| Program Notes by composer Jocelyn Hagen
Rivers of ink have been dedicated to the study of the life and work of Leonardo da Vinci. His genius has been articulated by scholars, historians, artists, engineers, and scientists for centuries, and the legacy of his work will continue to endure the test of time because of his remarkable synthesis of art, science and design. When I first began researching da Vinci and his notebooks, I was overwhelmed. How was I to condense this huge body of work into one 35 minute symphony? (Over 5,000 pages of manuscript have been found.) There was no way I could include the entirety of this work, so my goal became serving the spirit of his work and his curious mind.
One of the biggest lessons I gleaned from studying his work was the importance of being willing to fail. He was a man known as much for his failures as his successes, and this did not dampen his creativity or his drive. More than anything he just wanted to understand the world around him, and he didn’t let his pride or ego stand in the way of posing the tough questions or trying to answer them. he remained open to the possibility of new discoveries and allowed himself the freedom to change his mind. You can see this this attribute of his personality beautifully in the opening of the symphony, when his handwriting is scrolling across the screen. He very quickly crosses out a word, pauses, then continues on with his idea. Mistakes and practice were a big part of his creative process, as they should be. And did you know he wrote right to left, backwards, as if in a mirror?
Knowledge became one of the greatest themes I focused on when crafting the libretto, and is the subject matter for three of the movements, which are sung a cappella. In the second movement, da Vinci stresses the importance of daily practice based on the pillars of knowledge. In the fourth movement, his words express the necessity of basing one’s judgments on facts rather than speculation. And in the penultimate movement, he warns the reader to be aware of personal bias, suggesting that the truth may be revealed if one is able to see things from a different point of view. His notebooks are full of musings just like these, along with keen observations, geometrical studies, and techniques for painting and drawing. But he also drew pictures of grotesque faces, cats, and a few dragons! This showed to me an often-overlooked but extremely beneficial component of the creative process: playfulness.
The third movement, “Ripples,” combines two ideas that I was very excited about exploring in this work. First, da Vinci’s fascination with water and his understanding that water is the carrier and matrix of life, and second, the music of Italian music theorist and composer Franchino Gaffurio. Gaffurio and da Vinci both lived in Milan, and according to The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, were actually friends. I wove musical phrases from the “Gloria” and “Kyrie” of Gaffurio’s Missa di Carneval into the fabric of the string parts.
Leonardo da Vinci did not invent the Vitruvian man, but it is without doubt the most recognizable image from all his notebook pages. Vitruvius, the architect, described the human figure as being the principal source of proportion among the classical orders of architecture. Da Vinci was one of several artists who examined this theory by sketching a “Vitruvian man.” The infamous image demonstrates the blend of mathematics and art as well as da Vinci’s deep understanding of proportion. In the fifth movement you will hear the choir sing the different ideal proportions of the human body and see an overlay of his incredibly detailed (and accurate!) sketches of the human form on top of a live model: dancer Stephen Schroeder.
And who could forget da Vinci’s famous flying machines? In truth he invented several gliders in his lifetime, and had a preliminary understanding of aerodynamics, which he called “the science of the winds,” centuries ahead of George Cayley (credited with the discovery of aerodynamics in 1809). He invented automatons, weapons of war, and many other inventions as well. The little machines come to life in beautiful animations on the screen, and I invented my own little musical machines to accompany them. They whir and spin in their own time, creating a fantastic soundtrack to the lively imagery in the sixth movement.
Following these inventions we are guided into the splendor of the natural world, beginning with a gorgeous duet between the clarinet and an animation of da Vinci’s sketches of a bird. The small bird against the lush landscapes represents da Vinci’s obsession with the inter-connectedness of the microcosm and macrocosm. For example, da Vinci compared the “water veins” of the Earth to the blood vessels of the human body. At a fundamental level, da Vinci sought to understand the nature of life, and to him, nature as a whole was alive! His love for nature is captured in his sketches of plants, animals, water, and landscapes, made possible through his finely sharpened sense of observation, remarkable patience, intense concentration, curiosity, and holistic memory.
“Wisdom is the daughter of experience” is one of the most famous quotes from da Vinci’s notebooks. It seemed only fitting that this line end the work, complete with images of the night sky and his beautiful portrait of an old man (rumored to be himself).
