Rwanda Benefit ConcertJune 6, 2008

PerformancesThree pieces from Pictures at an Exhibition

Promenade Hut of Baba Yaga

The Great Gate of KievModest MussorgskyMilo Fryling, Piano

Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 for Flute and Piano

Aria (Cantilena)Dança (Martelo)

Heitor Villa-LobosMilo Fryling, PianoEhsan Samei, Flute

Trio Sonata for Flute, Oboe, and Piano in A minor LargoVivace

AffettuosoAllegro

George Philip TelemannEhsan Samei, Flute

Christy Schafer, Oboe Milo Fryling, Piano

Feuillets D’Album Esquisse Angelus

Henriette ReniéAmy Kortus, Harp

NatalianaDeborah Henson-Conant

Amy Kortus, Harp

Impromptu-CapriceGabriel Pierné

Amy Kortus, Harp

Claire De LuneClaude Debussy

Amy Kortus, Harp

Intermission

My True North Walk Free

Coming in from the Cold Andrew Stillwell

Andrew and Denise Stillwell, Piano and Voice

Give Me JesusSpiritual

Gannon Sims, VoiceBecca Miller, Piano

You Have Heard our Tears (based on the tune Picardy)

Gannon SimsGannon Sims, VoiceBecca Miller, Piano

Offertory (based on Micah 6)

John Ness BeckGannon Sims, VoiceBecca Miller, Piano

My Shepherd will Supply my Need

Mack WillbergGannon Sims, VoiceBecca Miller, Piano

Georgia on My Mind

Stuart Gorrell (lyrics), Hoagy Carmichael (music)Steve Breedlove, Piano

Steven’s Song

Dana CunninghamSteve Breedlove, Piano

Sonata for Flute and Piano

Allegro ModeratoAdagioFugue

Mehran RouhaniMilo Fryling, PianoEhsan Samei, Flute

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Promenade Hut of Baba Yaga The Great Gate of KievModest Mussorgsky (1839-1881)

One of the Russian composers known as the Five, Mussorgsky was an innovator of

Russian music, striving to create a style of music distinctly Russian. Like his literary contemporary Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Mussorgsky depicts in his music ‘the insulted and the injured’ with all their passion and pain. He raises these characters to tragic heights until the grotesque and majestic co-exist. Pictures at an Exhibition, inspired by paint-ings by the composer’s friend Viktor Hartmann, was composed at the age of 35. It has been recog-nized as his greatest solo piano composition.

Aria (Cantilena) Dança (Martelo)Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959)

The Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, is possibly the best-known classical

composer born in South America. His music was influenced by both Brazilian folk music and by stylistic elements from the European classical tra-dition, as exemplified by his Bachianas Brasileiras (“Brazilian Bach-pieces”). Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5, originally written for soprano and 8 cellos, is probably Villa-Lobos’ single most popular work. The Flute and Piano arrangement of the piece is by James Galway, the renowned Irish flautist.

Largo, Vivace Affettuoso AllegroGeorge Philip Telemann (1681-1767)

The self-taught composer George Philip Telemann is recognized as the most pro-

lific composer of all time. From the 3000 pieces of work attributed to him, only about 800 have survived. A contemporary of J.S Bach, in his day, Telemann was the more renowned composer. The Trio Sonata for flute, oboe, and piano in A Mi-nor is noteworthy for the unusual rhythm of its second movement and the lyricism of the third movement.

Feuillets D’Album Esquisse AngelusHenriette Renié (1875-1956)

Harpist and composer Henriette Renié was a deeply religious woman who lived

in poverty for much of her life, but who was in-dependent and successful in a time when fame was socially unacceptable for women. As a child prodigy, she won Premier Prix at the Conser-vatoire in 1887 and began her professional ca-reer at age 12. She created a method for harp, which is one of the most widely used methods in the harp world today, along with that of Carlos Sazedo. Today Renié’s romantic compositions,

Program Notes

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exemplified in Feuillets d’ Album, are recognized as standard harp repertoire.

NatalianaDeborah Henson-Conant (1953)

An American harpist known for her flam-boyant stage presence and refusal to fit the

stereotype of a harpist as an angelic blond woman in a long dress. Henson-Conant describes herself as “cross-genre: jazz-pop-comedy-folk-blues-flamenco- celtic”, and plays electric harps of various kinds. She orchestrates all her own music when she plays with symphony and often engages symphonic musicians in unexpected ways. Nataliana, from one of her earliest albums, blends Latin and jazz sounds in a way that typifies Henson-Conant’s musical style.

Impromptu-CapriceGabriel Pierné (1863 - 1937)

A pupil of Jules Massenet and of César Franck at the Paris Conservatoire, Gabriel

Pierné succeeded the latter as organist at Ste. Clo-tilde, later distinguishing himself as a conductor at the Concerts Colonne. A prolific composer and performer, his Impromptu-caprice, a well-known showpiece for the harp, starts with a cadenza, before the introduction of a melody of particular charm, which becomes enriched and developed as the piece goes on.

Claire De LuneClaude Debussy (1862- 1918)

The French composer Debussy, along with Maurice Ravel, is considered one of the most

prominent figures working within the field of Im-pressionist music, though he himself intensely dis-liked the term when applied to his compositions.

Debussy was not only among the most important of all French composers but also was a central fig-ure in all European music at the turn of the twen-tieth century. Claire de Lune is the third movement of the Suite Bergamasque, one of Debussy’s most famous piano suites. Incidentally, Clair de Lune (Moonlight) has become more familiar since its in-troduction to the computer world: the tune is one of the MIDI sequence files included in Windows 95 and Windows 98.

