Voces Novae

Two more news articles about Souvenir and Sue Swaney

2010-11-08T12:18:00.001-05:00

Here's a nice piece from our friends at WFIU on Souvenir:

http://indianapublicmedia.org/arts/cardinal-stages-production-souvenir/

And here is a feature article from the Herald-Times (login required):

Hitting all the wrong notes

Some excerpts:

Singing badly is nothing new to Susan Swaney.

Although Swaney is known for singing quite well, she is accustomed to different styles of music including microtonal music, which can sound off-key to the casual listener.

But Swaney's appearance in Cardinal Stage Company's production of "Souvenir"
requires the normally perfectly pitched singer to hit a lot of wrong notes in the name of comedy.

"Sometimes I don't think, and let it fly high or ride low," Swaney said.

As trained singers, Swaney and costar Ray Fellman said they both have heard plenty of singers who get it wrong. It is from that type of inspiration that Swaney is able to find all the wrong ways to sing the songs from the play that centers around Florence Foster Jenkins.

Jenkins was a terrible soprano who hit the big time, eventually performing in Carnegie Hall.

Fellman plays Cosme McMoon, her accompanist.

Portions of AIDS Memorial Quilt to be on display at IU's Indiana Memorial Union

2010-11-04T13:13:00.000-04:00

Sections of the internationally celebrated AIDS Memorial Quilt -- a 54-ton, handmade tapestry commemorating more than 91,000 lives lost to AIDS -- will be on display at Indiana University Nov. 11-15 at Alumni Hall in the Indiana Memorial Union.

The 520-panel exhibit will be the largest AIDS Memorial Quilt display in Indiana history. Related events include performances by Kaia, the Bloomington Peace Choir, Voces Novae, Quarryland Men's Chorus and the African American Choral Ensemble; multiple screenings of Common Threads, a documentary about the quilt; community quilting bees; and closing remarks from Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan. Visit www.thecaag.org for more information. All events are free and open to the public.

Voces Novae will perform around 5pm on Sunday, Nov. 14.

Learn more.

The magic lies in things that aren't said, but felt

2010-11-01T08:36:00.001-04:00

HERALD-TIMES THEATER REVIEW: 'SOUVENIR'
The magic lies in things that aren't said, but felt

Voces Novae is proud to have two stars in this Cardinal Stage production of Souvenir, the story of Florence Foster Jenkins (a.k.a the Diva of Din).

Artistic director Sue Swaney portrays Jenkins, "a hysterical study in controlled choral carnage. She leaves us wondering, 'My God can she really sing this badly for two weeks without seriously damaging her voice?'" We hope so!

Voces Novae singer Alexandra Morphet's costumes designs for Florence "are unquestionably the third character on stage. They beautifully frame the whimsy of a woman who is equal parts New York society matron, doddering crank and musical savant."

Kudos and congratulations to Sue and Alexandra!

Read the news story at the Voces Novae web site.

Artistic Director Sue Swaney is quoted in the Herald-Times, Sunday, Sept. 19.

2010-09-19T15:11:00.002-04:00

Artistic Director Sue Swaney is quoted in the Herald-Times, Sunday, Sept. 19 in an article about rehearsal and performance space.

Being small helps

Not all musical organizations have such trouble finding venues.

Sue Swaney, music director for Voces Novae, can easily squeeze her choral group into a variety of spaces.

They've sung at the Restore warehouse, Woolery Stone Mill, upstairs at the Irish Lion and around the pond at Meadowood. Swaney coined the term "guerrilla concerts" to describe performances the group does in unique places.

"The idea is that you just find an unusual place," she said.

They've even performed in the Bloomington Hospital parking garage. The idea came when the group performed in the hospital's auditorium. Needing to warm up, the group snuck down the hallway into the parking garage.

"We were just in love with the acoustics, and we thought, we should just sing there one time," she said.

At most, the group has 24 singers performing at one time. As such, Swaney has been able to try many different venues, including an upcoming show at the Capriole goat farm.

She reasons that singing in unusual places can give context to what they are singing and reinforce the idea they are trying to convey.

"Another reason is that we think music is sometimes heard differently in an unexpected context," Swaney said.

Swaney has ideas of other venues she'd like to try, including an underground limestone quarry in Bedford. She'd also love to set up singers in upper windows around Bloomington's courthouse square.

"I'm not giving up on that idea," she said.

Read the full article at http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2010/09/19/scene.qp-3861448.sto

Featured member: Deborah Phelps

2010-07-05T12:05:00.001-04:00

Deborah Phelps, RN, BSN, OCN, began her working career as a music therapist at the Mulberry Retirement Community in Mulberry, IN, and then at Meadowood Retirement Community in Bloomington.

In addition to singing with Voces Novae, Deborah works at Internal Medicine Associates, Inc., in the oncology department. Read her story in Nursing as a Second Career (ONS Connect magazine, p. 8; PDF).

New photos available

2010-03-17T14:13:00.001-04:00

Photos from our recent program, The Proper Resolution of Dissonance, are now available on the web site.

Clicking any photo will bring up a downloadable high-res, print-ready version.

