Americana - October 2007

Americana, was inspired by the San Francisco Opera's world premiere earlier this month of the new Philip Glass opera Appomattox. Set largely in the Civil War era, the opera tells the stories of Grant, Lee, and Lincoln and the battles that pitted brother against brother and resulted in the deaths of over 600,000 Americans. The greater San Francisco arts community has drawn together around the premiere of this important new American work, and Clerestory is honored to be a publicity partner of the Opera. We welcome those opera subscribers who are hearing Clerestory for the first time this evening. Musical groups can often seem to be in competition with one another, so it is a joy to participate in a series of performances that draws all music lovers together under a common theme.

Our Americana program is a departure for us in the sense that, necessarily, it does not include early music from the Renaissance period. Instead, it has been hugely rewarding to explore styles of early American music not often heard, as well as to take on the challenges of 20th century choral literature. One often forgets that choral music has been a part of American life since our nation's earliest days, and unlike many of Europe's most famous composers, the best-known American composers like Ives, Copland, Barber and Bernstein wrote for voices as often as for instruments.

Music from this concert and others from the first two seasons appear on our CD Clerestory: Live.