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Komm, Liebe Zither: The Art of the Serenade 

Saturday, April 25, 2009 - 5 PM

Sunday, April 26, 2009  - 3 PM 

In This Issue
The Art of the Serenade
Meet Our Special Guest
Looking into Next Season
Quick Links
Greetings!
Top 
Greetings from Suzanne, Randi and Laura!
 
We are buzzing around at Lyric Fest, busily preparing to bring to you our final concert of the season, Komm, liebe Zither: The Art of the Serenade. The title comes from a lovely, rarely performed song my Mozart for mandolin and voice. This anonymous verse struck dear Mozart's fancy enough to set it to music, so that we might still be charmed by it some 220 years later!  
 
"Come here, dear zither mine, come.
You shall be my confidante,
You alone do I trust
with my most secret yearnings
Tell her in my place,
That my heart is all hers alone."
 
And so we invite you not only to enjoy our latest news, but to come next weekend and let us sing to you! Treat yourself to an absolutely delightful afternoon of stirring and soothing serenades. Truly, who doesn't need that right about now?

Lyric Fest founders: Laura Ward, Randi Marrazzo, Suzanne DuPlantisOur fond greetings and looking forward to seeing you at the concert! 
 
Suzanne DuPlantis
Randi Marrazzo
Laura Ward
 

Season Finale: Angel with LuteThe Art of the Serenade

Saturday, April 25th at 5 PM
Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church - The Pew Memorial Chapel, 625 Montgomery Ave., Bryn Mawr. Directions.
 
Sunday, April 26th at 3 PM
First Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, 21st & Walnut Sts, Philadelphia. Directions.
 
Special Guest: Allen Krantz, guitar & mandolin.
Soloists: tenor Timothy Bentch, mezzo-soprano Suzanne DuPlantis, soprano Anne Gross, soprano Randi Marrazzo, baritone Randall Scarlata, pianist Laura Ward.  
 
Tickets: $20 General, $5 Students.  Available at the door.  For more information and reservations call 215.438.1702Reception with artists will follow the Sunday concert.
 
The history of a serenade, as a music form, goes back to Renaissance and even Medieval era, being known as a performance in someone's honor, a lover or a friend, usually in the evening and typically outdoors, sung beneath the beloved's window to the accompaniment of lute, mandolin or guitar.  Serenade was one of the most favorite subjects for many composers. Our program features selections from early English and Folk music, Mozart, Brahms, Strauss, Schubert, Schumann, Stephen Foster, Spanish composers: DeFalla, Velasquez, Ernesto Lecuona,Carlos Jobim, and more Click here to learn more. 
 

Allen KrantzMeet Our Special Guest: ALLEN KRANTZ 

KrantzAllen Krantz has received acclaim as a composer, solo guitarist, and chamber musician. His recent premieres include "Sacred Places", a suite for solo guitar;  "A Musical Walk", a children's piece  commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra;  and a trio in celebration of the 125th anniversary of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Krantz is composer in residence for 1807 & Friends, and heads the guitar program of The New School Institute at Temple University.  
 
Our publicist Inna Heasley asked Allen a few questions: 
 
Q: Welcome to Lyric Fest, again!  Please tell us about your collaborations with LF in the past.
AK: My first time with Lyric Fest was the Britten program.  Britten wrote two important song cycles with the guitar and one of our solo masterpieces, the Nocturnal.  A few years later I had an idea to do an art song program to be performed at the Gretna Music Festival, Hershey, PA in 2007.  I am on the artistic committee with the festival and we thought it would be nice to try a program with multiple voices. My first thought was to get in touch with Suzanne DuPlantis, and Suzanne came up with a wonderful idea revolving around guitar and mandolin serenades.
 
Q: You are a Lieder fan, right?
AK: Actually yes, a big fan: Schumann and Schubert are my favorite composers, and I am glad to see them on this program. This music used to be more common in recitals but nowadays the art song gets less attention that it should.  
 
I also appreciate the concept of Lyric Fest, the way things are linked within a theme on the program.  It is a very interesting art form allowing to connect a lot of songs.
 
Q: Please tell us a little about the instruments you are bringing with you.
AK: My mandolin was made in 1915, it's one of the early American versions made to compete with the Neapolitan mandolin which was very difficult to hold. The Gibson makes a great classical sound! I will also play my French guitar, it is a modern instrument made in Provence.
 
At our concert, Allen Krantz will perform a few arrangements of his own for guitar and voice. 

Lyric Fests Looks Into Next Season! 

We are putting the finishing touches on our upcoming season 2009-2010 and have some exciting themes on the horizon to share with you.  

We will open with "Four Hands ~ Warm Hearts," a program of the famous and soon-to-be-famous quartets and duets by Brahms, Bernstein, Greer, Liebermann, and more.  
 
Next up is a exploration of World Spirituality in song as we present "Moving Heaven and Earth." 
 
In November we'll bring Shakespeare to new audiences in Delaware and in January our Biography in Music will celebrate the music, life and letters of Tchaikovsky
 
We close our season in May, with a children's concert-extraordinaire about the joys of unplugging your iPod and hearing real music!
 
Stay tuned for more details on these exciting programs!  
Audience: World of Friends concert 11/08
 Photo: Lyric Fest audience at "World of Friends" program. November 2008. Photo by Aaron Warkov.