Événement

The Long Christmas Dinner

The Nativity and winter holiday season invoke rituals that provoke deep thought about human existence. Frank Martin's "Trois Chants de Noel" for voice, flute and piano, to text by Albert Rudhart, Jake Heggie's "The Deepest Desire: Four Meditations on Love" based on interviews with Sister Helen Prejean, and Paul Hindemith's "The Long Christmas Dinner" based on the short play by Thornton Wilder all explore this time of the year with the message that though time passes, the basic dimensions of humans - love, grief, compassion, expression - stay the same. With the keen musical ear and dramatic eye of artistic director and pianist Nobuko Amemiya, this evening promises to be moving.

Martin's "Trois Chants de Noël" for voice, flute and piano, to the text by Albert Rudhart prove the old adage that remains the same through the ever changing human society. The charming set was intended as a Christmas present to the composer's wife and daughter in 1947.

"The Deepest Desire: Four Meditations on Love" by Heggie was derived from his conversation regarding 'spirituality' with Sister Helen Prejean, a Roman Catholic nun and an author of Dead Man Walking, who has become a leading American advocate for the abolition of the death penalty. To define an individual's spiritual core-- the deepest desire of the heart, Sister Helen chose meditations on faith, love, struggle, and self-realization from her daily journal writing, which the composer set to the music with pertinent alteration. Flute plays a significant dramatic character of the cycle which opens with an extensive unaccompanied flute prelude titled "Call."

"The Long Christmas Dinner" by Hindemith is a one-act tragicomedy; libretto was written by playwright Thornton Wilder based on his play. It is a saga of the Bayard's family over Christmas dinner table that spans in the course of 90 years, following the family through four generations. Each family generation experiences demise, birth, growth, and a moving on, summing up the reality of human nature. Representing the composer's Neoclassicism quality, the work is framed by artful variations of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." The opening variation resounds promising, while the coda variation is deeply invested in emotional profundity. Director Mary Birnbaum captures the subtle characters of humor, tenderness, and family dynamics under the serious overtone of the story, creating a delightful stage treat for the Holiday season.

Tickets are available at here or by phone 917-397-0129; or at the door (limited number) for $20/$10 seniors & students. All Saints Church is located at 230 East 60th Street between Third and Second Avenue. For more information, please contact encantacollective@gmail.com or visit www.encantacollective.com.