Voces Novae presents The Proper Resolution of Dissonance

2010-02-22T11:16:00.001-05:00

Voces Novae presents:
The Proper Resolution of Dissonance

in collaboration with The Community Justice and Mediation Center

Sunday, February 28, 7:30 p.m.
Unitarian Universalist Church
2120 N. Fee Lane

$10 general/ $5 students and seniors

Music of Beethoven, Billings, Machaut, Monteverdi, Palestrina, Deborah Phelps, Purcell and Vivaldi

Dissonance (if you are interested) leads to discovery.
- William Carlos Williams

Lullabies CD available for sale online

2010-02-15T17:32:00.004-05:00

The Lullabies CD is now available for sale from Vanderbilt Music's online store.

Also, Meditations on Life~Death is also available online from Vanderbilt for the first time.

Go to our Buy a CD page.

Sample from our new CD

2010-02-10T11:17:00.001-05:00

Listen to a sample from our new CD, Choral Lullabies. This is the first track, Deep Peace (MP3). Enjoy!

The CDs will be available for sale ($10) at our concert:

"The Proper Resolution of Dissonance"

Sunday, February 28, 2010, 7:30 p.m.

Music of Billings, Palestrina, Purcell, Vivaldi
Unitarian Universalist Church

$10
$5 seniors/students

Concert coming in February!

2010-01-12T15:52:00.000-05:00

Sunday, February 28, 2010, 7:30 p.m.

"The Proper Resolution of Dissonance"
Music of Billings, Palestrina, Purcell, Vivaldi
Unitarian Universalist Church

$10
$5 seniors/students

Coming soon: the release of our Lullaby CD.

PDF of Chorus America article

2009-12-21T13:38:00.001-05:00

Here's a PDF version of the Chorus America article featuring Voces Novae suitable for printing:
Spotlight on Innovation: Out of the Concert Hall... (PDF)

Voces Novae featured in Chorus America's the Voice

2009-10-26T12:04:00.002-04:00

Chorus America's quarterly magazine, the Voice, is distributed to more than 4,000 choral leaders throughout North America.

The fall 2009 issue features extensive coverage of Voces Novae with quotes from Artistic Director Sue Swaney. See:

Spotlight on Innovation: Out of the Concert Hall...

"Chilly" con carne

2009-10-14T12:08:00.004-04:00

Last evening, we shivered our way through an outdoor performance at the Bloomingfoods annual member meeting dinner. :)

Here's a cute picture of "Chef" Sue right before she conducted our performance of "He that drinks is immortal," "Eggs," and "Chili con carne."

Third Thursday Fundraiser at Nick's

2009-09-25T15:21:00.001-04:00

Thursday, October 15

Nick's English Hut will host "3rd Thursday" on October 15 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. to benefit Voces Novae's lullabies-for-babies project. Enjoy dinner and a night out in the back room (children are allowed in the front end of the back room), and the back room serving staff will donate all their tips toVoces Novae for production costs. With help from Nick's diners and support from the Indiana Arts Commission, 1000 babies will receive free CDs of choral lullabies sung by Voces Novae and distributed through Bloomington Area Birth Services, Bloomington Hospital, Dunn Memorial Hospital, and Green County Hospital.

Voces Novae Lullaby CD

Voces Novae chamber choir of Bloomington, in collaboration with Bloomington Area Birth Services, has produced a recording of beautiful choral lullabies to give to 1000 babies born in our area this year. The music includes lullabies from Cape Breton, Israel, New Zealand, and Latvia, settings of texts by Robert Frost, Sara Teasdale, and Wendell Berry, and gorgeous choral music ranging from traditional tunes and music from the renaissance to contemporary American works. The production of the CDs, which will be accompanied by an article by a noted researcher on music and the developing brain, is partially underwritten by a grant from the Indiana Arts Commission. Bloomington Area Birth Services, Bloomington Hospital, Dunn Memorial Hospital, and Green County Hospital are all looking forward to offering the CDs to their baby-families.

Upcoming Events

2009-09-25T15:04:00.001-04:00

Thursday, October 8
Special Performance for the Bloomingfoods Coop Annual Meeting

Saturday, October 10
Special Performance for Conference on the Commonwealth

Thursday, October 15
Third Thursday Fundraiser at Nick's English Pub. All tips from the back room between 5:00-8:00 p.m. will be donated to our Lullaby CD project.

Stay tuned for the release of our Lullaby CD.

By popular demand, we are planning another dinner/concert. Stay tuned!

Nice little H-T editorial

2009-09-25T08:37:00.003-04:00

It was nice to see the Bloomington Herald-Times editorial board give us some notice in the 9/25/09 weekly "And another thing..."

Let’s have more garage concerts

The gift of music came to anyone who happened through the Bloomington
Hospital parking garage last Sunday afternoon. The Voces Novae chamber choir did
its special a cappella work assisted by the acoustics of the concrete cavern.

This was a special inspiration for the group and its director, Susan
Swaney. Offering a heavenly musical interlude to anyone who happened by that
late afternoon must have soothed more than a few raw souls. The folks who use a
hospital parking lot can include a lot of people who can use a bit of calming
harmony.

