Vox - The Rob Seible Singers Things We Have (CD)

Things We HaveVox - The Rob Seible SingersGenre: ClassicalDescription: PRODUKTBESCHREIBUNGEN GENERAL NOTES Rob Seible and I were meeting over breakfast as we often do to discuss some project or another. During this particular meeting Rob mentioned that he was thinking of forming a new group with some of his singer friends. I was enthused because I immediately saw the great potential for this ensemble. I have known Rob since he came to work at the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and have always been impressed with the eclectic range of his interests and abilities. As conductor of the HSPVA Concert Chorale and Madrigal Singers he has performed the gamut of the traditional choral repertoire but he always expanded his programming to include a significant amount of both serious contemporary music and popular music from all eras. He also brings extensive experience working as a coach and conductor in musical theatre most notably with Masquerade Theatre and the Gilbert and Sullivan Society. I knew that his new professional group would reflect this same range of interests and I knew I wanted to be involved. It was my dream that VOX would be an ensemble of highly trained and dedicated professional singers that would explore and perform neglected works from the standard literature premiere new works and include in their repertoire outstanding works from musical theatre and popular standards. My wishes have been more than fulfilled. Their concerts have been remarkably varied. VOX has developed into an outstanding virtuoso ensemble capable of performing the most difficult music with apparent ease and abundant brio. It has been my great pleasure to have had the opportunity of creating much of the music for the first three seasons. This has included new works such as A Year's Quiet Journey; adaptations as in A Quilter Sampler; and arrangements as in the Oldtime Train Songs. The extraordinary abilities of the singers have allowed me an unprecedented freedom to extend my own technique knowing full well that the singers would be willing and able to realize my conceptions. For a composer this is the greatest luxury. This CD provides I think a superb overview of the talents and range of these singers and will also provide a good introduction to the group for new audiences. This is a remarkable group one destined for positive critical notice and a worldwide reputation. Enjoy! Notes on the Music The Things We Have Being of sturdy Swedish stock I was raised in the Lutheran Church. My father always held the somewhat heretical belief that in the pantheon of the Church there was the Father the Son the Holy Ghost and J.S. Bach. I definitely inherited this belief; my admiration for old Bach borders on idolatry. So when my longtime colleague at the Moores School of Music and then musical director of the Bach Society Robert Lynn asked me to compose a new work for the Bach Choir I eagerly agreed seeing this as the perfect opportunity to pay homage to Bach and the techniques of his great cantatas. In our early discussions of what the piece should be we agreed that it might be appropriate to focus the work on some calamity. The disastrous flooding from Tropical Storm Allison was fresh in our minds and we thought that might be a workable topic. Then came the events of September 11 2001 and we knew immediately that this would become the theme of the cantata. One of the most significant aspects of Bach's choral works is the use of well-known chorales. Accordingly I decided that I needed a chorale tune for my cantata and I chose Martin Luther's Erhalt Uns Herr. Bob Lynn approached Patricia Clark to write a new original text for Luther's tune. My next task was to find some biblical texts that would form the core of the cantata. For this I went to Rev. Robert Moore the pastor at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Houston. Pastor Moore's suggestions were spot on significantly all Old Testament. The text of the first movement comes from Lamentations 1:1-2 Psalm 52:1-3 Psalm 55:9-10. The text of the third movement comes from Psalm 46. I wanted texts that would express despair and contrast them with texts that would express hope. Pat Clark's chorale text expresses both. The chorale tune is introduced in the first movement somewhat as a voice crying in the wilderness but then becomes more and more central to the cantata. References to Baroque techniques occur throughout the cantata. For example the first movement begins as a passacaglia over a chromatically descending bass. The second movement is a traditional chorale prelude. The last movement is a simple setting of the Luther chorale with orchestral interludes. A Quilter Sampler I was familiar with many of Quilter's songs from my experience as an accompanist but it was Rob's idea to rethink them as choral pieces. Now having transcribed this set I find it hard to hear them in any other way. Roger