Jesuits in the Americas: Zipoli and His World

Sarah Griffiths, soprano
Kristin Gornstein, mezzo-soprano
Douglas Purcell, tenor
Choir of St. Ignatius Loyola with a historical instrument ensemble
K. Scott Warren, conductor

Celebrating St. Ignatius Loyola's 150th anniversary as a Jesuit parish, this concert centers on the music of 18th-century Jesuit composer Domenico Zipoli (1688-1726) and his contemporaries Jan Josef Ignac Brentner (1689-1724), Bartolomé Massa (1721-1796) and Martin Schmid (1694-1772).

Some of these rare masterpieces have never been heard in North America.

Complete concert repertoire below.

Choral Subscribers get 30% off this concert when purchasing advance tickets!  

All performance dates, artists and programs subject to change. Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable.

COMPLETE PROGRAM

Jan Josef Ignac Brentner     Gloria en honore

Domenico Zipoli     Beatus vir

Bartolome Massa     Salve Regina

Zipoli     Letania en Fa

Zipoli     Sonata II for two violins and organ

attr. Zipoli     Cantemus Domino

Zipoli     Missa Zipoli (Kyrie, Gloria)

Zipoli     Ave Maris stella

Martin Schmid     Credidi propter quod locutus sum

Massa     Letania

Zipoli     Te Deum Ladamus

This program is approximately 85-minutes long with one 15-minute intermission.

ARTISTS

Hailed by the Dallas Morning News for her "glowing tone, effortless facility and vivid expressivity," Sarah Griffiths appears regularly as soloist and chorister with many Dallas ensembles, including Orpheus Chamber Singers, Dallas Bach Society, and Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church.  Before moving to Texas, she performed with several notable ensembles in the New York area, including Fuma Sacra, Early Music New York, and Princeton Singers.  In 2008 Ms. Griffiths made her Carnegie Weill Hall debut, performing as both soloist and chorister as a young artist in the Weill Music Institutes Handel workshop directed by Ton Koopman.  On the opera stage she has performed the roles of First Lady in Magic Flute and Semele in L'Egisto with UNT Opera, and previously sang the roles of Naiade in Ariadne auf Naxos with Spoleto Festival U.S.A., First Witch in Dido and Aeneas with Brandywine Baroque, and Belona in La purpura de la Rosa with Amherst Early Music Festival.

Described as, "elegant" and "rich-voiced" by the New York Times, American mezzo-soprano Kristin Gornstein brings her vibrant stage presence and supple voice to a diverse repertoire ranging from Handel to improvisational modern and electronic music. Praised as having "...a brilliant upper register that would be the envy of any soprano, with a chocolatey mezzo richness..." (Voce di Meche), Kristin frequently performs both opera and concert repertoire. Most recently, Kristin returned to Loft Opera in Brooklyn to debut the title role in The Rape of Lucretia, by Benjamin Britten, which was received with critical acclaim. In the 2014/15 season, Kristin joined the Tanglewood Music Festival as a Vocal Fellow. Highlights from the summer include the world premiere of a commission for female voice and 4 percussionists by Steven Mackey, titled Madrigal, as well as selected scenes from Osvaldo Golijov's Ainadamar as Federico Lorca with the TMC orchestra. Earlier in the season she debuted the role of Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Loft Opera, and performed as Dulcinée in Massenet’s Don Quichotte, Romeo in Bellini’s I Capuleti e I Montecchi, Mrs. Slender in Salieri’s Falstaff, as well as the Alto soloist in Handel's Messiah, and the Soprano II solos in Mozart's Mass in C Minor with the American University in Beirut, Lebanon.

Douglas Purcell has been critically acclaimed for the “strength, beauty and effortless top” of his lyric tenor. He has performed with the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera and New York City Ballet. A frequent soloist with the Collegiate Chorale, he was featured in the Beethoven Choral Fantasy at this summer’s Verbier Festival in Switzerland. Other solo appearances include American Symphony Orchestra, City Center Encores!, American Composers Orchestra, Mark Morris Dance Group, and Westchester Symphony. He is featured on the Helicon Classics recording with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Zubin Mehta of Bach’s Cantata 140.

