Music of the Spheres
On June 3 & 4, the Capitol Hill Chorale's 2016-2017 season ends with a celestial-themed program featuring the premiere of Music of the Spheres. Also on the program are works of Vincenzo Galilei (father of Galileo Galilei), William Herschel, Samuel Barber, and Gustav Holst.
Music of the Spheres is a five-movement work for SATB chorus and glass armonica, featuring texts by Johannes Kepler, John Donne, and the Psalms. Dean Shostak, one of the few masters of the glass armonica in the world today, will perform at the premiere.
I had so much fun writing this work, which is dedicated to Swiss astrophysicist (and my relative) Arnold Benz, whose book "Astrophysics and Creation" was just released in an English language version earlier this year.
Showtimes
Saturday, June 3: 7:30pm
Sunday, June 4: 4pm
Location
Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church, 4th and Independence Ave. SE
Washington, DC
The Chorale has created a podcast to explore all the intersections of music and science in Music of the Spheres. You can listen to the podcast HERE.
Future performances of Music of the Spheres are likely to include organ or piano, in place of the glass armonica (there are only a handful of armonica performers in the world). If you've never heard a glass armonica - the ethereal instrument invented by Benjamin Franklin - this concert offers an incredible opportunity to hear the instrument performed live!
Below is a video about Dean Shostak and "The Lost Art of Playing Glass":