Whether you’re hungry for a choral feast, a towering Mahler symphony, or a Baroque aperitif, it’s a packed week in the City of Brotherly Love. As the fall season gets underway, make sure you're signed up to receive this newsletter in your inbox every Sunday - and if you've got any feedback, let us know.
Spotlight: Choral Arts Philadelphia — Saturday, The Church of the Holy Trinity
For its season opener, Choral Arts Philadelphia offers an unusual all-French bouquet, curated by artistic director and conductor Dr. Donald Meinecke, from the years after the First World War. As the centerpiece, the ensemble will perform Messe Salve Regina by Yves Castagnet, along with works by Duruflé, Dupré, Poulenc, Villette, Messiaen, and Roger-Ducasse. But wait, there’s more! One of the two organs — yes, two — will be the renowned Möller Opus 8128, beloved by organ aficionados. The instrument will make its debut in the new space after a recent restoration, following its relocation from the First Baptist Church at 17th and Sansom Streets.
Oct. 5 at 4 p.m., The Church of the Holy Trinity, 1904 Walnut Street, $15 to $50; tickets and information.
Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 — Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Marian Anderson Hall
As Gustav Mahler’s longest work, typically lasting 90 minutes or more, the Third Symphony defines the word “grandeur.” Its sprawling structure requires a large orchestra, children’s choir, and a mezzo-soprano soloist — here, the peerless Joyce DiDonato with The Philadelphia Orchestra, led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. The six movements show an enormous range of emotions and styles, from the majestic opening to later interludes of playfulness, to the solemn reverence of the mezzo in texts from Nietzsche. All of this leads to the vast canvas of the finale, one of the composer’s most heartfelt slow movements, about which the Swiss critic William Ritter wrote, after the 1902 premiere: "Perhaps the greatest Adagio written since Beethoven." Lucky Philadelphia audiences get the first look at Yannick’s thoughts on the piece, prior to the orchestra’s appearance two weeks later at Carnegie Hall.
Oct. 3 at 7:30 p.m., Oct. 4 at 2 p.m., Oct. 5 at 8 p.m., Marian Anderson Hall, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, 300 South Broad Street, $56 to $205; tickets and information.
Variant 6 — Friday, Maas Building
In an intriguing evening titled RE/FRAME, four singers of Variant 6 will demonstrate how works from the past inspire current composers. Among the unusual a cappella pairings are John Dowland and Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen, Guillaume Du Fay and Gabriel Jackson, William Byrd and Bruno Bettinelli, Giovanni Croce and Olivier Messiaen, and Tomás Luis de Victoria and Francis Poulenc. Other works by Bo Holten, Jonathan Woody, and Joanne Metcalf were inspired by a Lutheran chorale and the chant, Ave Maris Stella. Making the evening even more enticing is the setting: located in Philadelphia’s Olde Kensington neighborhood, the Maas Building was originally a brewery.
Oct. 4 at 7 p.m., Maas Building, 1325 North Randolph Street, $15 to $40; tickets and information.
The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia — Friday and Saturday, Perelman Theater
Most of the time, audiences hear Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto (the “Emperor”) in a concert hall with thousands of other people. But in the 650-seat Perelman Theater, pianist Michelle Cann, conductor David Hayes, and the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia will likely give listeners more intimate contact with Beethoven’s majestic opus, as well as the opener, his Coriolan Overture. As an unusual preface, Hayes has chosen two appealing rarities: Sagrada (Sonata da Chiesa No. 2) from 2016 by Adolphus Hailstork, inspired by his visit to the landmark cathedral in Barcelona, and December, a lovely idyll for strings, penned in 1995 by Michael Torke.
Oct. 4 at 7:30 p.m., Oct. 6 at 2:30 p.m., Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, 300 South Broad Street, $29-$104; tickets and information.
Tempesta di Mare — Saturday at the Trinity Center for Urban Life; Sunday at the Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill
For those who have been tempted to exact revenge on their boss, a teenaged Handel demonstrated exactly that, while working at the Hamburg Opera House with the composer Reinhard Keiser. After the two had a falling out, the mightily upset Handel left with a suitcase packed with five years of Keiser’s work. Some of that thievery found its way into Handel’s Il pastor fido, which Tempesta di Mare will present as part of its amusingly titled program, Stolen. Also on the menu, Keiser’s Concerto in D and his suite from Hercules and Hebe; some of the latter “mysteriously” reappeared in Handel’s Water Music. But Handel was not above “stealing” from himself, using material from The Messiah and other works for his Concerto a Due Cori No. 1, which ends the program from this estimable period group.
Oct. 5 at 7:30 p.m., Trinity Center for Urban Life, 2212 Spruce Street; Oct. 6 at 4 p.m., Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, 8855 Germantown Avenue, $35-$45, students free with ID; tickets and information.
