Seattle Choral Company presents Comfort & Joy: An English Christmas
Advance: $27 ($22 senior), $5 student; ages 6-10 free) |
At the door: $30 ($25 senior)
- Jennifer Bromagen, soprano
- Darrell J. Jordan, baritone
- Freddie Coleman, conductor
Cecilia McDowall — Christus Natus Est
Ralph Vaughan Williams — Fantasia on Christmas Carols
The Seattle Choral Company kicks off its 43rd season with a holiday concert featuring seasonal choral masterworks by English composers Ralph Vaughan Williams, Cecilia McDowall, and Sir John Rutter.
John Rutter's Magnificat, completed in 1990, is a musical interpretation of the biblical canticle. This seven-movement work for soprano solo, mixed choir, and orchestra primarily uses the Latin text, while also incorporating the poem "Of a Rose, a lovely Rose," the Sanctus, and a prayer to Mary. The work is infused with elements of Latin American music.
While the Magnificat is traditionally sung in Catholic vespers and Anglican evensong services, Rutter's composition stands out for its extended setting, similar to that of J.S. Bach. Critics have praised it for its "brilliant and very colorful orchestration" and the "magical spell of balm and peace" it casts.
Cecilia McDowall, born in London in 1951, is a composer renowned for her choral music. The BBC Music Magazine describes her style as "sometimes richly tonal, sometimes more exploratory in harmonic range," and notes that "her music is always full of invention." Her Christmas cantata, Christus Natus Est, presents a sequence of five carols, reimagining familiar melodies with vibrant new harmonic treatments. The arrangements shift in mood from tender to joyously exalted.
Ralph Vaughan Williams composed several works inspired by Christmas, the first of which was Fantasia on Christmas Carols. Like his more famous orchestral Fantasias—Fantasia on Greensleeves and Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis—this piece draws from England's rich folk tradition. Notably, Vaughan Williams avoided popular carols, instead basing the work on lesser-known seasonal melodies, some of which he had collected during his travels. Composed in 1912, the single-movement Fantasia on Christmas Carols features four linked sections, incorporating English folk carols such as This is the Truth Sent From Above, Come All You Worthy Gentlemen, and On Christmas Night. The final section combines elements from the previous sections, accompanied by the sound of bells, and concludes with a gentle wish for a happy new year.
For this concert, the SCC will be joined by talented Seattle vocalists Jennifer Bromagen (soprano) and Darrell Jordan (baritone). Members of the North Corner Chamber Orchestra will also participate in this festive holiday evening, which concludes each year with a candlelight finale.
Pre-concert talk at 7pm by director Freddie Coleman.
Audience carol sing-along at 7:30pm.
About Seattle Choral Company
Founded in 1982 by Artistic Director Freddie Coleman, the Seattle Choral Company has, over the course of 40 years, become one of the region's most accomplished and respected choral organizations. Maestro Coleman's finely-tuned yet spirited interpretations of the masterworks of classical choral music have been acclaimed by critics and audiences, including Berlioz's Te Deum, Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky, Orff's Carmina Burana, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Haydn's Creation, Mozart's C minor Mass, Bach's St. John Passion, and many more. After a recent performance at Benaroya Hall featuring Johannes Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem, The Gathering Note wrote that the performance "was anchored by deep emotions, a strong sense of purpose, and an excellent advocate in Freddie Coleman and the Seattle Choral Company."
Freddie Coleman has also championed America's finest contemporary choral composers, offering area listeners their first live hearing of such works as Arvo Pärt's Te Deum, Philip Glass' Itaipu, Hawley's Songs of Kabir, Roxanna Panufnik's Westminster Mass, and Morten Lauridsen's Lux Aeterna. In 2001, the SCC commissioned a new choral work, Seattle, by New York composer William Hawley, as part of the city of Seattle’s sesquicentennial celebrations. Additionally, the Company has commissioned and premiered new works from gifted Seattle composers, such as Donald Skirvin and Bern Herbolsheimer. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer recently applauded this commitment, stating "it's not surprising that Coleman…would devote an entire program to contemporary music. He has long been an advocate for living composers."
In the 1980s the Seattle Choral Company toured to Australia and the former Soviet Union. (Their work as cultural ambassadors was recognized with a commendation from the Washington State legislature.) The many albums it has recorded, including The Moon Is Silently Singing, When the Morning Stars Sang Together, Carmina Burana, and Unearthed, have been highly praised and received extensive radio exposure. The Company has recorded soundtracks for Public Television (Death: the Trip of a Lifetime) and NBC (Crime and Punishment and Noah's Ark), and its recordings have been used in at least a dozen Hollywood movie trailers.
The Seattle Choral Company has become a valued collaborator with other performing arts organizations in the region. It has appeared on stage with the Pacific Northwest Ballet many times, including several mountings of Kent Stowell's staging of Orff's Carmina Burana, and Hail to the Conquering Hero, featuring choruses by Handel. In 2010, the SCC appeared with the Seattle Youth Symphony in Mahler's Symphony No. 2 ("Resurrection") at Benaroya Hall. The SCC has appeared with the Seattle Symphony on many occasions, including Those Glorious MGM Movie Musicals, Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, Holiday Pops with Doc Severinsen, Holiday Pops with Marvin Hamlisch, New Year's Eve with the Seattle Symphony, and most recently The Matrix Live In Concert. On four occasions, they have appeared at the Paramount Theater in the touring production of Video Games Live, and members of the Company sang in both the Seattle and Portland productions of Star Wars In Concert. The SCC is partnered with the Northwest Sinfonietta, and is an artist-in-residence at Saint Mark's Episcopal Cathedral.
http://www.seattlechoralcompany.orgAbout Jennifer Bromagen, soprano
Hailed by the Tacoma News Tribune for her "shining coloratura and brilliant high notes," soprano Jennifer Bromagen enjoys performing on opera and concert stages throughout the Pacific Northwest. She has performed as La Contessa di Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro with Bellevue City Opera, with Puget Sound Concert Opera as the title role in Donizetti's Anna Bolena, and as the soprano soloist in Golijov's She Was Here with the Northwest Sinfonietta. Recently, Ms. Bromagen performed as the title role in Puget Sound Concert Opera's production of Manon, as well as The Queen of the Night in Vashon Opera's The Magic Flute, and with the Pacific Northwest Opera as Violetta in Verdi's La Traviata.
Ms. Bromagen was an Associate Artist in Residence with Cleveland Opera and performed on their main stage as the First Handmaiden in Turandot, Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, and as Edith in The Pirates of Penzance. She has also been seen in such roles as Fiorilla in Il Turco in Italia, Mimi in La Bohème, and Countess Adele in Le Comte Ory. She has been a featured soloist in concert halls, temples, and cathedrals throughout the U.S., performing classic solo concert works from Beethoven's 9th Symphony, Handel's Messiah, Mozart's Coronation Mass, Mendelssohn's Elijah, and Verdi's Requiem, as well as such contemporary works as Jenkins' Cantata Memoria and Arnesen's Wound in the Water. In the 2022-23 season, engagements include a return to Puget Sound Concert Opera as Amina in Bellini's La Sonnambula, as well as a return to Pacific Northwest Opera to perform Desdemona inVerdi's Otello.
https://jenniferbromagen.com/