Let’s hope there are more concerts such as these in the works. Maybe the
hospital can do a little something to encourage that.

We heartily agree!

Source: http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2009/09/25/digitalcity.qp-6807939.sto

Photos from past Debs programs

2009-09-22T14:18:00.000-04:00

The Photos page on the web site now has photos from our past Debs programs at Woolery Stone Mill in Bloomington and Terre Haute.

http://www.vocesnovae.org/index.php?page=photos

Photos from the "Garage"

2009-09-21T14:49:00.001-04:00

"Guerrilla" appearance this Sunday!

2009-09-16T10:47:00.001-04:00

Voces Novae will be making an impromptu appearance this Sunday, Sept. 20, from 4 to 5pm at the Bloomington Hospital Parking Garage, Skywalk level. Through a serendipitous discovery that the acoustics are fabulous, we will be making a return visit to the garage to serenade folks coming and going and those below in the garden area. Come join the fun!

2009-10 season

2009-08-11T15:19:00.000-04:00

We had our first rehearsal last night to kick off the new year.

Lots of music about food!

Watch for upcoming announcements about performances.

About Voces Novae video

2009-06-15T10:07:00.001-04:00

Bloom is out

2009-06-05T15:02:00.001-04:00

The new Bloom magazine is hot off the presses, featuring Voces Novae.

Bloomingfoods East has lots of copies.

Support the arts in Indiana

2009-06-04T15:23:00.001-04:00

The Indiana Coalition for the Arts, an advocacy group, can use your help in influencing the upcoming state budget.

The planned budget would cut state funding for the arts by 50%.

Contact your state legislator and make your voice heard. Find out how.

New web site!

2009-06-01T18:04:00.001-04:00

Finally, after months of planning, stewing, and exploring different tools, the new web site is live running on CMS Made Simple.

That way, we can log in without any necessary knowledge of HTML and add content, new pages, and new pictures.

Later on, we can change the design if we want without needing to change the content.

http://www.vocesnovae.org/

Featured in Bloom magazine!

2009-05-25T17:55:00.002-04:00

Exciting news! Voces Novae will be featured in the next issue of Bloom magazine, appearing on June 5.

Also, watch for a new version of our web site at http://www.vocesnovae.org/. Coming soon! Just in time for the feature in Bloom, the magazine dedicated to Bloomington.

Upcoming Events

2009-05-25T09:43:00.002-04:00

June 4, 2009
Brief performance for Bloomington Community Foundation conference

June 7, 2009
Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington church services, 9:15 and 11:15

Stay tuned for the release of our Lullaby CD and details on a special event at Traders Point Creamery this fall.

Mother's Day program pictures on Picasa

2009-05-21T13:40:00.004-04:00

Thanks very much to Mark for taking some lovely pictures at our Mother's Day program at Meadwood Pond.

Here's a sample and here is the link to the Picasa album.

Recording session #2 tonight

2009-05-11T10:43:00.002-04:00

We are going into the recording studio tonight, session #2 for our upcoming CD, working title "Lullabies."

Thanks to all who joined us yesterday evening at Meadowood pond for our Mother's Day program. It was very enjoyable to sing under the "Great Trees."

Mother's Day program

2009-04-28T10:08:00.002-04:00

You are invited to a short Voces Novae program in honor of Mother’s Day.

Sunday, May 10

5:00-5:30pm

outdoors at the pond behind Meadowood Retirement Community, next to Griffy Woods

2455 N Tamarack Trl, Bloomington Directions

Free and open to the public! Bring a lawn chair!

Music of Dalglish, Morley, Mendelssohn, Whitacre and others.

Follow the road past the main entrance to Meadowood Pavilion to the pond. Park anywhere along the road. In case of inclement weather, we will sing in the Terrace Room inside Meadowood.

Photos from the recording session

2009-04-25T17:55:00.015-04:00

Recording session today! Gigs Sunday and Monday

2009-04-25T09:41:00.002-04:00

It's a Voces Novae marathon weekend!

We are going into the recording studio today, session #1 for our upcoming CD, working title "Lullabies" (might end up with another title).

Tomorrow (Sunday, April 26) at 2pm, we will perform as part of the hospice memorial at Bloomington Hospital Wegmiller Auditorium. We will also hold our annual meeting afterward to elect board members (all members are returning).

Monday evening, we will perform for the IU faculty emeriti.

Director Susan Swaney now Dr. Swaney

2009-04-21T11:43:00.002-04:00

Congratulations, *Dr.* Susan Swaney!

Photos from the BABS Gala

2009-03-17T10:53:00.002-04:00

Photos from the Bloomington Area Birth Services Gala

Welcome Silvia Kate Walker

2009-02-02T10:33:00.001-05:00

Welcome Silvia Kate Walker!

born Thursday, January 29th, 2009 at 6:36 AM

7 lbs, 12 oz and 21 inches long

Click here for a few photos:

http://www.our365.com/NewbornPortraits/BabyDetail.aspx?birthid=6f0c1f4f-3fd7-48bd-91d4-10524f24e59d

Voces Novae, December 15 2008

2008-12-17T09:19:00.001-05:00

Here is our latest group portrait minus a couple of missing members.

