The Tudor Choir performs

Brother Sun, Sister Moon,

a musical legacy for

St. Francis of Assisi

Brother Sun, Sister Moon

WHAT: The Tudor Choir presents

Brother Sun, Sister Moon, a musical legacy for St. Francis of Assisi

with Brian Fairbanks, flute

WHEN & Saturday, October 15, 2005 at 8:00 p.m.

WHERE: St. Mark’s Cathedral, 1245 10^th Ave. E., Seattle 98102

Free pre-performance discussion by Doug Fullington at 7:00 p.m.

WHEN & Sunday, October 16, 2005 at 3:00 p.m.

WHERE: St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 8398 NE 12^th, Medina 98039

TICKETS: $25 general admission; $20 seniors; $15 students

ORDER ONLINE at www.tudorchoir.org or call the Tudor Choir at (206) 323-9415

The Tudor Choir presents two performances of BROTHER SUN, SISTER MOON, a musical legacy for St. Francis of Assisi. The 12-voice choir, directed by Doug Fullington and joined by flutist Brian Fairbanks, will perform on Saturday, October 15, 2005 at 8:00 p.m. at St. Mark’s Cathedral, Seattle, and on Sunday, October 16, 2005 at 3:00 p.m. at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Medina.

Tickets for BROTHER SUN, SISTER MOON cost $25 for general admission, $20 for seniors and $15 for students. Tickets are available online at www.tudorchoir.org or by calling the Tudor Choir at (206) 323-9415.

BROTHER SUN, SISTER MOON pays musical tribute to the legacy of the legendary and beloved St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226). Besides the poverty traditionally associated with St. Francis, a profound love of nature is also characteristic of his theology. St. Francis recognized the inherent worth of natural life, and his most famous work, The Canticle of the Sun, is full of rich, natural symbolism. St. Francis's pious and exemplary life, love of humankind and nature, and religious mission made his movement a success during his lifetime and ensured his place as one of the most popular figures in history.

Our program includes music on themes associated with St. Francis drawn from the works of two English composers – the great Elizabethan, William Byrd (1543-1623), and today’s John Rutter (born 1945) – whose works unfailingly capture the essence of their texts with imagination and beauty.

Framing the two halves of the program are songs of praise – Byrd’s Laudibus in sanctis, a five-voice setting of Psalm 150, and his monumental Tribue, Domine, and Rutter’s festive Cantate Domino (Psalm 96) and meditative Musica Dei donum, a setting for choir and flute of an anonymous text in praise of music.

We also include a “Musical Aviary,” made up of madrigals – Orlando Gibbons’ classic The Silver Swan and Thomas Vautor’s Sweet Suffolk owl – part songs – Charles Villiers Stanford’s unsurpassed The blue bird – and folk songs – Andrew Carter’s arrangement of The lark in the clear air.

Nature is an overarching theme, represented throughout the program, most notably by Frederick Delius’s Two unaccompanied parts songs: To be sung of a summer’s night on the water I and II, John Ireland’s The hills, and William Byrd’s Unto the hills.

A pre-performance discussion of the concert program by Artistic Director Doug Fullington will be offered on Saturday, October 15^th at 7:00 p.m. at St. Mark’s Cathedral, free to all ticket holders.

The Tudor Choir is a professional vocal chamber ensemble founded in 1993 by Artistic Director Doug Fullington. The group maintains a flexible membership of between 8 and 40 singers and specializes in the performance of Renaissance, early American and English choral music. As Artists-in-Residence at St. Mark's Cathedral, Seattle, and a Resident Ensemble at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Medina, the choir presents an annual subscription series and has performed under guest conductors including Peter Phillips, Paul Hillier, Andrew Parrott, Stephen Cleobury and Martin Haselböck. The choir also has made guest appearances with the Mark Morris Dance Group, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Early Music Guild of Seattle, Seattle Baroque, and in conjunction with Seattle Opera. The choir's recordings of Tudor polyphony, English carols and early American music have been released on the Loft Recordings label.

The Tudor Choir’s 2005-2006 season is sponsored in part by Classical KING-FM. Additional season support provided by ArtsFund.

Program

RUTTER: Cantate Domino

STANFORD: The blue bird

GIBBONS: The silver swan

VAUTOR: Sweet Suffolk owl

arr. CARTER: The lark in the clear air

BYRD: Laudibus in sanctis

Intermission

RUTTER: Musica Dei donum

BYRD: Laetentur caeli

DELIUS: Two unaccompanied part songs

IRELAND: The hills

BYRD: Unto the hills

BYRD: Tribue, Domine