Yannick Nézet-Séguin - Conductor
Charlotte Blake Alston - Narrator
Nadine Sierra - Soprano
Elizabeth DeShong - Mezzo-soprano
John Osborn - Tenor
Krzysztof Baczyk - Bass
Philadelphia Symphonic Choir - Chorus
Joe Miller - Director
PROGRAM
Bernstein - Symphony No. 3 ("Kaddish")
INTERMISSION -
Rossini - Stabat Mater
We continue our celebration of Leonard Bernstein's birth centenary with his dramatic, spiritual Symphony No. 3 (“Kaddish”), programmed with Rossini's Stabat Mater. Yannick describes the pairing of these two works as “A program which is very much in the vein of what I think personally about spirituality: the work of a Catholic composer, Rossini's Stabat Mater, and a Jewish composer, Leonard Bernstein, his Third Symphony, ‘Kaddish.' These are two very different choral works, from different faiths, but combined together they offer a message of welcoming and living all together through music.” The large vocal forces and Bernstein's inimitable writing create a powerful impact on listeners to the “Kaddish,” based on the Jewish prayer for the dead. No less moving is Rossini's Stabat Mater, rarely performed in Philadelphia. Rossini had retired from writing operas when he composed this setting of a traditional Catholic hymn. With its deeply felt music, it's a worthy pairing for the “Kaddish.”