Author: Spacious Vision

Spacious Vision--Words and Music is the former home of the Spacious Vision Song Project. Today it curates occasional essays and projects by Gerald Seminatore DMA.

A rare and beautiful version of the Coventry Carol

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massacre_innocents_initialAs Christmas season performances of “Messiah” begin and shopping mall music is heard far and wide, we invite you to take a short pause and listen to our own Barbara Kilduff perform a rare and beautiful setting of the Coventry Carol. This 16th century medieval text relates the story of King Herod’s reaction to the news of the birth of the Messiah. (Matthew 2: 16-18). The text appears below; click here for audio from this live performance.

Lully, lullay, Thou little tiny Child,
Bye, bye, lully, lullay.
O sisters too, how may we do,
For to preserve this day
This poor youngling for whom we do sing
Bye, bye, lully, lullay.
Herod, the king, in his raging,
Charged he hath this day
His men of might, in his own sight,
All children young to slay.
That woe is me, poor Child for Thee!
And ever mourn and sigh,
For thy parting neither say nor sing,
Bye, bye, lully, lullay.

Our audio archive on SoundCloud

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5269444_300A small milestone: our audio archive on the SoundCloud music sharing service has now passed 500 hits. Popular tracks include Barbara Kilduff’s performance of Donald Hope’s “Lullay, thou little tiny child,” Gerald Seminatore’s renditions of John Duke’s “i carry your heart” and Gustav Holst’s “Indra,” and John Seesholtz performing Carlisle Floyd’s “For I am persuaded.” There are many other tracks worth a listen; we invite you to visit our SoundCloud archive.

Britten in Song: A note for our audience

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britten100Concertos“Britten in Song” is today! Nov. 10 at 5:00 at The Parish Church of St. Mark, Episcopal in Glendale, 1010 N. Brand Blvd. It will be a celebration of Benjamin Britten’s repertoire for the solo voice. Not only is the repertoire varied, but so are the voices! Sopranos Bianca Hall and Ariel Pisturino, tenor Arnold Geis, and baritone David Castillo are all uniquely compelling vocalists and performers. Add to this the talents of internationally acclaimed tenor Jonathan Mack and the pianistic finesse of Kristof van Grysperre, and the only possible result is an extraordinary recital.

This is a general admission event, and no tickets are
required. We don’t know what is in your hearts, or your budget, but we are counting on visitors to make some sort of donation to help us cover the costs of this event. We would gratefully accept cash or a check, as is convenient.

Parking is free in the church parking lot (behind the church on Dryden) and on adjacent streets. Refreshments or a light meal before or after the program are available at Recess, only a few steps away from the church on Brand Blvd.

There will be a brief pre-concert talk about Britten and his music at 5:00, and then it’s off to the races! We hope to see you.

Our “Britten in Song” Artists: Jonathan Mack

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Jonathan.Mack2We are honored to announce that acclaimed tenor Jonathan Mack will join us for “Britten in Song.” Jonathan’s operatic repertory spans more than 50 operatic roles, and he has performed with the Los Angeles Opera over more than 18 seasons, as well as appearing with companies such as the Netherlands Opera, Vancouver Opera, Kentucky Opera, and Opera Columbus. His concert credits include solo appearances with major orchestras such as the London Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Minnesota Orchestra. The list of conductors with whom he has worked in opera, oratorio, and concert repertoire is extensive, and includes Carlo-Maria Giulini, Zubin Mehta, Andre Previn, Pierre Boulez, Simon Rattle, Christopher Hogwood, and Michael Tilson-Thomas. Jonathan has also diversified his career work with studio singing for more than 100 projects, ranging from television’s Studio 60 to The Simpsons Movie. When not sharing his artistry in performance, Jonathan teaches at the University of Southern California, Chapman University, and in master class settings around the United States.

Our “Britten in Song” Artists: Bianca Hall

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Soprano BIANCA HALL is an active early music performer, and has appeared in various festivals around the country, including the Boston and Berkeley Early Music Festivals, and Bianca_Hall_headshot_2in concert series including the Pittsburgh Renaissance and Baroque Society with the instrumental ensemble Ciaramella. In addition to her ensemble work, she has performed the roles of Drusilla (Monteverdi’s The Coronation of Poppea), Cherubino (Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro) and both Dido and the Sorceress (Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas). In the realm of contemporary music, Bianca performed in the L.A. Microfest in 2011 and at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles as part of the Made in L.A. 2012 exhibition. Bianca is a soloist and chorister with De Angelis Vocal Ensemble and Bach Collegium San Diego, a founding member and co-director of the Natur Early Music Ensemble, and a soloist at St. Matthew’s Anglican Church in Newport Beach.

Our “Britten in Song” Artists: Arnold Livingston Geis

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bio-geis-arnoldThe star of tenor ARNOLD LIVINGSTON GEIS is burning ever brighter in the constellation of Los Angeles vocal artists. A recent graduate of the Conservatory of Music at Biola University, he is now part of the graduate program at the University of California, where he is active with Thornton Opera as a soloist and ensemble member. His upcoming work at USC include Rossini’s Il Viaggio a Rheims, as well as Britten’s The Prodigal Song under the direction of James Conlon for Los Angeles Opera. Arnold is also an ensemble member of the Los Angeles Master Chorale. Arnold will join us for songs by Aaron Copland that were premiered by Benjamin Britten and tenor Peter Pears. Our other artists onour program include Ariel Pisturino, David Castillo, and pianist Kristof van Grysperre.

College Music Society National Conference Presentation

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OAc_AIDS_quilt_0612_opt_smallA lecture-recital authored by core group members John Seesholtz and Gerald Seminatore was presented today at the National Conference of the College Music Society. A large audience was introduced to the AIDS Quilt Songbook, and heard  performances by John and Gerald of songs by Annea Lockwood, John Harbison, and Chris DeBlasio. It was well received and stimulated further discussion among some of the attendees.

Our “Britten in Song” Artists: Kristof van Grysperre

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KRISTOF VAN GRYSPERRE, a native of Belgium, has an international career as a pianist, chamber musician, vocal coach, and conductor. This past decade he emerged as a thrilling talent in the conducting world. The Orange County Register hailed him as “gifted VANGRYS_toned_no2_33_2_1_1and stylistically impeccable.”
Kristof pursued advanced study at the University of Southern California. He later taught at USC and served as interim music director of the USC Thornton Opera. He has also taught at the California Conducting Workshop and at SongFest. After a three year intermezzo in Belgium where he worked as full-time piano professor, Kristof returned to Southern California in 2012. He currently serves as associate conductor, chorus master and artistic administrator at Long Beach Opera. With a repertoire of over forty operas Kristof has conducted performances for Opera Pacific, Baltimore Opera Studio, Long Beach Opera, Intimate Opera Company, SongFest and USC Opera. As a pianist he has collaborated with leading instrumentalists and singers, such as violinist Maria Newman, tenor Philip Webb and sopranos Juliana Gondek, Ollie Watts Davis and Susan Mohini Kane. He has recorded for the René Gailly and Phaedra labels, the Flemish and Suisse Radio and Television, and K-Mozart.

We are very excited that Kristof will lead us through a tour of Britten’s song repertory, and also introduce some of Britten’s most powerfully expressive operatic arias!