Group added much to Debs banquet

2008-11-19T18:41:00.002-05:00

More praise from Thomas E. Szymanski, Organizer, IBEW Local 725, in the Terre Haute Tribune-Star:

On Oct. 4, a wonderful presentation directed and produced by Bloomington’s Susan Swaney and Voces Novae was held in Terre Haute. A dramatic narrative with music, singing, and speeches based on the life of Eugene V. Debs (labor leader, social activist, and five-time presidential candidate) started off the day that led to the annual E.V. Debs awards banquet.
As a board member of the E.V. Debs Foundation, I wanted to acknowledge and thank Susan Swaney and the group of performers in Voces Novae for their hard work and great performance. It was a great addition to the annual Debs banquet that provided some history and background information about Terre Haute’s own E.V. Debs.
After the show, everyone in attendance complimented all of the singers, musicians and actors for a vibrant, entertaining and professional performance.
With underwriting and assistance from labor organizations that included IBEW (Electricians) Local 725, UA (Plumbers and Pipefitters) Local 157, LIUNA (Laborers) Local 204, UNITE-HERE (Midwest Region), the Wabash Valley Building and Construction Trades Council, the Wabash Valley Central Labor Council, and the American Federation of Musicians Local 25, Voces Novae was able to provide an incredible performance that was free and open to the public.
A big “thank you” goes to all of the local labor unions for their support and willingness to give back to their community.
I highly recommend anyone interested in watching some exceptional talent in some innovative shows to attend one of the productions as performed by Bloomington’s own Voces Novae. Please visit their Web site at www.vocesnovae.org for more
information.

Here is the link.

In praise of Voces Novae

2008-11-11T05:52:00.002-05:00

Today's Bloomington Herald-Times has a very nice letter from Thomas Szymanski about our Terre Haute performance!

On Oct. 4, a wonderful presentation directed and produced by Bloomington’s own Susan Swaney and Voces Novae was held in Terre Haute. A dramatic narrative with music, singing and speeches based on the life of Eugene V. Debs (labor leader, social activist, and presidential candidate) started off the day that led to the annual E.V. Debs awards banquet.

With underwriting and assistance from labor organizations that included IBEW Local 725, Pipefitters Local 157, Laborers’ Local 204, UNITE-HERE, the Wabash Valley Building Trades, the Wabash Valley Central Labor Council and the American Federation of Musicians Local 25, Voces Novae was able to provide an incredible performance that was free and open to the public.

After the show, everyone in attendance complimented all of the singers, musicians, and actors for a vibrant, entertaining, and professional performance.

As a union representative of IBEW (electricians) Local 725 and board member of the E.V. Debs Foundation, I wanted to acknowledge and thank Susan Swaney and the group of performers in Voces Novae for their hard work and great performance.

I highly recommend anyone interested in watching some exceptional talent in some innovative shows to attend one of the productions as performed by Bloomington’s Voces Novae.

Thomas E. Szymanski

Bloomington

Here is the link:

http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2008/11/11/digitalcity.letters.sto

Voces Novae now on Facebook

2008-10-26T15:20:00.007-04:00

I created a Facebook group page for Voces Novae. If you are on Facebook please become a fan, or check it out at:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Voces-Novae-chamber-choir-Bloomington-Indiana/31676763653

Upcoming project

2008-10-24T17:22:00.001-04:00

Voces Novae's next project is to record a CD of lullabies! Stay tuned.

Tribune-Star: Narrative, music help tell Debs tale

2008-10-06T09:47:00.004-04:00

We received a writeup of our Oct. 4 Debs program in Terre Haute by Terre Haute Tribune-Star writer Howard Greninger.

A mix of narrative and music helped tell the life story of union leader and political activist Eugene V. Debs as more than 80 people joined in song Saturday with the Voces Novae Chamber Choir of Bloomington at the Scottish Rite Hippodrome Theater at 727 Ohio St.

The choir sang songs such as “Once to Ev’ry Man and Nation,” “What a Weapon is the Ballot” or “Voting for Labor.”

The afternoon program was a preclude to the annual Eugene V. Debs Award banquet at Hulman Center, on the campus of Indiana State University.

Debs was born in Terre Haute in 1855 and is considered one of America’s strongest advocates for workers’ rights. In 1893, he organized the American Railway Union, the first industrial union to recognize both skilled and unskilled labors. He ran five times for U.S. president on the Socialist party ticket.

“I think it is important that people have a good historical understanding of labor unions and what it means for people. I thought the program was wonderfully done,” said John Lepley, 27, who graduated in May from Indiana State University where he said he was a recipient of the Gertrude and Theodore Debs memorial fellowship to study the history of American labor and reform movements.

Charles King, secretary of the Eugene V. Debs Foundation in Terre Haute, said the program demonstrates “the labor heritage of this area and of Indiana, which runs very deep, a heritage of Indiana such as the sports of basketball and auto racing. Many people don’t realize and think that Debs was just a radical socialist … which was not the case. He helped organize the first chapters of many [union] locals here inTerre Haute,” King said.

