San Francisco, May 17, 2005—Chanticleer, the internationally-acclaimed, 12-man vocal ensemble, announces EarthSongs, its 28th Bay Area subscription season. The season begins in September with a program featuring music drawn from poetry inspired by nature. Following the ever-popular Christmas concerts, the ensemble turns to the Renaissance, with the exquisite Earthquake Mass by Antoine Brumel. The season concludes with sacred works by Spanish Golden Age masters Tomás Luis de Victoria and Francisco Guerrero. The GRAMMY-winning group, dubbed “America’s favorite choral ensemble” by the New Yorker magazine, will perform 26 concerts in San Francisco, Berkeley, San Jose, Santa Clara, Petaluma, Davis, and Carmel. See attached calendar listing for full venue details.
With EarthSongs, Chanticleer pairs poets’ words with music to celebrate the grace of earth’s creatures, the voices of the seasons and the very rhythms of the planet. Pieces encompass delicate madrigals, contemporary settings and evocations of native cultures by composers Palestrina, Monteverdi, Saint-Saëns, Hindemith, Jackson Hill, and others. EarthSongs premieres on September 16 in Petaluma with performances in San Francisco on September 17 and 25; Berkeley on September 18 and Santa Clara on September 24. An additional matinee performance next spring takes place in Davis on March 26, 2006 at the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.
Chanticleer’s popular Christmas concerts, featuring an elegant blend of traditional carols, medieval and Renaissance sacred works, and moving spirituals, are a Bay Area tradition.
A Chanticleer Christmas will be performed 10 times in the Bay Area: December 11 and 17 at 8pm at St. Ignatius Church in San Francisco; December 12 at 8pm in Berkeley; December 16 at 6 and 8:30pm in Petaluma; a matinee on December 18 at 3pm in Davis at the Mondavi Center; December 22 at 6 and 8:30pm in Santa Clara and December 23 at 6 and 8:30pm at Carmel Mission.
Earthquake Mass
In spring 2006, everyone will be remembering the 1906 earthquake that devastated San Francisco; Chanticleer will look even farther back, to a rarely-performed Renaissance masterpiece. Named for the Easter antiphon (“..and behold the earth moved”), Antoine Brumel’s Earthquake Mass (Missa Et ecce terrae motus) is incomparable for its musical mastery and virtuosic employment of twelve voices for almost its entire length. Performances of the Earthquake Mass take place March 24 and 31 in San Francisco; March 25 in Santa Clara and April 1 in Berkeley.
In ¡Victoria! , the tensions and vibrancy of Spain’s Golden Age are evident in Missa Pro Victoria by Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548-1611) and Francisco Guerrero’s (1528-1599) Missa de la batalla escoutez, both mass settings based on the popular song, “La Guerre” (War). Rarely-performed motets by the lesser-known Giovanni Trabaci (1575-1647) complete the program. ¡Victoria! will be performed May 19, 2006 in Petaluma; May 20 and June 4 in San Francisco; May 21 in Berkeley; June 2 in Carmel and June 3 in San Jose.
The Bay Area season is an important part of Chanticleer’s annual activities, which in 2005/06 include approximately 60 performances in national and international tours, educational outreach activities in the Bay Area and across the country, and the release in the fall of the ensemble’s latest CD. The ensemble will travel to Japan in the fall and to seven European countries in January-February 2006. Chanticleer’s full 2005/06 touring schedule will be announced in July.
Two-, three- and four-concert season subscriptions range from $80 to $152 with discounts for students and seniors. Single ticket prices are $42 and $37 for reserved sections and $25 for General Admission seating. Subscription brochures are now available and single tickets go on sale from City Box Office in August. To request a brochure, call 415-252-8589 or email info@chanticleer.org. For group sales of ten or more, contact Linda Graham at 415-346-7805.
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(calendar listing follows)
Contact: Nancy Roberts, Director of Marketing & PR, 415-252-8589 ext. 306; nroberts@chanticleer.org
CALENDAR LISTING
EarthSongs: Chanticleer's 2005/06 BAY AREA SEASON
Internationally-acclaimed 12-man vocal group, dubbed “America’s favorite vocal ensemble” by the New Yorker magazine, performs a four-concert, 26-performance Bay Area season.
Two-, three- and four-concert season subscriptions range from $80 to $152. Single ticket prices are $42 and $37 for reserved sections and $25 for General Admission seating. Subscription brochures are now available and single tickets go on sale from City Box Office in August. To request a brochure, call 415-252-8589 or email info@chanticleer.org. For group sales of ten or more, contact Linda Graham at 415-346-7805.
35 Liberty Street
Friday, September 16, 2005 • 8pm
First Unitarian Universalist Church
1187 Franklin Street
Saturday, September 17, 2005 • 8pm
Sunday, September 25, 2005 • 4pm (note time)
First Congregational Church
2345 Channing Way
Sunday, September 18, 2005 • 7pm
Santa Clara
Mission Santa Clara
500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara University
Saturday, September 24, 2005 • 8pm
Davis SPECIAL SPRING 2006 Date
Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts
One Shields Avenue, UC Davis
Sunday, March 26, 2006 • 3pm (note time)
Note: $25 seats at Davis are assigned, not General Admission
A Chanticleer Christmas
St. Ignatius Church
650 Parker Avenue
Sunday, December 11, 2005 • 8pm
Saturday, December 17, 2005 • 8pm
First Congregational Church
2345 Channing Way
Monday, December 12, 2005 • 8pm
35 Liberty Street
Friday, December 16, 2005 • 6 & 8:30pm
One Shields Avenue, UC Davis
Sunday, December 18, 2005 • 3pm (note time)
Note: $25 seats at Davis are assigned, not General Admission
500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara University
Thursday, December 22, 2005 • 6 & 8:30pm
Carmel
Rio Road
Friday, December 23, 2005 • 6 & 8:30pm
Antoine Brumel (c.1460-c.1515)
San Francisco
1051 Taylor Street
Friday, March 24, 2006 • 8pm
Friday, March 31, 2006 • 8pm
Santa Clara
Mission Santa Clara
500 El Camino Real, SCU
Saturday, March 25, 2006 • 8pm
Berkeley
2300 Bancroft Way
Saturday, April 1, 2006 • 8pm
Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548-1611)
Francisco Guerrero (1528-1529)
Giovanni Trabaci (c.1575 – 1647)
35 Liberty Street
Friday, May 19, 2006 • 8pm
3321 16th Street (at Dolores)
Saturday, May 20, 2006 • 8pm
Sunday, June 4, 2006 • 7pm
2345 Channing Way
Sunday, May 21, 2006 • 7pm
Rio Road
Friday, June 2, 2006 • 8pm
St. Joseph’s Cathedral Basilica
80 South Market Street
Saturday, June 3, 2006 • 8pm
EDITORS: Black/white and color digital images available upon request.