Lux is a group founded in newness. The choir began as a group of seven high school studentsânew to choral music and inspired by the choral experiences of their pastâand has emerged a professional choir committed to creating opportunity for the next generation of passionate choral musicians, and to promoting diversity, accessibility, and care for each other in our beautiful art form.
This program features, and is inspired by, a piece which won Luxâs 2021 Composition Contest: Cole Reyesâs Alleluia (The Rose). For Reyes, the Latin and English in the text symbolize the old and the new interacting together, which was particularly poignant at the time he wrote the piece, as we all celebrated important holidays and other milestones at home, with or sometimes without family. Many people and organizations, especially in the choral world, still feel the ripplesâboth positive and negativeâof this forced re-examining of traditions.
In this concert, we build on Reyesâs interweaving of old and new traditions, beginning with Cecilia McDowallâs Give Me Some Music, a piece which places puirt Ă beul, a Gaelic form of âmouth-musicâ traditionally used to accompany dancing, into a new musical context. Hyo-Won Wooâs O magnum mysterium treats a classic text with a fresh musical setting, while Paul Mealorâs Te lucis ante terminum adds onto that idea, combining both a known text and its associated chant melody with new and unexpected harmonies. Andrea Gabrieliâs Quem vidistis, pastores? puts a different perspective on the shifting of traditions: The composerâs friendship with Orlando di Lasso influenced him to blend Lassoâs Franco-Flemish style with the sensibilities of the new and emerging Venetian School, becoming an integral part of the development and eventual prominence of this new musical tradition. Similarly, Max Regerâs âNachtlied,â from his Acht Geistliche Gesängen, has close musical ties to Bach's chorales. We close with the piece that inspired the conceptual thread weaved throughout our program: Reyesâs Alleluia (The Rose)âa piece which we've had the joy of including in our repertoire since premiering it.
âRobby Napoli, artistic director
This program features, and is inspired by, a piece which won Luxâs 2021 Composition Contest: Cole Reyesâs Alleluia (The Rose). For Reyes, the Latin and English in the text symbolize the old and the new interacting together, which was particularly poignant at the time he wrote the piece, as we all celebrated important holidays and other milestones at home, with or sometimes without family. Many people and organizations, especially in the choral world, still feel the ripplesâboth positive and negativeâof this forced re-examining of traditions.
In this concert, we build on Reyesâs interweaving of old and new traditions, beginning with Cecilia McDowallâs Give Me Some Music, a piece which places puirt Ă beul, a Gaelic form of âmouth-musicâ traditionally used to accompany dancing, into a new musical context. Hyo-Won Wooâs O magnum mysterium treats a classic text with a fresh musical setting, while Paul Mealorâs Te lucis ante terminum adds onto that idea, combining both a known text and its associated chant melody with new and unexpected harmonies. Andrea Gabrieliâs Quem vidistis, pastores? puts a different perspective on the shifting of traditions: The composerâs friendship with Orlando di Lasso influenced him to blend Lassoâs Franco-Flemish style with the sensibilities of the new and emerging Venetian School, becoming an integral part of the development and eventual prominence of this new musical tradition. Similarly, Max Regerâs âNachtlied,â from his Acht Geistliche Gesängen, has close musical ties to Bach's chorales. We close with the piece that inspired the conceptual thread weaved throughout our program: Reyesâs Alleluia (The Rose)âa piece which we've had the joy of including in our repertoire since premiering it.
âRobby Napoli, artistic director