You can read the writeup here.

Coming up: Eugene Debs program in Terre Haute, Oct. 4

2008-09-23T08:26:00.002-04:00

Don't forget that our Debs concert is coming up in Terre Haute on October 4:

Eugene Debs, an Indiana Original

Saturday, October 4, 3:30pm

Scottish Rite Hippodrome Theater

727 Ohio Street, Terre Haute

Free and open to the public. Opened in 1915, the theater is the oldest vaudeville house still standing in the US.

IDS: Art Museum's Grand Tour opening exceeds expectations

2008-09-23T08:13:00.002-04:00

Amanda Cochara over at the Indiana Daily Student wrote an article about the exhibition opening and our performance. I don't need to post the entire thing here since access is free. You can read it here.

Charlotte Zietlow had some nice things to say about us:

“I thought I would just drop in for a concert, but it turned out to be a much bigger event,” said Bloomington resident Charlotte Zietlow. Zietlow’s main motive for coming was the opening concert by local chamber choir Voces Novae. “I saw them do a concert a year ago, and it was fantastic,” Zietlow said. Susan Swaney, a former director of the IU Children’s Choir program, is the current director of Voces Novae.

-Greg

Review: Voces Novae sends listeners on a musical grand tour

2008-09-21T12:08:00.002-04:00

Peter Jacobi's review of our Grand Tour program can be found here. Jacobi writes for the Bloomington Herald-Times. Apparently we fulfilled his expectations.

There are two givens when Bloomington based Voces Novae performs: the ensemble will sing well and the programming will intrigue and be stocked with surprises.
Expectations were fulfilled Friday evening when this community chamber group, so meticulously trained by Susan Swaney, offered a concert welcoming the introduction of an exhibit, “The Grand Tour, Art and Travel, 1740-1914,” at the Indiana University Art Museum. An overflow crowd on the second level of the atrium came to hear the choir and a small orchestra combine for an hour of music inspired by travel.

Speaking of the Boulanger piece, he writes:

The piece gained from Voces Novae a performance sumptuous enough to match the content. Swaney has a knack for finding such unaccountably neglected items.

He goes on to recite the pieces we performed and then concludes:

Somehow, all these disparate pieces came together in a refreshing whole. Hearing them spurred imagination, a way of traveling without physically doing so. And that, undoubtedly, is a purpose also of the exhibition the concert was meant to honor.

I wasn't sure what to expect as far as attendance, but I was frankly flabbergasted at the large crowd. It was quite literally standing room only with even more folks listening from the ground level. Congratulations, Sue. Another great job!

-Greg

Grand Tour program notes

2008-09-09T08:27:00.002-04:00

The Grand Tour program is coming up Sept. 19 at 6pm at the IU Art Museum. The program will last about 45 minutes followed by a reception with light snacks.

Grand Tour program notes by Sue Swaney

Why do any of us travel? Like the artists, writers, and musicians of this Grand Tour exhibit, we seek novelty, stimulation of the senses, broadening of the mind, and greater understanding. The composers represented here were undoubtedly influenced by their exposure to other cultures. However, like Gilbert and Sullivan’s very British “gentlemen of Japan,” they also emerged sounding very much like themselves. It is a paradoxical quality of travel that it serves both to broaden and distill the essential nature of the traveler.

This little collection of pieces echoes many of the same themes as the Grand Tour art exhibit: 18th century Rome, ancient or classical themes and characters, picturesque shepherds and landscapes, and British impressions of the Far East. Other themes also came to mind as we assembled this musical exploration: Roman Catholic devotion, the influential Prix de Rome, and even the special qualities of Italian sunshine!

J.S. Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 3
J.S. Bach never traveled much at all, but he engaged in a sort of virtual, intellectual Grand Tour by copying innumerable of concertos by the Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi. This very famous piece reflects the influence of the Italian style in its motoric propulsion and harmonic clarity.

W.A. Mozart, Voyager’s Chorus from Idomeneo
Janice Bagwell, soprano
We begin our journey with placid seas and beautiful sunshine, as these travelers eagerly embark on an adventure. Mozart was a great composer of Italian opera, and Idomeneo is based on a story from classical literature.

Translation:
The sea is calm, let us embark. All bodes well for our journey. Quickly, quickly, let us go! Happy will be our ventures.
May only gentle breezes carry you, may all cold north wind grow calm before you. May kindly winds surround you, and may love be strewn along the way of each of you.

G. F. Handel, Chorus of the Enchanted Islanders from Alcina
This chorus extols the sensual pleasures of an enchanted island. The story of Alcina is taken from Ludovico Ariosto’s Orlando furioso, an epic poem set in the time of Charlemagne. Handel moved from Germany to London (stopping en route to visit Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici) when his boss, George, Elector of Hanover, became George I of Great Britain. Alcina was composed for his first opera season at Covent Garden .

Translation: This is the heaven of contentments, the wellspring of bliss, Elysium of the living, where all is formed for pleasure.

