Intention
We aim to create a deeply moving, virtuosic performance that will be able touch the hearts of many different people. Integrating Christian, Jewish, and ancient Middle Eastern elements, this piece represents an unprecedented opportunity to build bridges between religious communities in conflict.
Project
Canticum will musically present as much of The Song of Songs as was set by Early Baroque composers. There is a wealth of excellent musical material, since these texts were the most frequently set texts outside of the mass and vespers (probably because they were incorporated into the Marian liturgy). We have chosen the most expressive and passionate works from the period, 1583 to 1635, that begins with Palestrina's five-part settings of most of the first two chapters and much of the rest of the song, Monteverdi and Grandi's works, and Schütz early Latin works, especially the Symphonia Sacrae I. Careful mono and polyphonic arrangement of the vocals will move the narrative and character development forward.
The text itself has been divided, in keeping with the ancient tradition of the rubric, into scenes that naturally present themselves. Our staging of the Song begins outside the palace walls when a beautiful young Woman rushes to bid her Lover farewell before joining King Solomon's legendary harem that very morning. Once inside the harem she is first regarded coolly by the Filia Jerusalem, who question both her appearance and the ardency of her passion for her beloved. As the incomparable poetry unfolds, she shares with them her dreams and fears for her love affair, arranges secret trysts, and recounts harrowing night visits searching the city for her love... until, in the end, they grow to celebrate her as much as her eloquent Lover does.
The costumes, scenic design, and choreography - drawing on belly dance and Baroque gesture -bring to life the overwhelming sensuality of an ancient Middle Eastern harem. The full cast of singers and musicians will total around 30, with separate male and female groups. The production is designed for touring and will require an intensive rehearsal process of five to six weeks.
Background
Osculetur me osculo oris suis
"Let me be kissed with the kisses of his mouth" begins the Latin translation of the Biblical book known as The Song of Songs. The emphasis of passionate love within the monotheistic canon created a tension that has made it one of the most heavily "interpreted" texts of all time.
Jewish and Christian commentators often insisted upon an allegorical significance to the canon, whether the betrothal of Yahweh to his “chosen people” or of Christ to “his Bride.” Canticum suggests that earthly love as a path to mystical union with the divine may well be a more fruitful path for mining the hidden meanings of the Song, which Bernard of Clairvaux's 12th-C commentaries, call "the book of our own experience."
Today, much like the Reformation and Counter-reformation periods (which produced the music of this project), the interpretation of Biblical texts is polarizing the world... from the growing gulf between American and European political opinion with other "fundamentalist" interpreters of the texts generated in the Middle East three millennia ago. At the same moment, the popularity of The Da Vinci Code has made it clear that the moment is ripe within Christianity for re-contemplating the "mystic feminine" and the oft obscured role of romantic love in the Bible.
Biographies
Christopher Fülling Creator & Stage Director
American director & tenor living in Calvi dell’Umbria, Christopher Fülling holds degrees from Princeton, Ball State, and the California Institute of the Arts. In 1999, he was awarded a Beebe Foundation Fellowship to study Baroque voice in Amsterdam with Max van Egmond and Peter Kooy. In 2004, Fülling co-founded the 17th-C orchestra, Cappella Confluentes, dedicated to reconstructing the full liturgical experience. He tours and records Gregorian chant with Eugeen Liven d'Abelardo’s Hartkeriana. Fülling has created programs that combine Medieval music, chant, and ritual in new contexts with his experimental vocal ensemble Fata Organa, that he co-founded in 2000 with Tarquinia Hill.
Performers
Grant Herreid Lutenist
An American musician, singer, and director, Grant Herreid performs frequently on winds, strings, and voice with Hesperus and Piffaro, plays theorbo and lute with New York City Opera, the Baroque ensemble Artek, and early Renaissance music group Ex Umbris. He teaches at Mannes College of Music and directs the New York Continuo Collective. Herreid has created and directed several theatrical Early Music shows, including Il Caffe d'Amore, a pastiche of early-17th century Italian songs and arias.
Shira Kammen Viol Consortmistress
An American multi-instrumentalist and singer, Shira Kammen has been a long-time member of the Early Music ensembles Alcatraz, Project Ars Nova, and Medieval Strings. She has also worked with Sequentia, Hesperion XX, Boston Camerata, and the Balkan group Kitka and performed at the Oregon, California, and San Francisco Shakespeare Festivals. She is the founder of Class V Music, an ensemble dedicated to performance on river rafting trips, and has played on several television and movie soundtracks.
Angelika Moths harpsichord & organ player
Angelika Moths holds degrees in harpsichord and basso continuo from Koninklijk Conservatorium,Den Haag, and in Early Music theory and Islamic Studies at the Schola Cantorum, Basle. She performs internationally with various Baroque ensembles (including Bella Gerit and Sarband), playing continuo instruments and the Arabian instrument qanun. Her various interests culminated in Syria, where she founded IDiOM (Intercultural Dialogues On Music), an exchange between players of classical Arabian instruments and European ancient music.
Kerry Walsh Soprano
An American soprano and flutist living in Los Angeles, California, Kerry Walsh holds degrees from North Carolina School of the Arts and Juilliard, succeeded by a year of study in Berlin as a Fulbright Scholar. She has sung with the Santa Fe Opera, Opera San Jose, San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival, Long Beach Opera, the Boris Brott Festival in Canada, and Opera Music Theater International. She has appeared in numerous operas and theatrical musicals, as well as recording film soundtracks such as The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions.
Contact: Info (at) ArtMonastery (dot) org
