In our final program of the season, we turn to a longtime friend—the brilliant guitarist Nicolò Spera—to help us premiere a brand new work by composer Christopher Theofanidis titled Door Out of the Fire. Often celebrated for his colorful, inventive, and magnetic compositions, Theofanidis turns his musical spotlight in a new direction, applying all the communicative power of one obsessed with the world’s sonic texture to a dark and deepening reality: earth’s changing climate.

The program also includes Ildebrando Pizzetti’s glorious Requiem, presented on the 100th anniversary of its composition. The Requiem for double choir begins with Gregorian plainchant, and includes references to 15th- and 16th-century Renaissance polyphony including Venetian multiple choruses. Stark melodies and two-part textures suddenly blossom into glowingly radiant complex harmonies.

Special Guests: Nicolò Spera, guitar and Abigail Nims, mezzo-soprano

Program
  • Immortal Bach – J.S. Bach/Knut Nystedt
  • Requiem (1922) – Ildebrando Pizzetti
    I. Requiem Aeternam
    II. Dies Irae
    III. Sanctus
    IV. Agnus Dei
    V. Libera Me
  • Fantasia No. 1 – Georg Philipp Telemann
  • Door Out of the Fire (2021) – Christopher Theofanidis
    Guitar Prelude
    I. Burning Cathedral
    Guitar Interlude I
    II. The Book of Rahul
    Guitar Interlude II
    III. Ruth’s Aria
    Guitar Interlude III
    IV. Migration Patterns

Download a digital version of the concert program here.