G. F. Handel, Donna che in ciel, Final movement
Maria Izzo Walker, soprano
From the intoxicating pleasures of the senses, we turn to a more spiritual sort of quest. This sacred cantata was composed during a period when the Pope had banned opera for five years in gratitude to God for sparing Rome from the destruction wrought by a series of powerful earthquakes. Handel, who spent some time in Rome during this period, made use of the florid operatic Italian singing style.

Translation by Elizabeth Elmi:
Maria, health and hope of the tormented world and of the languishing mortal.
For you, may the quivering fury extinguish its passion in a sea of blood.
And peace and joy, may peace and joy be to us down here as Maria is in heaven.

W.A. Mozart, O Isis und Osiris from The Magic Flute
Mozart and his librettist Schikaneder infused this traditional German form, the Singspiel, with exotic characters, scenes of temples and pyramids, and in this chorus, an appeal to ancient Egyptian gods to guide the protagonists in virtue.

Translation: O Isis and Osiris, what delight! The gloomy night yields to the splendor of the sun! Soon the noble youth will feel new life; soon he will dedicate himself wholly to our mission. His spirit is bold, his heart is pure. Soon, soon, he will be worthy.

Franz Liszt, “Ave Maria”
Having traveled throughout Europe as an A-list celebrity virtuoso, Franz Liszt moved to Rome and became an Abbé of the Roman Catholic Church.
Translation: Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Felix Mendelssohn, “Hirtenlied”
From these lofty spiritual heights, we move to more literal, picturesque heights in Mendelssohn’s depiction of a shepherd’s love story.

Translation by Marie Deer:
O Winter, awful Winter, the world's now oh so small!You squeeze us into the valleys, between the narrow huts' walls.And even if I pass in front of where my dearest stays,The little window hides her head - she barely shows her face.O Summer, lovely Summer, how wide, now, is the world!The higher we climb on the mountains, the wider it's unfurled.And if I have you in my arms on the open mountain heightsWe look out over wide country and yet we are out of sight.

Antonin Dvorak, “Songs My Mother Taught Me,” from Gypsy Songs, Op. 55
arr. Ron Kean
Dvorak was often inspired by vernacular models. Here he turns a song attributed to the gypsy folk tradition into a sophisticated art song.

Debussy, “Chanson No. 1”
Debussy is one of three Prix de Rome winners featured here, having won the prize at the age of 19. He stayed only two of the four awarded years at the Villa Medici, however, complaining in letters home about the bad food, boorish company, and abominable accommodations. Perhaps more importantly for Western music was his fascination with the shimmering, rhythmically-complex Javanese gamelan music he encountered at the 1889 World Fair in Paris. Always a rebel against pedantry, Debussy wrote that, “Javanese rhapsodies, instead of confining themselves in a traditional form, develop according to the fantasy of countless arabesques.”

Translation: God! How you have made her beautiful to look at! How gracious, good and lovely; to each great thing that’s found within her, one gratefully gives praise. Always her beauty is renewed. God, she is beautiful! Not from sea, nor land, nowhere is there a woman who shows such pure, gracious virtue; it is a dream to think of her. God! how beautiful she is!

Gounod, “Sérénade”
Gounod also won the Prix de Rome, and we hear echoes of the Italian singing style here in this setting of a Victor Hugo poem. Gounod is most famous for his opera Faust, which was considered by Germans to be a sacrilegious bastardization of Goethe’s classic rendering of the ancient story; however, it remains a favorite of the repertory because of Gounod’s charming music.

Translation by Deborah Piston-Hatlen:
When you sing, cradled in my arms in the evening,
do you hear my thoughts responding softly?
Your sweet song recalls to me the most beautiful of my days.
Sing, sing, my love. Sing, sing forever...

Lili Boulanger, “Hymne au Soleil”
Susan Sullivan, mezzo soprano
It has been said that Lili Boulanger’s cantata Faust et Helene is the best piece ever to have won the Prix de Rome. Here we offer her Hymn to the Sun, orchestrated from the original 4-hand piano accompaniment by Oliver Korte.

Translation by Jane May:
Let us bless the rebirth of the sun and its power.
Let us celebrate now as our eyes look above.
Like a glorious crown
Let its radiance tower!
The awakening of nature is a hymn of our love.
Seven steeds ride across the sky in fiery splendor,
Inflaming all the sky with every breath they render.
O most gracious sun, now appear!
With all its fields in bloom, its woods and mountains green,
And the wide ocean reflecting irradiance,
All the world is young once again,
In the mist of morn iridescent and rosy.
The rebirth of the sun is a marvelous power.

W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, The Mikado Opening Chorus and Act II Finale
W.S. Gilbert was inspired by a Japanese exhibition to write a story that takes place in Japan. However, as G.K. Chesterton said about the piece, “I doubt if there is a single joke in the whole play that fits the Japanese. But all the jokes in the play fit the English.”

Many thanks to Mariel Johnson of the Jacobs School of Music Performing Ensembles Division library for her assistance with this program.