Hailed by the New York Times as “a finely polished, stylistically nimble ensemble,” the Choir of St. Ignatius Loyola is comprised of New York’s finest professional choral singers. The Choir’s “tremendous expressive and dynamic range” and “remarkable vocal discipline and finesse” (the New York Times) is featured in the Sacred Music in a Sacred Space concert series, now in its 27th season. Each member is a soloist in his or her own right in a variety of genres including early music, opera, oratorio and contemporary repertoire. The core group of 19 members sings a demanding schedule of weekly parish worship services in a wide range of repertoire, with particular emphasis on new works, the sacred Renaissance repertoire, and Gregorian chant. The Choir may be heard on recordings for the MSR Classics and AMDG labels. In March 2006, the Choir was invited as the headline chorus at the Southwestern American Choral Directors Association convention in St. Louis, Missourri. In April 2009, the Choir performed in the opening festival of radio station WNYC’s new Jerome L. Greene Performance Space, on a concert bill with René Pape, John Zorn, Ute Lemper, and Nico Muhly.  The Orchestra of St. Ignatius Loyola, lauded by the New York Times for their “lean, taut and fiery playing,” participates in the Sacred Music in a Sacred Space concert series and enhances a number of parish worship services throughout the year. Members are drawn from among New York City’s most talented and stylistically versatile freelance musicians and have often been heard in the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the orchestras of the New York City Opera and New York City Ballet, and various period-instrument orchestras.

Since 2011, St. Ignatius Loyola Director of Music Ministries K. Scott Warren has led a dynamic music team consisting of over 150 individuals, professional and volunteer, in providing music at approximately 400 liturgies annually. He is the principal conductor of the 19-voice professional Choir of St. Ignatius Loyola, which sings a demanding schedule of services throughout the year, with repertoire spanning Gregorian chant to 21st-century masterpieces. The choir, along with the Orchestra of St. Ignatius Loyola, form the backbone of the parish’s critically acclaimed concert series, Sacred Music in a Sacred Space, whose recent performances have been lauded by the New York Times as “stirring...positively thrilling” and “broad, wide-ranging, and powerful.” In addition to the vast choral spectrum presented at St. Ignatius, Mr. Warren presides over the four manual, 91-rank N. P. Mander Organ, the largest mechanical action organ in the New York metro area, and an instrument of international stature.

GENERAL CONCERT AND TICKET INFORMATION

• DOORS OPEN for at 6:15 PM for a 7 PM concert start time.


• LATE SEATING is at the discretion of the House Management. Latecomers may be asked to remain in the back of the church until there is a break in the program, so as not to disturb the performance or other audience members.


• WILL CALL is available when the doors open at 6:15 PM inside the main doors of the church.


• CHILDREN seated on an adult's lap do not need a ticket. Children seated in a chair or pew do need a ticket.


• We no longer offer tickets for sale or any ticket pickup at the Parish House Reception desk.


• Audio and/or video recording and flash photography are not permitted during performances.

ACCESSIBILITY

• The Church of St. Ignatius Loyola is wheelchair/walker accessible via the ramp entrance on 84th Street (between Park and Madison Avenues).


• The restrooms are NOT easily accessible by wheelchair. The most easily accessible restrooms are in the Parish House (980 Park Avenue). There are two steps down from the street level into the Parish House and there is a restroom on that ground floor.


• For reserved seating concerts, there is available seating for wheelchairs and companions. Please look for the Wheelchair and Wheelchair Companion tickets when purchasing. For general seating concerts, follow the directions of the ushers. Please call ahead (212-288-2520) to discuss any special seating requirements.

PARKING

• Street parking can be difficult to find, but there are a number of parking garages nearby. There are garages on 83rd Street (between Park and Lexington Avenues) and 84th Street (between Park and Lexington Avenues), as well as near the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

RESTAURANTS

• There are a number of fine and casual eating establishments located nearby on Madison Avenue (one block west of the church), Lexington Avenue (one block east of the church), Third Avenue (two blocks east of the church) and Second Avenue (three blocks east of the church).

 DIRECTIONS

• The Church of St. Ignatius Loyola is easily reached via the 4, 5, and 6 subway lines (86th Street station), or buses on Madison, Lexington and Fifth Avenues, and on 86th Street.