My True NorthAndrew Stillwell (b. 1961)

My true north was written when I first moved down to North Carolina, and dur-

ing a time of much adjustment when I would often think, longingly, of my home in Canada. The line “my true north” was the realization that my true home was in Jesus.

Walk FreeAndrew Stillwell (b. 1961)

Walk Free was inspired by driving by a prison, with all the barbed wire and fenc-

ing, and contemplating how we are imprisoned by guilt and shame for the mistakes we make. I imagined the experience of a prisoner being re-leased from prison, comparing it to the release we experience when we trust in the love and forgive-ness of Jesus.

Coming in from the ColdAndrew Stillwell (b. 1961)

Coming in from the Cold was inspired by an afternoon walking in downtown Phila-

delphia, on a very cold and windy wintery day. I came across a diner and was met with warmth and friendliness from the waitress and a man who sat

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next to me at the counter. The sequence of events became a metaphor for coming to Jesus and being welcomed into a warm fellowship.

Give Me JesusSpiritual

Forcibly removed from their native land and subjected to harsh treatment, first as cargo and

then as property, the songs of slaves in the Ameri-can South are songs of survival. Remarkably, the slaves found the means for survival in the religion of their white slave owners. Give me Jesus invites the listener to experience the one who makes it possible to survive.

You Have Heard our Tears Gannon Sims (b. 1977)

Slavery did not die in the 1860s. Today up to 800,000 people are trafficked for use in

prostitution, forced labor, and as armed combat-ants. You Have Heard our Tears evokes the tradi-tion of the slave song, and a traditional Lenten tune to tell the story of these modern-day slaves.

OffertoryJohn Ness Beck (1930-1987)

John Ness Beck’s legacy is evident in his pres-ervation of the art of traditional sacred music in

the contemporary age. Offertory reminds us that God desires justice, mercy and humility of those who seek to serve him.

My Shepherd will Supply my NeedMack Willberg

The shape-note songs compiled by William Walker in Southern Harmony and those of

his brother-in-law Benjamin Franklin White in The Sacred Harp were the primary means of teach-ing church music in the 19th Century American South. They are still in use today. Mack Willberg’s arrangement captures the spirit of this important contribution to American Christianity.

Georgia on My MindStuart Gorrell, Hoagy Carmichael

Georgia on My Mind is a song written in 1930 by Stuart Gorrell (lyrics) and Hoagy

Carmichael (music), the second collaboration be-tween these two Indiana University classmates in the 20’s. There are conflicting stories behind the words to the song. Some say that Gorrell wrote the lyrics for Hoagy’s sister, Georgia Carmichael; but Carmichael’s 1965 autobiography, Sometimes I Wonder, records this story: “A friend suggested: ‘Why don’t you write a song called ‘Georgia?’ No-body lost much writing about the South.’ “. The lyrics of the song are written ambiguously enough as to refer to the state of Georgia or to a woman named “Georgia”, and in 1979 it became the official state song of Georgia. For me, the song will always be associated with Ray Charles, disco balls and those long, slow dances at the end of high school sock hops.

Steven’s SongDana Cunningham

I first heard the tonal poem Steven’s Song when I was testing some new CD’s to use at si-

lent retreats. Dana Cunningham’s piano music was a perfect foil for the beauty of an early spring day as I drove through the Shenandoah Valley on my way to a meeting. Suddenly one particular song grabbed my attention: I played it again and again, listening carefully to the strong, simple chords.

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(Only later did I learn the title of the song.) It was clear that the entire CD, but especially this song, would be a perfect musical backdrop for meals at a silent retreat. As you listen, think about a silent, shared meal. You eat slowly, in silence, nurtured by beautiful music. Others are with you on the journey of silence, and together you are acutely aware of the God’s presence, your surroundings and each other. You savor every bite for what it is – a gift from God, given to nourish and sustain us. Food itself become a sacrament. The beauty of nature through the windows, in the art work on the walls or in the table settings frames the sense of love and blessing. Most of all you become aware of the gift of friendship and fellowship as you listen to the silently “heard” needs of others around the table. All your spiritual senses are on full alert, and blessing abounds.

Allegro Moderato Adagio FugueMehran Rouhani (b. 1946)

Mehran Rouhani is one the most promi-nent contemporary Persian composers. He

studied piano with Michael Tippet and graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in London. After the completion of his studies, he returned to his native land, Iran, to compose and to teach. However, the Islamic Revolution and the subse-quent ban on Western music led him to the un-derground music movement in early revolution-ary Iran. The Sonata for Flute and Piano, originally written for Flute and Guitar, was completed in 1989 and was written in response to a request by Ehsan Samei. The first movement is based upon two major themes, a rhythmic progression of al-ternating keys, and a second lyrical theme. The second movement is based on a haunted theme, inspired by the experience of the composer when

his mother was on her deathbed. The sonata ends with a “conventional” fugue but in the unique style of the composer and in a 5/� rhythm.

This Benefit Concert for Rwanda is sponsored by All Saints Church in Chapel Hill, of the

Anglican Mission In America.

For more information about All Saints Church and its partnership with the Anglican church in

Rwanda, please visit www.allsaints-chd.org.

All Saints ChurchP.O. Box 215�

Chapel Hill, NC 27515www.allsaints-chd.org

Office: (919) 357-3333