The Grand Tour program, September 19

2008-09-03T09:03:00.000-04:00

Here is the program information for our September 19 concert at the IU Art Museum...

The Grand Tour
Art and Travel, 1740-1914

Friday, September 19, 6pm
IU Art Museum

Free and open to the public

Voces Novae will present works by European composers who traveled -- or who were inspired by the idea of travel -- to both real and imaginary lands. Works by Bach, Handel, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Dvorak, Liszt, Debussy, Gounod, and Boulanger will be performed.

The concert will last approximately 45 minutes and will be followed by a reception.

Updated 3 September

Eugene Debs program, October 4

2008-09-02T10:55:00.003-04:00

Here is the program information for our Debs concert in Terre Haute, October 4...

Eugene Debs, an Indiana Original

Saturday, October 4, 3:30pm

Scottish Rite Hippodrome Theater

727 Ohio Street, Terre Haute

Free and open to the public. Opened in 1915, the theater is the oldest vaudeville house still standing in the US.

Voces Novae programs coming up in fall 2008

2008-08-27T09:45:00.000-04:00

Here's a brief sneak preview of what we'll be up to this fall.

September 19: We'll be doing a concert to open The Grand Tour exhibit at the IU Art Museum.
October 4: We'll be performing a reprise of last spring's Eugene V. Debs: An Indiana Original in Terre Haute (home of the Debs Foundation and Museum).
Sometime in the fall: We'll perform in a third annual COEXIST program, this one focusing on Praise.

Updated 27 August 2008

IDS: Chamber choir Voces Novae performs concert using instruments fashioned from recyclables

2008-05-15T15:19:00.002-04:00

The Indiana Daily Student (IDS) has a nice writeup about the Recycling/Transformation concert here. Savannah Worley, writing for the IDS, got a couple of good quotes from Sue, performers, and audience members.

Swaney said the idea of the recycling and transformation concert came from her
mother-in-law, Nancy Sewell Woollen. Swaney wrote a note in the brochure about
Woollen and how her life was full of acts of recycling. Swaney writes about how
her mother-in-law would have transformed five wild berries found by the roadside
into a turnover. She also writes how Woollen transformed two sons into men,
Swaney’s husband being one of them.“Mothers are great alchemists in seeing the
possibilities in everything,” Swaney said.

Chamber choir Voces Novae performs concert using instruments fashioned from recyclables
IDS 5/15/2008

More Recycling/Transformation photos

2008-05-13T13:36:00.002-04:00

Here are the pics Julie took of the group prior to the concert.

Expectations met in intriguing program

2008-05-13T10:18:00.002-04:00

Peter Jacobi from the Herald-Times has his review in today's (5/13) paper:

Two results are givens whenever artistic director Susan Swaney presents her
sweet-voiced, 20-member chamber choir, Voces Novae, in concert: the singing will
be delightful and the program content will intrigue.

The ensemble’s Sunday evening concert, titled “Recycling/Transformation,”
proved no exception. It caressed the ears. It stimulated mind and heart. And
what’s more, the event took place in a most unusual environment, the Habitat for
Humanity ReStore, more specifically in a storage space for that critically
important social service organization. The venue choice was surely an act of
recycling, the building having previously housed the body shop of Stephens
Olds-Honda.

The music was shrewdly chosen to reflect the concert’s theme, including
works from long ago recycled by composers of today, along with sounds of the
world, from nature and human life, transformed into song.

He finds narration, which we've done on numerous occassions, to be a distraction:

And this time, everything heard was music. On a number of previous occasions,
Swaney, a musician of wide interests, has been seduced from the musical path by
complementary literary components which tended, in performance, to be less
adroitly handled than those that were sung. There was no such distraction on
Sunday. The substance was all music, and substantial that substance was.

He continues:

One heard Maurice Durufle’s 1960 “Ubi Caritas,” built on an ancient
plainchant, and IU composer Sven-David Sandstrom’s 1986 “Hear My Prayer, O
Lord,” developed out of an eight-part Henry Purcell anthem, here to become a
brilliant mix of old essences freshened by an overlay of contemporary
harmonies.

One heard folk songs recast: a 15th century “Kyrie” by Johannes Ockeghem,
its melody taken from a French tune popular at the time; two rustic English
airs, “The Farmer’s Boy” and “Down Among the Dead Men,” arranged by Ralph
Vaughan Williams, lustily sung by the men of the choir, and something called
“Tangents off L’Homme Arme,” a blithe violin-cello instrumental written by
Gabriel Lubell, a member of Voces Novae who helpfully turned pages of the score
for the busy cellist, Helen Shively-Ford, well partnered by violinist Theresa
Lier.

One heard a transcribed and edited version of Orlando Gibbons’ early 17th
century “The Cries of London,” featuring the shouts and cries of London Town,
and a delicious collection of “rrrs” and “popopops” and “chirri” chirps created
in the 16th century by Clement Janequin for his “Song of the Birds.”

