The Variety of Music on We Wish You Christmas

If follow these emails, you may know I'm a fan of programming with variety. Our classical music heritage is so rich that this is an easy task to do!

Take our our December 17, 2023, 3 PM, We Wish You Christmas program. You'll hear works composed over a period of about 500 years.

From the 1500s, we present the lovely O magnum mysterium of Tomás Luis de Victoria, Spain’s greatest late Renaissance composer. Verbum caro factum es / Y la Virgen le dezía, is also Spanish: a dance-like work from 1556 melding sacred text with secular music. Music of the Renaissance period reflects a modal dialect of classical music that sounds fresh to us, because this harmonic style largely faded away during the Baroque period. (Some trivia: the music of many of our favorite carols originates from the Renaissance era, including Fum, Fum, Fum; What Child is This; and Bring a Torch Jeannette Isabella.)

We offer several flavors of the Romantic era. You'll enjoy Mendelssohn's original music for Hark the Herald Angel Sings; Berlioz's The Shepherds' Farewell from his oratorio about the Holy Family's flight into Egypt, L'Enfance; and charming excerpts from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite. 

Of the 20th-century composers, you'll hear works that echo earlier eras: Herbert Howells' Sing Lullaby reflects the Rennaissance period, Schoenberg's Weinachtsmusik sounds very Romantic (who would have thought?!), and we also sing the expressive Bogoroditse Devo of Rachmaninoff, who seemingly alone carried the lushest traditions of the Romantic era into the mid-20th century.

You'll recognize many classics in arrangements honoring their original presentation: Franz Biebl's magical Ave Maria, Mykola Dmytrovich Leontovych's Ukrainian Carol of the Bells, and Adolphe Adam's iconic O Holy Night. 

And you won't want to miss the musical voice of Mathew Lanning, who grew up in this area and is now finishing his doctorate at one of the most prestigious music conservatories in the country, New England Conservatory. He custom arranged all of this concert's works for AZ Phil. In a few pieces, he imparts a fresh and beautiful take you will hear nowhere else, including Silent Night and In the Bleak Midwinter.

I'm not the only one loving these arrangements. Listen to the interview below with Steinway Artist James D'León on why he enjoys performing on this concert.

We Wish You Christmas is one of our best-selling concerts, and we encourage you to get your tickets soon at AZPhil.org/tickets. While you are at it, consider adding two more concerts to your shopping basket and receive a 10% discount on all your tickets! We have some great shows still ahead of us.

- Henry Flurry, Artistic Director

The Symphony Behind the Scenes
The Year-Long Journey of Arizona Philharmonic

Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the curtains? All of the effort and planning that goes into presenting a concert or program? Maybe you see a few ads, or notice a banner on the intersection of a street, or look at an email (or three) - all of these little prompts, and maybe you decide to attend a concert (like our upcoming We Wish You Christmas performance on December 17th).

You purchase a ticket, immerse yourself in one of our awesome performances, and then what? Is that it? Is that all we do…?

The answer to that is a resounding “no”.

Arizona Philharmonic operates year-round to make sure that each season brings a variety of performances and programs to Prescott and the surrounding communities, creating a tapestry of meaningful experiences and life-long memories.

The planning for each season is a complex process that begins a year in advance. Many moving pieces of scheduling, repertoire choices, audience feedback, venue availability, size of the orchestra, budget, collaboration with other groups, etc., are all taken into consideration when planning a season - and this is the “easiest” part of planning!

Dedicated staff, volunteers, and Board members work throughout the year to orchestrate the details that bring you the concerts you love. This includes implementing existing and new collaborations - such as, enriching educational programs for students within Prescott Unified School District, the Art4All “pay what you can” program, or joint performances with other arts organizations - months of planning and preparation take place to ensure high-quality programs are available to our community.

And let's not forget our amazing musicians, who spend hours upon hours preparing for a concert before the first rehearsal.

Arizona Philharmonic is committed to presenting the very best performances and programs possible for the Prescott. We believe Prescott deserves a professional orchestra that reflects the city’s love of arts and culture.

Only with your support can we provide these high-quality performances and programs. Help us continue to bring together people from all walks of life in the joy and appreciation of music, whether it is in a concert or a classroom with a donation to our End of Year Giving Campaign.
 

It’s YOUR gift to YOUR community!

(Enjoy the AZ Phil bookmark we sent you in the mail!)

We invite you to come to one of our monthly Volunteer Introduction meetings.

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