Arts and Music at Redeemer

Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, Kenmore invites you to a Choral Evensong service on Saturday, September 13 at 7:30 PM to celebrate the Feast of Hildegard of Bingen. The music for this evening will consist of music by Hildegard and pieces composed using her texts, to be performed by the women of the Redeemer Choir and violinist Laurie Kempen under the direction of Sheila Bristow.

Map and driving directions

Listen to Hildegard’s music at Last.fm

About Hildegard of Bingen (from Wikipedia):

Hildegard of Bingen (1098 – 17 September 1179), also known as Blessed Hildegard and Saint Hildegard, was a German abbess, artist, author, counselor, linguist, naturalist, scientist, philosopher, physician, herbalist, poet, activist, visionary, and composer. Elected a magistra in 1136, she founded the monasteries of Rupertsberg in 1150 and Eibingen in 1165.

She is the first composer with an extant biography. One of her works, the Ordo Virtutum, has been called the first form, and possibly the origin, of opera.

She wrote theological, botanical, and medicinal texts, as well as letters, liturgical songs, poems, and the first surviving morality play, while supervising brilliant miniature illuminations.

Attention in recent decades to women of the medieval church has led to a great deal of popular interest in Hildegard, particularly of her music. Approximately eighty compositions have survived, which is one of the largest repertoires among medieval composers.

Hildegard communicated with popes such as Eugene III and Anastasius IV, statesmen such as Abbot Suger, German emperors such as Frederick I Barbarossa, and other notable figures such as Saint Bernard of Clairvaux.

Many abbots and abbesses asked her for prayers and opinions on various matters. She traveled widely during her four preaching tours, the only woman to have done so during the Middle Ages.

When: Saturday, May 10, 7:30 pm

Where: The Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, 6211 NE 182nd St., Kenmore (map)

Cost: Free-will donation

Episcopal Church of the Redeemer will host a recital by Organist Sheila Bristow with soprano Linda Tsatsanis. “Music for the Season of Pentecost” will feature the music of J. S. Bach, Felix Mendelssohn, and Bob Chilcott.

I’ve received a lot of notices recently from artists who have exhibited in our gallery in the past (and hopefully will again) about their current exhibits and I thought I’d share them with you.

Matthew Whitney’s latest show begins Friday, April 4th with an opening reception from 6pm–9pm at the Orange Splot Gallery in Fremont, and will be on display throughout April.

Bridgette Guerzon Mills hung a show this week entitled “Moments of Quiet and Stillness” at Cugini’s Cafe, 5306 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle (in Ballard) which will also be on display throughout April.

Three pieces of Jane Emens’ work will be part of a show at the ArtXchange Gallery called, “What Does Compassion Look Like?” in conjuction with the Dalai Lama’s visit. The show opens on April 11th with a reception from 5pm–8pm, and continues until May 30th.

Jessica Figueroa has a show of new paintings entitled “A Fish Out of Water” hanging at Cafe Lulu, 6417 Latona Avenue NE, Seattle (near Green Lake) that will be up through April 30th.

These are all very talented artists so go and take a look! I know I will.

-Angela

I hope everybody had a very joyful Easter Sunday. I know I did. This is my third Easter season at Church of the Redeemer, and the second Easter altarpiece I’ve designed (you can see last year’s altarpiece here and here). This year we (the arts committee) decided to add some color to the paper lace design using tissue paper. Turned out to be a very frustrating process, but once the art was installed, it turned out to be so worth all the aggravation.

There were other frustrations as well, largely due to the unusually early appearance of Easter this year. But the biggest frustration was actually me. I had been suffering through some big time burnout issues in regards to my role in the arts committee for months, and was beginning to question whether I’d be able to go on with it once this liturgical year came to an end. This was making me cranky, to put it mildly, and made completing the Easter art that much more difficult. Lent passed with me barely noting it, and Holy Week ended up feeling like such a chore, instead of being the powerfully spiritual journey that I know it can be.

But I’m very happy to report that the Holy Spirit was definitely moving at our Easter Vigil on Saturday night, and I feel all sorts of refreshed now. I feel truly inspired (to breathe life into) and I’ve got all sorts of ideas for next liturgical year’s art. Thanks be to God!

In a few weeks we’ll be starting on art for Pentecost and I’m really looking forward to it. :)

Happy Easter!

-Angela

Maundy Thursday:

The choir will sing a haunting setting of Psalm 78 by Seattle composer Peter Hallock, and two settings of Canticle N, “A Song of God’s Love”.

Good Friday:

The gentlemen of the choir will sing a close-harmony arrangement of “Were You There” by noted African American composer/arranger H. T. Burleigh.

The Great Paschal Vigil:

Festive Easter music by the choir, and guest trumpeter Judson Jay Scott will perform solos by Hovhanness and Telemann.

The Sunday of the Resurrection:

• Two solos from Handel’s Messiah:
• “I know that my Redeemer liveth”, with soprano Christina Siemens
• “The trumpet shall sound”, with baritone Glenn Guhr and Judson Jay Scott, trumpet
• Also, the choir will sing one of Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs, and organist Sheila Bristow will provide a festive prelude by J. S. Bach.

The Arts Committee is hard at work making the altarpiece for Pascha, also known as Easter. As always, it will be cut paper - though this year, colored tissue paper will be an element.

Here are a couple of photos of the work-in-progress on Flickr:

Christmas 2007: Hanging the altarpiece

Originally uploaded by Church of the Redeemer.

This year’s altarpiece was designed by the wildly talented Seattle artist Matt Whitney, who also came in on a Saturday and helped the Ecclesiastical Arts Committee paint it.

The result is lovely.

The piece will be on display over the altar at Redeemer through the seasons of Christmas and Epiphany.

Matt’s Web site: www.mattsbasement.com

The Concerto Baroque performance was just great. We are truly privileged to have such wonderfully talented musicians perform in our space. I’ve posted photos from the event on the Redeemer Flickr account.

- Wade

Saturday December 8th, 7:30 PM

This meditative service of readings and music provides a time of reflection and renewal during the season of Advent. Solo and choral music provided by the Church of the Redeemer Choir, mezzo soprano Melissa Plagemann, and violinist Stephen Cresswell.

The service will be followed by a dessert reception.