A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR
Happy Summer, friends!
Tomorrow morning, as you crawl out of bed, pause for just a moment. Close your eyes. Listen through an open window. You’ll hear the unofficial soundtrack of summer: the coos and calls of Minnesota’s fine feathered friends—plus, perhaps, a neighbor’s overzealous lawnmower.
Birds—and those who love their sounds—have long stirred artistic imaginations. Across centuries, artists have sketched, painted, composed, and written (and written again) about the intricacies and peculiarities of swallows, cuckoos, sparrows, and terns. Some saw in birds the very embodiment of freedom. Others simply delighted in their feathers and song. Whatever the muse, birds have inspired an abundance of choral music, where they often take center stage.
In this concert, we explore avian odes from the British Isles—spanning Renaissance madrigals to early 20th-century part songs. Composers like Thomas Tallis, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Charles Villiers Stanford spilled plenty of ink over the “doleful dove” and the “sweet lark singing,” and we’ve paired their work with gems from lesser-known voices like Jon Bennet, John Bartlet, and Robert Lucas Pearsall.
From across the globe, we bring you bird-centered folk songs from Southeast Asia. In cultures throughout the Philippines and Indonesia, birds don’t just inspire—they participate. In pieces like Papanok a Lakitan (Nilo Alcala), Koyu No Tebulul, and Bannatiran, birds are messengers and companions: “Tell my beloved I’m not far away.” The bird as cell phone—how practical.
As always, The Summer Singers aim to create a soundtrack for your summer: music that’s fresh, thought-provoking, and not often heard in Minnesota choral circles. Thank you, dear patrons, for being our “songbirds” and supporting this joyful work.
Close your eyes as you listen tonight.
Let this music become part of your summer’s soundscape.
Sincerely,
Adam Reinwald, Artistic Director