Masterworks V - Beethoven's 9th

Finzi | Dies Natalis, Op. 8
Beethoven | Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 'Choral'
 

For our final program, we will perform Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9  the 'Choral.' This will be a first for the chamber orchestra.  Encouraged by our audience’s response and enthusiasm for Schubert’s mighty Symphony No. 9 ‘the Great’ last year, the orchestra string section will again be expanded and a full chorus will be in place.  Our four soloists are seasoned performers including soprano Michelle Areyzaga from Chicago, tenor Robert Bracey from North Carolina, bass Timothy Jones from Houston, and our own Jamie Van Eyck, mezzo-soprano, from Madison. We will be joined by the Festival Choir of Madison and the newly established Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra chorus.

We begin with Gerald Finzi's Dies Natalis, or Day of Birth, for tenor and strings sung by Robert Bracey. A twenty-five minute work, Dies Natalis is set to a text by the 17th century poet Thomas Traherne which reflects the joy and wonder of a newborn childs innocent perspective on the world. It was premiered in 1940.