47th Subscription Concert Season ~ 2021-2022
”GREAT NAMES”
Frederick Renz is planning his trademark combination of the traditional and the unusual for the 2021-2022 season. Many great names are in the mix, and not just the expected ones: instead of one Mozart and one Haydn, there will be two apiece; and no fewer than six Bachs.
“We can learn a great deal from hearing not only the works of the masters, but works they may have heard or studied as they perfected their art,” says Maestro Renz. “Whether from a family relation or, as in the case of our Telemann program, a tavern in Silesia, such inspiration prompts an artistic response unique to each composer. There will be fascinating discoveries.”
Online and phone sales are now closed. Remaining tickets will be available at the concert venue, starting at 6:45 pm.
PLEASE NOTE: All attendees will be required to show proof of Covid-19 vaccination, and to wear a mask while they are in the building.
IV. TELEMANN À LA POLONAISE: From Folk to Formal ~ chamber orchestra
Saturday, May 7, 2022 at 7:30 PM
First Church of Christ, Scientist, Central Park West at 68th St.
​
Baroque composer Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) first encountered folk dance tunes from Poland in his early 20’s, and compiled many of them in a volume known today as the Rostock Manuscript, discovered only in 1987. He drew a lifetime of inspiration from this material for numerous compositions “in the Polish style,” which he considered to be the equal of French, German and Italian styles. EM/NY’s baroque orchestra performs suites and concerti utilizing themes from this collection.
(90 minutes)
Program to include:
Polish Dances from the Rostock Manuscript
[transcribed ca. 1705 by Telemann]
Ouverture [composite, ‘a la Polonaise’]
Entrée; Polonaise; Hanaquoise;
Mezzetin en Turc; Mourky; Les Turcs
​
Concerto Polonois
Dolce; Allegro; Largo; Allegro
​
Sonata Polonese
Andante; Allegro; Dolce; Allegro
Sinfonia melodica
Allegro assai; Sarabande; Bourrée; Menuet en rondeau; Loure; Chaconnette;
Gigue en canarie: tres vite
Quatour (‘Concerto Polonoise’) [w/interpolations] Polonoise; Allegro; Les Moscovites; Largo (mazurka: kujawiak); Hanaque & Sarrois; Allegro (mazurka: obereck)
[program subject to change]
This performance is dedicated to the memory of longtime EM/NY musician and exponent of early Polish repertoire Thomas Zajac, 1956 –2015
In the words of his wife, Lilli Nye:
Being of Polish descent, the music of his ancestors was particularly dear to Tom. In the mid-80’s, during a tour to Finland with the Ensemble for Early Music [now named Early Music New York], the group was scheduled to go on to perform in a festival in Poland. Tom set out for Poland on his own, only to learn upon arrival that the performance had been cancelled and that he was stranded. The local community adopted him, inviting him to perform a solo concert and to play with local musicians, raising enough money to get him back to the US. Tom returned [with the Ensemble for Early Music] to the same festival in 1988, culminating in his participation in a Solidarity mass in Nowa Huta. In August 2011, he [along with EM/NY's Director, Frederick Renz] was invited by the Polish government to take part in a research visit to hear and meet Polish early music ensembles. These exchanges and his own research led to his amassing a unique collection of early Polish and Eastern European music, the riches of which were only beginning to be experienced within the US early music community at the time of his illness and death.
https://www.blueheron.org/about-us/musicians/tom-zajac/
These events are made possible in part with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the generosity of EMF's Friends of Early Music.
The Venues:
First Church of Christ, Scientist
77 Central Park West at 68th Street, New York, NY 10023
EM/NY's new, “best kept secret,” Lincoln Square performance venue —
Near Lincoln Center, the First Church of Christ, Scientist faces Central Park at 68th St. and is reached via the M72, M10 and Columbus Avenue M7 & M11 bus lines; subways C or B to 72nd at Central Park West (70th St. exit) and the #1 to 66th at Broadway. Parking garages are available along 68th and 66th Streets.
For information regarding disability access call (212) 280-0330.
The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine
1047 Amsterdam Avenue at 112th Street, New York, NY 10025
Located in Morningside Heights, adjacent to the Columbia University campus, the Cathedral is easily reached by public transportation: Buses M4, M11, M104; Subway #1 to 110th Street & Broadway.
Parking is available in nearby garages on 110th, 112th, and 114th Streets.
Our ticket table will be just outside the entrance to the Hall. Tickets are available for purchase or pickup (Will Call) one half hour before curtain.
The Cathedral is wheelchair accessible. Please call the Visitor Center for additional information at (212) 316-7540.