2024 COLLABORATIVE WORKS FESTIVAL
SONG Of the bard
ABOUT
The Song of Bard, examined William Shakespeare’s influence on the world of song. Featuring two main stage concerts and a masterclass, the 2024 Festival highlighted the music of the countless composers who have been inspired by William Shakespeare’s work, probing scholar Harold Bloom’s bold assertion that it was Shakespeare who 'defined our modern conception of what it is to be human.'
PROGRAM I
SHAKESPEARE’S TIME
The Festival’s first concert was an evocation of Shakespeare’s time and as well as his imagination. As is so aptly described in the quote above from Berlioz’ symphonic fantasia on Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare had a unique ability to convey the human experience of romantic love. Yet as this program demonstrates, he was not the only bard of his time to ruminate on the rollercoaster journey of love and lust. These themes were popular fodder for many of the composers of the period, and the first festival concert features many of their love songs interspersed with many of Shakespeare’s sonnets that meditate on the vicissitudes of romantic love.
ARTISTS
Hannah DePriest, soprano | Nicholas Phan, tenor | Craig Trompeter, viola da gamba | Adrian Murillo, lutes | Jim Iorio, actor
PROGRAM
works by
THOMAS MORLEY
FRACESCA CACCINI
JOHN DOWLAND
SETTIMIA CACCINI
NICHOLAS LANIER
CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI
ALFONSO FERRABOSCO II
ROBERT JOHNSON
PROGRAM II
SHAKESPEARE’s PEOPLE
The second concert of the festival delved into several characters from Shakespeare’s plays, who continue to inspire composers to the present day. The program included musical meditations on the characters of Ophelia in Hamlet, Rosalind in As You Like It, King Lear’s Fool, Ariel from the Tempest, Mistress Quickly, and Lady Macbeth, as well as Romantic and Modern reimaginings of some of the songs from the plays.
ARTISTS
Hannah DePriest, soprano | Lindsay Metzger, mezzo-soprano | Nicholas Phan, tenor | Schyler Vargas, baritone | Brent Funderburk, piano | Cindy Gold, actor
PROGRAM
Works by
JONATHAN DOVE
JAKE HEGGIE
NICO MUHLY
ERICH KORNGOLD
HECTOR BERLIOZ
HANNAH KENDALL
MARIO CASTELNUOVO-TEDESCO
MICHAEL TORKEJ
DAVID LANG
GERALND FINZI
JOSEPH HOROVITZ
PETER LIEBERSON