Annelies
Event Ended- Where
- St. John's Lutheran Church - 15244 Victoria Rd. N, Summerland, British Columbia View Map
- When
- Ages
- Teens, 19+ adults, Seniors
- Website
- http://www.musaicpenticton.ca
- Contact
- jritcey49@gmail.com 2504627607 (Judi Ritcey)
Musaic Vocal Ensemble Presents ‘Annelies’ – April 2017 ‘Annelies’, by UK composer James Whitbourn is a stunning and poignant seventy-five minute choral work for soprano soloist, choir and instrumentalists. The libretto is compiled and translated by Melanie Challenger from ‘Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl’. Annelies is the full forename of Anne Frank. The work was premiered in April 2005 in London. Musaic Vocal Ensemble, under the direction of Tracy Stuchbery, is a group of enthusiastic and committed local South Okanagan singers based out of Summerland B.C. “Annelies is beautiful, it is emotional, it is sometimes frightening and often very intimate. The work straddles the achingly fine line between the horrors of the war and the hopeful and creative spirit of the young Anne.” (Dr. Anne Matlock, Harmonium Choral Society, Madison, N.J. USA). The music itself, with it’s blend of choir, the soprano solo voice and the instrumental ensemble, moves from melodic and strong, to dissonant, pulsing and haunting, to gentle, tentative and hushed. Composer James Whitbourn states that Annelies is “a commemorative work” both for Anne and for “…those she watched with penetrating eyes and the voiceless millions who shared her fate. It is those remarkable observations that form the basis of Melanie Challenger’s libretto. The diary has been distilled into this sequence of beautiful and mature, spiritually charged texts… Through Annelies, the wisdom and perception of Anne Frank is there to teach us all.” Anne Frank died alone of illness and starvation at the age of fifteen in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, Germany, sometime in early March, 1945, thirty–two months after she and her family and the others had first gone into hiding in the annex, eight months after being exposed and captured, and a mere two months before the war ended in Europe. “Anne’s legacy challenges each of us to ask ourselves: what can we do to confront prejudice and discrimination within ourselves, in our schools, family, and society? Bringing Anne Frank’s story into our communities helps teach us all to respect one another in a shared environment. It teaches us to celebrate diversity rather than view differences as obstacles. It teaches us to be proactive and to help those in need. And as idealistic as it may sound, we, like Anne, believe that in spite of everything, people are truly good at heart. We encourage you all to join with us in this noble pursuit, as we bring Anne Frank into our communities, and into our lives.” Beth Slepian, School Programs Manager The Anne Frank Center USA New York, NY. When we first looked at the score of Annelies, we were not sure whether it was something we could do, either musically or emotionally. The holocaust is a black mark in history, an event of horrific sadness and death, and this is not the theme of traditional community spring concerts. As we read through the score again, listened to the music, and re-read the ‘Diary’ itself, it became evident that Anne’s writing, although done in an environment of oppressiveness, violence, fear and hatred, was in fact hopeful, even optimistic. When we considered what was going on in many parts of our world right now, the overwhelming feeling was, “How could we not do it?” We can look back through history and see many examples throughout the world of cultural intolerance, persecution and even genocide. It is not in remembering or honoring or re-living these things alone that will create change. To create change, we must also look forward. What we get from Anne’s diary is just that. Her words portray a belief in our future, in nature, in goodness, in life and love, in family, relationships and possibilities… This piece, while presenting the chillingly dark side of the Holocaust, is also an affirmation of Anne’s faith in humankind and hope for the world. In Anne’s words, “The blue sky, the bare chestnut tree, glistening with dew, the seagulls, glinting with silver swooping through the air. As long as this exists, this sunshine and this cloudless sky, how can I be sad?” (23 Feb 1944) It is our wish that in bringing Annelies to our communities, we will leave people not with a feeling of despair and sadness, but rather, with a sense of hopefulness for our world. And with that, also a sense of empowerment and responsibility, that each of us can do something to help prevent such things from happening again. We hope that our audience will be encouraged by Anne’s bravery and optimism, find beauty and strength in the music, and feel challenged by the spirit and emotion of the message. Again, in Anne’s words, “Beauty remains, even in misfortune. (7 March, 1944). “As long as you can look fearlessly at the sky, you’ll know you’re pure within” (February 23, 1944). The members of Musaic feel privileged to have the opportunity of presenting this beautiful and poignant story to the communities of the South Okanagan. Local Guest Artists Mia Harris, Soprano; Olivia Walsh, Cello; Sarah Anderson, Violin; Pamela Parenty, Oboe; Dennis Nordlund, Piano Locations and times: Saturday, April 22, 2017 7:30pm at St. Saviour’s, Penticton Sunday, April 23, 2017 at 2:30pm at St. John’s, Summerland Friday, April 28, 2017, 7;30 p..m. at Frank Venables Theatre, Oliver Saturday, April 29, 2017, 7:30pm at St. Michael and All Angels, Kelowna