Under the direction of internationally acclaimed choral director Maestro Henry H. Leck, over 300 performers will take the stage, including the Indianapolis Children’s Choir; the Philip Kutev National Folklore Ensemble, Bulgaria; KHORIKOS Choral Ensemble, New York City; the Victor Valley College Singers & Master Arts Chorale, CA as well as the Boston Modern Orchestra Project.
On June 23rd, 2011, the Boston premiere of the oratorio A Melancholy Beauty will be performed at Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre in Boston. Over 300 performers will be featured on stage including the Boston Modern Orchestra Project. The performance will commemorate the historic, however little-known rescue of 49,000 Jews from the Holocaust. It was ordinary citizens who rose up in civil disobedience and demanded of the King and Parliament that Bulgaria’s Jews be spared from Nazi extermination. Owing to the decisive action of the Bulgarian people, Bulgaria has gone down in history for rescuing its entire Jewish population.
A fund is currently being set up by the organizers, Kalin and Sharon Tchonev, directing proceeds from the performances to support underserved Jewish communities and young musicians in Bulgaria. More information about the concert and the sponsor, Songs of Life, is available at www.songsoflife.org.
A Melancholy Beauty is a choral-orchestral work for mixed choir, children’s choir, symphony orchestra, soloists, narrator, folk vocal ensemble and indigenous folk instruments and is dedicated to the rescue of Bulgaria’s Jews during the Holocaust of WWII. The oratorio traces this event chronologically through the language of music in seven movements.
The oratorio was composed by the award-winning Bulgarian composer Georgi Andreev, who combines classical choral-orchestral music with traditional rhythms and folk styles rarely encountered today. The motet was composed by internationally renowned cantor and composer, Charles David Osborne, while a team of writers penned the libretto, including lyricist Scott Cairns and contributing author Aryeh Finklestein.
“A Melancholy Beauty,” explains Kalin Tchonev, who together with his wife, Sharon, founded Songs of Life in 2008, “echoes a thank you, paying tribute to the brave Bulgarian people and offering a source of inspiration, hope and change for people everywhere today.” Mr. Tchonev continues, “…this oratorio could not be timelier, when people and nations are burning bridges instead of building them. It inspires its performers and audience to stand up for justice and acceptance in the face of bigotry and hatred.”
A Melancholy Beauty is a major choral-orchestral oratorio that brings 300 superb choristers and instrumentalists to the stage in an unparalleled music celebration,” Sharon Tchonev said. This moving oratorio will be conducted by internationally acclaimed choral director Maestro Henry H. Leck. The festival includes performances by the Indianapolis Children’s Choir; the Philip Kutev National Folklore Ensemble, Bulgaria; KHORIKOS Choral Ensemble, New York City the Victor Valley College Singers and the Master Arts Chorale, CA. The oratorio will be accompanied by the Boston Modern Orchestra Project in the Boston performance and the National Philharmonic in the Washington DC and New York performances.
For tickets and more information, check out the event listing on JewishBoston.com.
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