To all these, Voces Novae, mostly a cappella but sometimes accompanied by
an instrumental ensemble of seven, gave full life and flavor and, vocally
speaking, astonishing beauty. As the singers did, also, to Josquin Desprez’ ode
composed on the death of his teacher, Ockeghem, and Dvorak’s well known “Songs
My Mother Taught Me,” inspired by a gypsy tune.

In the midst of all this, along came John Astaire, a wonderfully agile
percussionist who used instruments of his trade to mimic the woodpecker,
following a creative score written by contemporary Dutch composer Louis
Andriessen. Astaire and fellow percussionist Chris Martin added an amusing
improvisation using recycled bottles, cans, newspaper and a section of a heating
vent.

The percussionists were fantastic!

-Greg

Correction: September 19 concert

2008-05-13T10:17:00.000-04:00

Voces Novae will perform Sept. 19 at the opening of the Grand Tour exhibit at the IU Art Museum -- not Sept. 9 as reported in the H-T.

Photos from Recycling/Transformation

2008-05-12T15:30:00.003-04:00

Here are some pictures from last night's program, courtesy of M. Hatlen.

Front page coverage

2008-05-12T09:36:00.001-04:00

Our Recycling/Transformation program last evening made the front page of this morning's Herald-Times. Brady Gillihan reported the story.

A choral concert in the corner of a warehouse once used by a Honda dealership epitomized recycling Sunday evening when Voces Novae, a local chamber choir, presented a Mother’s Day program titled “Recycling/Transformation.”

Add to the voices a duo of virtuoso percussionists — John Astaire and Chris Martin — who tapped and beat on wine bottles, empty paint cans, duct work and an industrial-sized toilet tissue dispenser, and the message was clear: Anything can be reused.

Gillihan reported that about 100 people were in attendance. I liked the way Gillihan reported the theme of the concert:

Swaney dedicated the musical event to her own mother-in-law, Nancy Sewell Woollen. In her program notes, Swaney told the story of how her mother-in-law’s contributions were not always apparent.

"They were essentially acts of recycling. ... She was a composter and a gardener, a re-user. If she found five wild berries by the roadside, they would be transformed into one delicious turnover for the lucky person who showed up as she pulled it from the oven," Swaney wrote. "As a therapist, she helped people reframe the events of their lives in ways that allowed them to move forward with hope and purpose."

Voces Novae will perform Sept. 19 at the opening of the Grand Tour exhibit at the IU Art Museum.

I'll report on Jacobi's review when it becomes available. He was also in attendance. And I'll try to get some photos posted as soon as I get some.

-Greg

Recycling/Transformation Concert

2008-04-21T14:29:00.000-04:00

Hello Voces Novae fans,

On Sunday, May 11, at 7:30pm, we will present a program with a recycling theme. Click the poster for a printable version.

Recycling/Transformation
Sunday, May 11, 7:30pm
Habitat for Humanity Restore
300 West Eleventh Street
$8 Adults
$5 Students and Seniors

Music by Andriessen, Dvorak, Orlando Gibbons, Janequin, Josquin Deprez, Gabriell Lubell, Ockeghem, Sanstrom, plus a junk-percussion improvisation by virtusoso percussionsists John Astaire and Chris Martin.

Audience members are encouraged to bring a chair. Items of clothing made from recycled materials are also encouraged!

Meditations on Life/Death

2005-02-10T12:06:00.000-05:00

Meditations on Life/Death

The above is a beautiful 2CD set featuring music and readings on the subject of death and dying. However, it is anything but depressing. The readers include Edward Herrmann, Jennifer Harmon, Julie Harris and Blythe Danner. There are choral selections, as well as instrumental works performed by Leonard Hokanson, Elzbieta Szmyt, Grey Larsen, and Ensemble Liaison. Also included are reproductions of great art, in addition to the complete texts of the musical works.

It is a wonderful gift for anyone, but especially someone going through end-of-life issues, either themselves or a relative.

You may purchase the CD

directly from the VN web site,
from cdbaby.com,
from Amazon.com.

These are listed in decreasing order of preference. We receive all of the purchase price directly from our site, less so from the other two.

Should you have any questions about this unique gift, please contact us at vocesnovae[at]gmail[dot]com.

This post is not solely an advertisement for "The Book" as we've taken to calling it, but it is also a representation of the ideas that have informed an will continue to inform VN's presentations. We focus on THE BIG IDEA, which usually leads to a BHAG (or Big Hairy Audacious Goal), such as Death and the Dying Process. Our most recent concerts deal with the concept of UTOPIA. That has translated to a study of American utopias, and the town of New Harmony, IN in particular.

One of the reasons for starting this blog is that there are a lot of BIG IDEAs out there, and we'd like to take advantage of the information-sharing powers of the internet. James Surowiecki's The Wisdom of Crowds was critical in our thinking here. In the Comments we solicit considered opinions, awesome recommendations, and offers of help. In the end, it will be great to build a community of opinion around us.

Welcome

2005-02-09T16:14:00.000-05:00

This is where we start.

Voces Novae is a chamber choir based in Bloomington, IN. We intend to use this blog as a forum for new ideas, leading to exciting presentations.

Watch this space.

E-mail may be sent to vocesnovae /at/ gmail /dot/ com