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We welcome members and non-members alike.
We welcome members and non-members alike.
POSTPONED – An Afternoon of Madrigals
Sun. Jan. 30, 2022 - 3:00pm - 5:00pm
Heinrich Schütz's il Primo Libro de Madrigali, Op. 1
Performed by a consort of five prominent early music specialists from the region
A pre-concert lecture about the composer and the music will be presented by Dr. John Leonard, Professor of Music, The College of New Jersey
In the Late Renaissance and Early Baroque, the epicenter of this highly-refined musical style was found in Italy. Composers from all over Europe traveled there to study with the greatest composers and teachers of the time in Venice, Florence, and Rome. They would then return home and compose new works in this Italianate style for their employers in the courts and churches. In 1609, Heinrich Schütz did just this. At the age of 24, he left the court in Kassel, Germany, where he had been a choir boy and studied law for the Landgrave, to travel to Venice to study musical composition with Giovanni Gabrieli (1557-1612). Gabrieli was the principal organist and composer at Saint Mark’s Basilica, perhaps the most coveted musical position in all of Europe, and was internationally revered as a brilliant composer and teacher in his day. His compositions are considered to be the culmination of the Venetian style during an artistic pivot in Italy that was shifting from the Renaissance to the Baroque around 1600. After studying with Gabrieli for more than two years, Schütz published his capstone project, Il primo libro de madrigali (First Book of Madrigals) in Venice in 1611 as his Opus 1. These wonderful nineteen secular songs for five voices fully assimilated the Italian style of madrigal.
In 1613, Schütz returned to Germany and, at the request of the Elector of Saxony, Johann Georg I, he moved to Dresden to serve the elector’s court as Hofkapellmeister (the court’s chief musical director), a post he served for the rest of his career. Today, Heinrich Schütz is credited for infusing the Italianate style into the music of the German Baroque period and is regarded as the most influential German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach.
John P. Leonard is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at The College of New Jersey where he has led and prepared TCNJ’s choral ensembles in performances throughout the region, including appearances with the Philadelphia Orchestra, multiple concerts at Lincoln Center with the Philharmonia Orchestra of New York, and the “Great Music at St. Bart’s” concert series in Manhattan. Under his leadership since 2010, TCNJ’s Chorale has commissioned, performed, and recorded numerous premieres including Robert S. Cohen’s The Road Back, Donald McCullough’s Song of the Shulamite, Georg Frederic Haas’s Sieben Klangräume to Accompany the Incomplete Fragments of Mozart’s Requiem, Andrea Clearfield’s Poet of the Body and the Soul, and the upcoming October 2021 premiere of Rollo Dilworth’s Weather. Dr. Leonard was Acting Artistic Director of the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia for the 2019–2020 season which included the world premiere virtual performance of Ola Gjelo’s Roots at the annual Chorus America Conference in June 2020. He previously served as the Mendelssohn Club’s Associate Conductor and core a tenor for many years. From 2010-2012, Dr. Leonard was the Artistic Director of Cantus Novus chamber choir in Bucks County, PA, where he produced the ensemble’s first professional recording, Jubilate! A Celebration in Song. As an educator, Dr. Leonard has taught at the primary through collegiate levels and is an active clinician and guest conductor throughout the region. As a scholar, he completed a critical performing edition of Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice with Universal Edition A.G. Vienna in 2019. Over the coming two years, he will perform and record Heinrich Schütz’s Il primo libro de Madrigali, Op. 1 and Psalmen Davids, Op.2. Dr. Leonard holds B.M. degrees in both Voice and Music Education from The Hartt School of Music, a M.M. in Conducting from Temple University, and a D.M. in Conducting from Indiana University. He lives in Bucks County, PA with his wife and twin sons.
Proof of vaccination is required. Please bring your vaccination card (or a clear photo of it) and a valid ID. Once inside, masks are not required to be worn.
Performed by a consort of five prominent early music specialists from the region
A pre-concert lecture about the composer and the music will be presented by Dr. John Leonard, Professor of Music, The College of New Jersey
In the Late Renaissance and Early Baroque, the epicenter of this highly-refined musical style was found in Italy. Composers from all over Europe traveled there to study with the greatest composers and teachers of the time in Venice, Florence, and Rome. They would then return home and compose new works in this Italianate style for their employers in the courts and churches. In 1609, Heinrich Schütz did just this. At the age of 24, he left the court in Kassel, Germany, where he had been a choir boy and studied law for the Landgrave, to travel to Venice to study musical composition with Giovanni Gabrieli (1557-1612). Gabrieli was the principal organist and composer at Saint Mark’s Basilica, perhaps the most coveted musical position in all of Europe, and was internationally revered as a brilliant composer and teacher in his day. His compositions are considered to be the culmination of the Venetian style during an artistic pivot in Italy that was shifting from the Renaissance to the Baroque around 1600. After studying with Gabrieli for more than two years, Schütz published his capstone project, Il primo libro de madrigali (First Book of Madrigals) in Venice in 1611 as his Opus 1. These wonderful nineteen secular songs for five voices fully assimilated the Italian style of madrigal.
In 1613, Schütz returned to Germany and, at the request of the Elector of Saxony, Johann Georg I, he moved to Dresden to serve the elector’s court as Hofkapellmeister (the court’s chief musical director), a post he served for the rest of his career. Today, Heinrich Schütz is credited for infusing the Italianate style into the music of the German Baroque period and is regarded as the most influential German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach.
John P. Leonard is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at The College of New Jersey where he has led and prepared TCNJ’s choral ensembles in performances throughout the region, including appearances with the Philadelphia Orchestra, multiple concerts at Lincoln Center with the Philharmonia Orchestra of New York, and the “Great Music at St. Bart’s” concert series in Manhattan. Under his leadership since 2010, TCNJ’s Chorale has commissioned, performed, and recorded numerous premieres including Robert S. Cohen’s The Road Back, Donald McCullough’s Song of the Shulamite, Georg Frederic Haas’s Sieben Klangräume to Accompany the Incomplete Fragments of Mozart’s Requiem, Andrea Clearfield’s Poet of the Body and the Soul, and the upcoming October 2021 premiere of Rollo Dilworth’s Weather. Dr. Leonard was Acting Artistic Director of the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia for the 2019–2020 season which included the world premiere virtual performance of Ola Gjelo’s Roots at the annual Chorus America Conference in June 2020. He previously served as the Mendelssohn Club’s Associate Conductor and core a tenor for many years. From 2010-2012, Dr. Leonard was the Artistic Director of Cantus Novus chamber choir in Bucks County, PA, where he produced the ensemble’s first professional recording, Jubilate! A Celebration in Song. As an educator, Dr. Leonard has taught at the primary through collegiate levels and is an active clinician and guest conductor throughout the region. As a scholar, he completed a critical performing edition of Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice with Universal Edition A.G. Vienna in 2019. Over the coming two years, he will perform and record Heinrich Schütz’s Il primo libro de Madrigali, Op. 1 and Psalmen Davids, Op.2. Dr. Leonard holds B.M. degrees in both Voice and Music Education from The Hartt School of Music, a M.M. in Conducting from Temple University, and a D.M. in Conducting from Indiana University. He lives in Bucks County, PA with his wife and twin sons.
Proof of vaccination is required. Please bring your vaccination card (or a clear photo of it) and a valid ID. Once inside, masks are not required to be worn.