SHINING MASTERWORKS PROVIDE A FITTING FINALE FOR
THE PHILADELPHIA SINGERS 35th ANNIVERSARY SEASON

The Philadelphia Singers’ 35th anniversary season will conclude with a concert of two shining masterworks:  Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass scored for strings, organ, trumpets and timpani and Mozart’s Vesperae solennes de Confessore, K.339, a work performed on The Singers’ debut concert in 1972.   Music Director David Hayes will lead the fully professional choral ensemble and the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia in a performance commemorating The Philadelphia Singers’ 35th and his 15th season as Music Director.  It will be held on Saturday, April 5, 2008 at 8:00 p.m. in the Church of St. Luke and the Epiphany at 330 South 13th Street.   Tickets, ranging from $26-$40, are available by calling 215-893-1999 or (inset click here link for shining masterworks tickets).   The concert will be preceded by an anniversary gala dinner at the Union league of Philadelphia and followed by a dessert-and-champagne reception at the Church of St. Luke and the Epiphany. Tickets for these pre- and post-concert events are available by calling 215-751-9494 or click here to view and print an invitation.

Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass was actually called by Haydn, ‘missa in angustiis’ or ‘mass in time of anxiety’ when it was written in 1798.   David Hayes says this “could have referred to either the political crises that engulfed Europe in the early Napoleonic era or the concurrent economic crises that forced Haydn's employer to cut back on his domestic spending.”  The Philadelphia Singers will perform the original version of the work which includes a scoring for fewer instruments, reflecting Haydn’s economic limitations at the time. The original gives the work a stark and powerfully dramatic sound.  The moniker "Lord Nelson" was attached to the work at a later date, sometime after Nelson visited the Eszterhazy estate (Haydn's employers) in 1802.

Vesperae solennes de Confessore (Solemn Vespers of the Confessor) was one of a number of works Mozart composed while in the service of the Archbishop of Salzburg; a period when he was most unhappy.   Even so, Mozart was able to produce a work of ethereal beauty.  Typical of the scoring of his works during this period, there are no viola parts, so Mozart, like Haydn, made do with the musical forces at hand and created a great work from limited means.  The Solemn Vespers is one of Mozart's largest liturgical settings for Salzburg and is perhaps the most famous and well-known of the liturgical works of that period in his life.



TRIO CON BRIO
A Benefit for The Philadelphia Singers

This festive Italian-themed event, which took place on Saturday, February 9, at 5 p.m., celebrated a trio of milestones: The Philadelphia Singers’ 35th Anniversary, David Hayes’ 15th Anniversary as music director, and organist Michael Stairs’ 25 years (and more!) of great music-making. The party was held at Michael Stairs’ remarkable home in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.

The evening featured music by members of The Philadelphia Singers and by Mr. Stairs, plus an auction of highly tempting items. The highlight of the auction was a 12-day cultural immersion trip in central Italy with Umbrian Serenades. Other auction treats included a cocktail party for 15 at a fine Chestnut Hill home, tickets to The Philadelphia Orchestra and The Philadelphia Singers Chorale performances of Orff’s Carmina Burana and of Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 (Symphony of a Thousand), golfing at the Saucon Valley Country Club, restaurant gift certificates, and more.

CHRISTMAS WITH THE PHILADELPHIA SINGERS
On WHYY 91FM

Christmas on Logan Square
Monday, December 24 at 10 p.m. on WHYY 91FM
Encore broadcast: Tuesday, December 25 at noon on WHYY 91FM

WHYY's Ed Cunningham hosted The Philadelphia Singers' annual concert from St. Clement's Church on Logan Square in Philadelphia. Music director David Hayes conducted this program of 20th-century music and delightful arrangements of hymns and carols. The broadcast also featured The Philadelphia Singers Brass Ensemble and organ soloist Peter Conte.


Handel's Messiah from Philadelphia
Tuesday, December 25th; 10 a.m. - noon on WHYY 91FM

WHYY and NPR presented an encore presentation of Handel's holiday masterpiece performed by the "Fabulous Philadelphians" -- one of the world's great orchestras, joined by the nationally-renowned Philadelphia Singers Chorale. Acclaimed British choral master Richard Hickox conducted. Hosted by Fred Child and Melinda Whiting.