St. Martin's Chamber Choir
| St. Martin's Chamber Choir | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Origin | Denver, Colorado USA |
| Founding | 1994 |
| Genre | Classical a cappella choral |
| Music Director | Timothy J. Krueger |
| Affiliation | Independent |
| Website | www.StMartinsChamberChoir.org |
St. Martin's Chamber Choir, based in Denver, Colorado, is a professional, non-church affiliated vocal ensemble of 24 voices.
History
St. Martin’s Chamber Choir, led by founder, Artistic Director and conductor Timothy J. Krueger, was created in 1994. The choir presents concert programs drawn from choral literature spanning from Renaissance motets, through 18th century Baroque and Classical works and Romantic era partsongs, to masterworks of the 20th and 21st centuries and new pieces composed expressly for the ensemble. Although the group’s repertoire is largely a cappella, St. Martin’s has collaborated with such groups as the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra, the Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado, the Colorado Music Festival Chamber Orchestra, the Confluence String Quartet, the Musica Sacra Chamber Orchestra of Augustana Arts and the Pro Musica Colorado Chamber Orchestra. The choir was also featured at the National Performing Arts Convention held in Denver in June, 2008.
The organization takes its name from the site of its first concerts, St. Martin's Chapel at St. John's Episcopal Cathedral in Denver.
The choir has released eleven CD recordings.
St. Martin's Chamber Choir is supported by numerous corporate and private foundations and by the "Scientific and Cultural Facilities District"[1] and Colorado Creative Industries (formerly the Colorado Council on the Arts).
Timothy J. Krueger, Artistic Director
Timothy J. Krueger, founder, Artistic Director and conductor of St. Martin's, studied musicology at the Wheaton College Conservatory, at the University of Colorado-Boulder, the Universität Hamburg, Germany, and the University of London's Royal Holloway College. He has worked professionally with such ensembles as the Santa Fe Opera, the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Chicago a cappella, Vox early music ensemble (Ann Arbor, MI), the St. John's Cathedral Choir in Denver, and the Ars Nova Singers of Boulder, Colorado. He is choirmaster of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Denver and a part-time faculty member at Metropolitan State College of Denver.
Discography
To date St. Martin's Chamber Choir has released 11 CDs:[2]
• A Marian Christmas: A Marian Christmas, the first full-length compact disc recording from St. Martin's Chamber Choir, was released in December 1998. This CD collection features Hugo Distler's chorale variations on 'Es ist ein Ros entsprungen' from his cantata Die Weihnachtsgeschichte, and also includes a selection of Marian antiphons, English carol settings, and three settings of the text Ave Maria.
• Dreams All Too Brief: English Partsongs: Included on this offering are 19th and 20th century miniatures by Edward Elgar, Charles Villiers Stanford, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Herbert Howells. Hubert Parry's Songs of Farewell conclude this collection of poignant, ethereal choral works.
• A Glimpse of Heaven: A Glimpse of Heaven features works ranging from Thomas Morley's setting of the Anglican burial service to Horatio Parker's "Adstant Angelorum Chori". The recording also includes works by Lionel Pike, Terry Schlenker, Henry Purcell and David Cutforth.
• The American Spirit: The American Spirit is St. Martin's Chamber Choir's celebration of American composers, and includes Cecil Effinger's Four Pastorales with oboe, Terry Schlenker's "Kyrie", Randall Thompson's "Alleluia", a setting of the Lamentations of Jeremiah by Timothy Krueger, Jean Berger's "Skelton Poems" with piano and Tim Sarsany's "Salve Mater misericordiæ".
• O Taste and See: Released in the fall of 2003 O Taste and See includes, in addition to Ralph Vaughan Williams' choral gem of the same name, the Mass for Four Voices by William Byrd, Orlando Gibbon's "Short Evening Service", Charles Villiers Stanford's Three Motets, Op. 38, and other works from the Anglican choral tradition.
• The Unknown Masterpiece: Premieres from the 2003-2004 Season: The Unknown Masterpiece features live performances of Terry Schlenker's Mass for Double Choir, Janet Vanden Bosch's "These few tears - in memoriam Mark Owen Sheldon", Timothy Krueger's Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis, and other works given their premieres by St. Martin's during their 2003-04 season.
• Monastic Echoes: The Canonical Hours, an eight movement work by John White reflecting the eight daily monastic services (or hours) as the monks journey through the day, is the centerpiece of the CD Monastic Echoes. Complementing The Canonical Hours are the twelve Gregorian plainchant settings of the Compline text 'Te lucis ante terminum'. Additional works include Terry Schlenker's "Timor et Tremor" and Craig Carnahan's "Thou Shalt Know Him".
• It is Finished: Stations of the Cross: This CD traces Christ's Holy Week journey to the Cross. The collection includes works from the 16th through the 21st centuries, following the Via Crucis and ending with a prelude to Easter.
• A Marian Christmas II: A Marian Christmas II is a sequel to St. Martin's 1998 recording A Marian Christmas. Featuring many selections from the December 2006 concerts of the same name, A Marian Christmas II contains a collection of carol arrangements and seasonal works, including five world premiere recordings.
• The Waking: Choral Music of Terry Schlenker: The Waking: Choral Music of Terry Schlenker, contains both never-before-recorded new works and selections from previous St. Martin's CDs. Lush voicings and distinctive harmonies make Schlenker's music truly memorable.
• Enlightenment A Cappella: St. Martin's recording released in 2009, Enlightenment A Cappella, is a collection of seldom-heard unaccompanied works from the 18th century, when most choral music employed basso continuo. The CD features music by Johann Friedrich Doles, Carl Heinrich Graun, Johann Kuhnau, Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni, John Blow, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and many others.
References
- ↑ List of SCFD Tier III organizations.
- ↑ For more information about St. Martin's CDs, including a complete listing of tracks and selected audio clips, click HERE.