Wednesday, February 19, 2025 @ 11:00am – 12:00pm (EST)

Religious and musical rites across the ages inspire two contemporary works based on ancient texts and more modern rituals. For her Requiem, composed in 2019, Courtney Bryan draws upon burial traditions of different cultures, from the Anglican Church to the Tibetan Book of the Dead, New Orleans jazz funerals to neoshamanistic rituals. Text from the Bible and Catholic Mass are expressed by four soprano voices, while the instrumentation, for brass and percussion, echoes that of jazz funeral bands, famous in Bryan's native New Orleans. The celebration of life found in that tradition, and in the composer's signature blend of classical, gospel and jazz sounds, are employed to create a Requiem that reflects upon death within the cycle of life.  

John Zorn's The Holy Visions, from 2012, takes inspiration from 12th-century mystic, writer, and composer Hildegard van Bingen. Structured in 11 stophes, based on Hildegard's writings, it is sung a cappella by five female voices. Nods to medieval musical structure, through chants and polyphony, flow into Zorn's own eclectic sounds, exploration of pitch and intervals, and touches of rhythmic minimalism. Zorn creates a dialogue with Hildegard across centuries, bringing the visionary's words and ethereal music into a setting for today.

About St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble

St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble was founded in 1974 when a group of virtuoso musicians began performing chamber music concerts at Greenwich Village’s Church of St. Luke in the Fields. Today, the 24 Ensemble musicians make up the artistic core of Orchestra of St. Luke's. Every season, OSL features the Ensemble in its Chamber Music Series that explores beloved chamber works and brings attention to lesser-known or rarely-performed works through three distinct programs performed at The Morgan Library & Museum, Brooklyn Museum, and Merkin Hall. Throughout the season, musicians of the St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble perform on almost every program presented by OSL.

https://oslmusic.org/bios/st-lukes-chamber-ensemble/

About Shabnam Abedi, soprano

Described by The New York Times as having "a lovely warmth," Shabnam Abedi is a highly sought after soprano and recent addition to The Choir of Trinity Wall Street. She received her Master's Degree from Juilliard in Jazz Studies making her Juilliard's first South-Asian American jazz voice graduate. A versatile artist with a reputation for high-level music making in a wide variety of genres, Shabnam also studied opera at Mason Gross School of the Arts. Having played and sung Indian classical music since the age of five, Shabnam's first album, Amar Bijon Ghore, was released to wide acclaim in India and Bangladesh.

https://www.shabnamabedi.com/