This performance of The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci is the result of 4 years of research, planning, traveling, networking, composing, and collaborating. Its creation would not have been possible without the impetus and support of the lead commissioners, the Minnesota Chorale, Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, and the University of Michigan, or the other members of the commissioning consortium. Bringing the imagery of da Vinci’s notebooks to the screen was a long and educational process as well, but with the incredible work of my three collaborators, Isaac Gale (filmmaker), Joseph Midthun (animator), and Justin Schell (filmmaker/librarian), da Vinci’s handwriting and sketches come to life in an extraordinary way. I have also sourced animations from the beautiful Leonardo3 museum in Milan, as well as an excerpt from a short film titled “Leonardo,” created by Aerial Contrivance Workshop based in Berkeley, CA.
The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci premiered in 2019, coast to coast, celebrating the 500th anniversary of his death, and was commissioned by a consortium of 23 different ensembles. My Tedx Talk filmed at the Walker Art Center in February 2019 is available on YouTube and it focuses on the creative process of composing the music while imagining the animation for the first movement, along with a demonstration of the revolutionary new video-syncing technology that inspired me to consider creating my first multimedia symphony: Muséik.
Press Contact: Libby Huebner, libbyhuebner562@gmail.com, 562.799.6055
COSTA MESA, CA (June 21, 2022) – Pacific Chorale’s 2022-2023 Season, announced today by Artistic Director Robert Istad and President & CEO Andrew Brown, features five wide-ranging programs of enthralling choral masterworks and contemporary works spanning six centuries, including the West Coast premiere of Florence Price’s newly discovered anti-war piece set to poetry about Abraham Lincoln and Jocelyn Hagen’s stunning multi-media work inspired by Leonardo da Vinci. The Grammy-winning choir, whose performances have been hailed as “ethereal” (LA Opus), “thrilling” and “sublime” (Classical Voice), also embarks on its first international tour in seven years, taking its artistry to leading venues in Austria, Germany and the United Kingdom during summer 2023. Istad will conduct all five programs as well as the tour performances.
The chorus’ 55th season opens with Jocelyn Hagen’s The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, a mesmerizing multi-media work for choir, orchestra and projections inspired by the writings and art featured in the iconic Renaissance artist’s personal notebooks. Composed to honor da Vinci’s remarkable legacy on the 500th anniversary of his death in 2019, the nine-movement piece is set to text from his notebooks, which draw on themes of art, science, nature, and technology. The concert also features Duruflé’s Requiem, widely considered to be the composer’s greatest work, which blends Gregorian chant and 20th century musical concepts, creating a transcendent choral tapestry of emotions. (Saturday, October 15, 2022, 8:00 pm, Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall.)
Pacific Chorale displays its considerable vocal dexterity when special guests Bach Collegium San Diego, one of the country’s premier early music ensembles, and its founder, organist Ruben Valenzuela, join the choir for a historically-informed performance of Monteverdi’s “Vespers of 1610,” a pillar of the Baroque music canon whose splendor and virtuosity has captivated audiences for centuries. (Saturday, March 4, 2023, 8:00 pm, Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church, Newport Beach.)
In the season finale, Istad leads the West Coast premiere of groundbreaking composer Florence Price’s newly discovered Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight, a setting of Springfield, Illinois-native Nicholas Vachel Lindsay’s ardent anti-war poem of the same name. The long-lost manuscript by Price, one of the first American women to be widely recognized as a symphonic composer, was recovered from an abandoned house in Illinois in 2009 and is thought to have been completed sometime between 1914 and 1949. Her work is paired with Haydn’s masterpiece Missa in Angustiis (Mass in Time of Anxiety) “Nelson Mass,” composed in 1798, at a time of tremendous turmoil when the citizens of Austria feared defeat by Napoleon’s troops. These works, although grounded in the new and old worlds respectively and composed more than a century apart, both address the futility of war. (Saturday, May 20, 2023, 5:00 pm, Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall.) The Chorale will also host its annual Gala immediately following the concert, to celebrate and benefit the upcoming European tour.
Pacific Chorale’s signature holiday programming returns with two performances of “Carols by Candlelight” – spotlighting timeless traditional and contemporary holiday music, including a choir-commissioned world premiere by noted LA-based Filipino composer Saunder Choi, a tenor in the chorus whose work has been described as “fresh and earnest” (San Francisco Classical Voice). (Saturday, December 3, 8:00 pm, and Wednesday, December 7, 2022, 8:00 pm, Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church, Newport Beach.)
The choir also presents two performances of its delightful family favorite “Tis the Season!,” celebrating the holidays with festive carols, seasonal gems, and a visit from The Man in Red, Santa Claus. (Sunday, December 18, 5:00 pm, and Monday, December 19, 2022, 7:30 pm, Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall.)
