditation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Symphonic Prelude
Mah Tovu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cantor (baritone), and Choir
Borechu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cantor and Choir
Shema Yisroel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cantor and Choir
Veohavto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cantor, Women’s Voices, Alto Solo
Mi Chomocho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Choir and Cantor
Adonoy Yimloch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Choir
Tzur Yisroel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cantor and Choir
PART II
KEDUSHAH (Sanctification)
Nekadesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cantor
Kodosh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Choir
Adir adirenu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cantor and Choir
Echod hu Elohenu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cantor, Choir, Alto Solo, Soprano Solo
Yimloch Adonoy Leolom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Choir
PART III
Silent Devotion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Symphonic Prelude
Yihyu Lerozon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Choir
Seu Sheorim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cantor and Choir
Taking the Scroll from the Ark .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Symphonic Interlude
Toroh Tzivoh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cantor and Choir
Shema Yisroel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cantor and Choir
Lecho Adonoy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Choir
PART IV
Gadelu Ladonoy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cantor
Hodo al eretz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Choir
Toras Adonoy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cantor and Choir
Etz Chayim he (a peace song) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cantor and Choir
PART V
EPILOGUE
Vaanachnu (Adoration) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cantor and Choir
“May the time not be distant, O God!” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cantor
“May the day come” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cantor
“O may all men recognize” . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cantor
“Bayom hau” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Choir
“And now ere we part” . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cantor
“In the divine order of Nature” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cantor
Tzur Yisroel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Choir and Cantor
Adon Olom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Choir, Cantor, and Soprano Solo
Benediction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cantor and Choir
Upcoming Events:
“Swing It” with the Salt Lake Choral Artists Women’s Choir with Special Guests The Moonlight Singers, and The Promontory Big Band! Tickets on sale now!
Tuesday May 15th, 2012, U of U Union Ballroom – Dinner and Dancing
“Let There Be Music” with the SLCA Young Choral Artists – Performing with the Grant Elementary and Parkside Elementary choirs. Tickets on sale now!
Friday May 18th, 2012, Murray High School Auditorium
The SLCA Summer Choral Institute 2012
Register online now for the Sixth Annual Summer Choral Institute!
www.saltlakechoralartists.org
Session I: June 14-16 Feel the Spirit: A Celebration of Spirituals
Session II: June 21-23 The Sprig of Thyme: British Folk Songs
Session III: June 28-30 Choral Masterworks: Schubert “Mass in G”
and Fauré “Requiem”
Session IV: July 5-7 Rockin’ the Oldies
Other sessions of interest:
June 25-29: Young Choral Artists Choir Camp
June 25-29: Conducting Workshop: 1-4 p.m. daily, Monday through Friday
August 13-15: High School Choir Retreat: 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. daily
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