| Dear Media Representative: A calendar listing for upcoming performances by San Francisco Renaissance Voices, Artists-in-Residence at Seventh Avenue Presbyterian Church, follows. Your assistance by placing this information in your publication at an appropriate date will be very much appreciated. Thank you! ~ J. Jeff Badger, Managing Artistic Director WHO: San Francisco Renaissance Voices (Todd Jolly, Music Director) with bansuri master Deepak Ram and Celtic harper Diana Rowan WHAT: Hildegard von Bingen's ORDO VIRTUTUM WHEN: (Note: 5 Performances) August 2 - 7:30 pm - Seventh Avenue Performances, 1329 Seventh Avenue, SF (415.664.2543) August 9 - 8:00 pm - Old First Concerts, 1751 Sacramento Street, SF (415.474.1608) August 10 - 7:30 pm - Alameda Presbyterian, 2001 Santa Clara Avenue, Alameda (510.522.1477) August 16 - 7:30 pm - All Saints Episcopal, 555 Waverley Street, Palo Alto (650.322.4528) August 17 - 4:00 pm - St. John's Presbyterian, 2727 College Avenue, Berkeley (510.845.6830) TICKETS: $15-20 general admission, $12-20 seniors, $10-12 students (price depends on venue) at the door for each performance or on-line: www.SFRV.orgNOTE: jpeg photos attached of Deepak Ram and Diana Rowan; no photo credit is necessary FULL DESCRIPTION: Hildegard's Ordo Virtutum As part of their Opera Early & Ancient series, San Francisco Renaissance Voices (Todd Jolly, Music Director) joins with bansuri master Deepak Ram, Celtic harper Diana Rowan, and Choregrapher/dancer Purnima Jha for Hildegard's definitive work Ordo Virtutum, in a fusion performance combining European Medieval plainchant with the traditional instrumental music and dance of India. The German mystic nun, Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179), was remarkable by any measure. Her many accomplishments include physician, artist, author, herbalist, advisor to popes and kings, and composer of this, what many consider to be the first opera, along with many other ethereal compositions; her works constitute one of the largest surviving repertoires of any Medieval composer. Hildegard probably created Ordo Virtutum (c 1150) for the dedication of the convent she established at Rupertsberg, near Bingen on the Rhine River in Germany. Preserved in the Riesencodex, a manuscript weighing about 25 pounds, the work was probably performed by 16 of the 50 women living in the cloister, with the role of The Devil spoken by the monk Volmar. The part of The Devil is spoken because Hildegard felt music to be of such divine inspiration that it would be impossible for The Devil to make music. The piece is in allegorical form, with the soul, Anima, as the 'heroine'. Initially she is happy and looking forward to the life promised by The Virtues. However, jaded, fatigued by the "cloak" of the life she must lead and tempted by The Devil, she decides to enjoy the pleasures the world has to offer. At this point, The Virtues introduce themselves. The many virtues, led by their queen, Humility, each provide some weapon to help subdue "the ancient snake." As the title suggests, eventually The Virtues triumph and Anima is rescued. Performances of this rarely performed piece of music take place throughout the Bay Area during the month of August; for more information and tickets visit: www.SFRV.org. ##### |