During its European tour, July 12-24, 2023, the chorus performs alongside several regional orchestras the two pieces from its season finale, Price’s rediscovered masterwork, Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight, and Haydn’s Nelson Mass. The choir is slated to appear at such iconic venues as the Salzburg Cathedral, which holds one of Austria’s most important music archives, and, in the U.K., Salisbury Cathedral, which houses one of only four original copies of the Magna Carta known to exist, and Oxford University’s Sheldonian Theatre. Pacific Chorale also tours to Munich and Bath, among other locales.
“It is incredibly moving to begin and end Pacific Chorale’s season with major choral works inspired by two seminal historical figures – Leonardo da Vinci and Abraham Lincoln – both remembered for their indelible contributions to humanity,” says Istad. “They are extraordinary pieces by two exceptional female composers, and I am thrilled to be able share them with our audience. It promises to be a tour de force season as we showcase our outstanding singers on those important newer pieces as well as the enduring choral masterworks of Duruflé, Haydn and Monteverdi and other significant repertoire.”
“We are deeply grateful for the steadfast leadership of our Board of Directors, the generosity of our donors, and the enthusiasm and support of our audience members for helping to make possible a season of this scope as well as our upcoming international tour,” says Brown. “We also proudly recognize the outstanding talent and dedication of our singers and look forward to sharing Pacific Chorale’s remarkable artistry with audiences locally and abroad, sparking joy and passion as only music can and further cementing Pacific Chorale’s remarkable legacy.”
In addition to presenting its own concert series, the Chorale appears with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in “Amadeus Live in Concert,” conducted by Sarah Hicks at the Hollywood Bowl (August 23, 2022). The choir also makes guest appearances on five Pacific Symphony programs this season at the Reneé and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. They include Holst’s The Planets led by Karen Kamensek (November 17-19, 2022); Handel’s Messiah conducted by Pacific Chorale’s own Robert Istad (December 4, 2022); three presentations under the baton of Carl St.Clair – A Lunar New Year program (January 28, 2023), Verdi’s Rigoletto (April 20-25, 2023), and “Cathedrals of Sound,” featuring St.Clair conducting the world premiere of James MacMillan’s Fiat Lux, commissioned by Pacific Symphony for Pacific Chorale and Pacific Symphony, as well as Istad guest-conducting Allegri’s Miserere mei, Deus (June 15-17, 2023).
With the health and safety of its patrons, artists, and community continuing to be a top priority, Pacific Chorale remains committed to flexibility and transparency in its ticket policies, including no-cost exchanges and refunds. For information on Pacific Chorale’s most current health and safety protocols, please visit https://www.pacificchorale.org/covid-returning-to-live-performances/.
Season tickets are available in packages of 3 to 5 concerts, ranging in price from $64 to $498. Single tickets to individual performances, beginning at $25, go on sale on Tuesday, September 6, 2022. All Pacific Chorale concerts are presented in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa, CA, except for “Carols by Candlelight” and “Monteverdi Vespers,” which are presented in Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church in Newport Beach, CA. For tickets and information, visit www.pacificchorale.org or call 714-662-2345.
ROBERT ISTAD, a Grammy Award-winning conductor who “fashions fluent and sumptuous readings” (Voice of OC) with his “phenomenal” artistry (Los Angeles Times), was appointed Pacific Chorale’s Artistic Director in 2017. Under his leadership, the chorus continues to expand its reputation for excellence for delivering fresh, thought-provoking interpretations of beloved masterworks, rarely performed gems and newly commissioned pieces. His artistic impact can be heard on two recent recordings featuring Pacific Chorale, including the 2020 Grammy Award-winning “Mahler’s Eighth Symphony” with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Gustavo Dudamel on Deutsche Grammophon (2021), for which he prepared the chorus. It won Best Choral Performance and also garnered a Grammy nomination for Best Engineered Album, Classical. Additionally, Istad conducted the Pacific Chorale’s recording “All Things Common: The Music of Tarik O’Regan” released on Yarlung Records (2020). Istad has prepared choruses for such renowned conductors as Esa-Pekka Salonen, John Williams, John Mauceri, Keith Lockhart, Nicholas McGegan, Vasilly Sinaisky, Sir Andrew Davis, Bramwell Tovey, Carl St.Clair, Eugene Kohn, Giancarlo Guerrero, Marin Alsop, George Fenton, and Robert Moody. He regularly conducts and collaborates with Pacific Symphony, Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra, Sony Classical Records, Yarlung Records, Berkshire Choral International, and Long Beach Symphony Orchestra. An esteemed educator, Istad is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Studies at California State University, Fullerton, where he was recognized as CSUF’s 2016 Outstanding Professor of the Year. He conducts the University Singers and manages a large graduate conducting program, in addition to teaching courses on conducting and performance practice. Istad, who is on the Executive Board of Directors of Chorus America and serves as Dean of Chorus America’s Conducting Academy, is in demand as guest conductor, lecturer, and clinician.
