Events

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Sacred Dialogues: Cantatas of Élisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre

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Sacred Dialogues: Cantatas of Élisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre

On March 4, 2023, Ascension Music presents “Sacred Dialogues,” the latest installment in our Salon Series: a concert of cantatas by one of Baroque France’s premier composers, Élisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre (1665-1730). We offer this program in Women’s History Month, as an opportunity to explore the compositions of a remarkable woman. The program is also a devotional offering for Lent. Jacquet de la Guerre’s Cantates françaises sur des sujets tirés de l’Écriture (French Cantatas on Biblical Subjects) offer an expressive and unique perspective on stories from the Bible - with texts and music that aren’t afraid to speak truth to power.

In this post, we’ll meet this lesser-known but masterful composer. Later this week, we’ll explore the concert’s cantata repertoire in a second post.

Announcing the Salon Series at Ascension

Announcing the Salon Series at Ascension

Here at Ascension, we have a long tradition of sharing our space with the community through concerts. During the past couple COVID-dominated years, the tradition has continued, albeit mostly online, and with the featured artists being mostly … me … in my home, or by myself in our sanctuary.

Thank the Lord for COVID vaccines, for I am thrilled to announce that the 2022/23 concerts at Ascension will at last, once again, regularly feature more people than just me. In fact, for the first time since the era of our beloved former Director of Music, Cheryl Will, our series will have an official title. Reflecting our focus on chamber music and cultural enlightenment in an intimate setting, I am happy to announce the Salon Series.

Livestream Piano Recital: Still Waters

Livestream Piano Recital: Still Waters

“Still Waters” is a recital of music by 19th- and 20th-century women. The title is inspired by a work on the program, By the Still Waters by Amy Beach. Beach took her title from the 23rd Psalm. The title also made me think of the still waters running deep in the minds of many of the women featured on the program: from Fanny Mendelssohn, whose own family first trained her to compose, then discouraged her from pursuing the art form; to Lili Boulanger, who struggled with debilitating illness for all of her twenty-four years of life; to Florence Price, an African-American composer who wrote profound works of music in a society that didn’t value her contributions.

Passion Chorales: An Organ Recital for Holy Saturday

Passion Chorales: An Organ Recital for Holy Saturday

Saturday, April 3, 2021
2:00 PM 3:00 PM

Streamed via Facebook Live

Join us on Holy Saturday for a quiet, meditative livestream recital of music for Holy Week on our small tracker organ. Minister of Music Emma Riggle will play music by Bach, Sweelinck, Telemann, and more.

This recital is for people who miss their traditional Holy Week services; or for people who enjoy hearing Bach on a small baroque-style organ; or for people who just want a moment of quiet for the background of their afternoon. Tune in to pray, listen, or rest.