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Just ahead of Thanksgiving, the Nashville Symphony’s Classical Series concerts this weekend offer a cornucopia of styles and talents – featuring a trio of rarely performed works, a prominent role for the incredible Nashville Symphony Chorus, and a big-time organist playing a very big organ. Headlined by Sergei Rachmaninoff’s choral masterpiece The Bells, the program also includes Vaughn Williams’ Serenade to Music, and a live recording of Horatio Parker’s Organ Concerto, featuring acclaimed organist Paul Jacobs.
Performances take place at the Schermerhorn this Thursday, November 21, at 7 p.m., and Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets are available at NashvilleSymphony.org or by calling 615-687-6400.
Before you go, here are some fun facts on this unique program:
Local singers in the spotlight
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The Chorus
With The Bells and Serenade to Music, the Nashville Symphony Chorus gets two chances to shine alongside the orchestra. Additionally, 14 members of the Chorus will serve as soloists on Serenade, singing parts that were written specifically for Britain’s most prominent singers at the time the piece was composed, in 1938.
There is a chance you may know someone in the Nashville Symphony Chorus. Formed in 1963, the all-volunteer ensemble is comprised of more than 150 outstanding singers from throughout our community. These concerts are the first of two upcoming appearances for the Chorus, which will be back in Laura Turner Hall on December 19-22 for Handel’s Messiah, featuring the legendary Hallelujah Chorus.
Literary allusions abound
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Edgar Allan Poe
Both Serenade and The Bells have distinct ties to well-known literature.
The text for Serenade comes from Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, specifically an adaptation of an exchange in the final act between lovers Jessica and Lorenzo. In a serene outdoor setting under the moonlight, the newly eloped couple is star-gazing and reflecting on the magical atmosphere of the evening, and Williams’ gorgeous music illuminates the power of the Bard’s words throughout the piece.
Numerous Russian composers in the early 20th century were attracted to the work of Edgar Allan Poe, and The Bells was inspired by his poem of the same name. For his text, Rachmaninoff drew from “Kolokola,” Russian Symbolist poet Konstantin Balmont’s liberal translation of the original poem, which adds a number of distinctly Russian elements and additional lines intended to moderate the darkness of Poe’s vision.
Significance of The Bells
Rachmaninoff wrote in his memoirs about the influence church and ceremonial bells had on him as a youngster, noting that they were ubiquitous in Russia’s many cities and “…accompanied every Russian from childhood to the grave.” In this choral symphony, Rachmaninoff uses each of the four contrasting stanzas of Poe’s poem as a distinct movement, with each one characterized by a unique atmosphere and a corresponding sequence of signature bell sounds.
Paul Jacobs, Organ Rockstar
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Paul Jacobs
It is no exaggeration to say that Paul Jacobs is likely the greatest organist in the world today. Need proof? When he was only 23, Jacobs commemorated the 250th anniversary of Johann Sebastian Bach’s death by performing all of the composer’s organ works – during one 18-hour performance.
On top of that, he’s the only organist to ever win a GRAMMY® Award – which he took home in 2011 for his recording of Olivier Mesiaen’s Livre du Saint-Sacrément – and has performed on five continents and in all 50 states.
Jacobs is the ideal soloist for Parker’s concerto, and it will be quite a treat to hear him performing on the Schermerhorn’s massive organ, which has an astounding 3,568 pipes!
Want to learn even more about the Nashville Symphony’s performances of The Bells? Visit NashvilleSymphony.org/TheBells for full program notes, a video of Nashville Symphony music director Giancarlo Guerrero discussing the program, and more.