PACIFIC CHORALE, a Grammy Award-winning Orange County “treasure” with a “fresh viewpoint” that “can sing anything you put in front of it, with polish, poise and tonal splendor” (Orange County Register) has “risen to national prominence” (Los Angeles Times) since its inception in 1968. Hailed for delivering “thrilling entertainment” (Voice of OC), the resident choir at Segerstrom Center for the Arts is noted for its artistic innovation and commitment to expanding the choral repertoire. It has given the world, U.S., and West Coast premieres of more than 35 works, including numerous commissions, by such lauded composers as John Adams, Jake Heggie, James Hopkins, David Lang, Morten Lauridsen, Ravel, Tarik O’Regan, Karen Thomas, Frank Ticheli, András Gábor Virágh, and Eric Whitacre. In addition to presenting its own concert series each season, Pacific Chorale enjoys a long-standing partnership with Pacific Symphony, with whom the choir made its highly anticipated Carnegie Hall debut in 2018. The chorus also regularly appears with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with which it won the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance as well as a Grammy nomination for Best Engineered Album, Classical, for its contribution to the live classical recording of “Mahler: Symphony No. 8, ‘Symphony of A Thousand,’” conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, featuring Leah Crocetto, Mihoko Fujimura, Ryan McKinny, Erin Morley, Tamara Mumford, Simon O’Neill, Morris Robinson and Tamara Wilson; Los Angeles Philharmonic; Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, Los Angeles Master Chorale, National Children’s Chorus and Pacific Chorale. The choir has performed with such leading orchestras as the Boston Symphony, National Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, and Musica Angelica, among others. Pacific Chorale has garnered international acclaim as well, having toured extensively to more than 19 countries in Europe, South America, and Asia, and through collaborations with the London Symphony, Munich Symphony, L’Orchestre Lamoureux and L’Orchestre de St-Louis-en-l’Île of Paris, National Orchestra of Belgium, China National Symphony, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Estonian National Symphony, and Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional of Argentina, among others. Deeply committed to making choral music accessible to people of all ages, the organization, which has a discography of 14 self-produced recordings and an extensive collection of exceptional free digital offerings, places a significant emphasis on choral music education, providing after-school vocal programs for elementary school students, a choral summer camp for high school students, and an annual community-wide singing event at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. www.pacificchorale.org
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Saturday, October 15, 2022, 8:00 pm
Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Costa Mesa
Robert Istad, conductor
Pacific Chorale
Pacific Symphony
Isaac Gale and Joseph Midthun, film makers/video projections
DURUFLÉ Requiem
Jocelyn HAGEN The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci
Saturday, December 3, 2022, 8:00 pm
Wednesday, December 7, 2022, 8:00 pm
Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church, Newport Beach
Robert Istad, conductor
Pacific Chorale
Piano & Guest Instrumentalists TBA
Saunder CHOI World Premiere
+ timeless traditional and contemporary seasonal repertoire
Sunday, December 18, 2022, 5:00 pm
Monday, December 19, 2022, 7:30 pm
Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Costa Mesa
Robert Istad, conductor
Pacific Chorale
Members of Pacific Symphony
Southern California Children’s Chorus
A family-friendly program replete with festive carols, holiday favorites and a visit from The Man in Red, Santa Claus
Saturday, March 4, 2023, 8:00 pm
Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church, Newport Beach
Robert Istad, conductor
Members of Pacific Chorale
Ruben Valenzuela, organ
Bach Collegium San Diego, Ruben Valenzuela, Artistic Director
MONTEVERDI Vespro della Beata Vergine “Vespers of 1610”
Saturday, May 20, 2023, 5:00 pm
Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Costa Mesa
Robert Istad, conductor
Pacific Chorale
Pacific Symphony
HAYDN Missa in Angustiis “Nelson Mass”
PRICE Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight (West Coast Premiere)
Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Segerstrom Center for the Arts
600 Town Center Drive
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church
2100 Mar Vista Drive
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Season subscriptions available; single tickets, beginning at $25, go on sale September, 2022
www.pacificchorale.org
714-662-2345
Artists, dates, programs and venues subject to change
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| Program Notes by composer Jocelyn Hagen Rivers of ink have been dedicated to the study of the life and work of Leonardo da Vinci. His genius has been articulated by scholars, historians, artists, engineers, and scientists for centuries, and the legacy of his work will continue to endure the test of time because of
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GRAMMY-Winning Pacific Chorale, Led by Artistic Director Robert Istad, Announces 2022-2023 Season! Read for highlights and details.
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