Reflections: Ten Years Later

NEW YORK, Nov. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Composed in commemoration of the tragic events of September 11 by renowned Russian musician Efrem Podgaits, his striking piece New York Mass will serve as the centerpiece for a concert featuring the Russian Chamber Chorus of New York (RCCNY) on Friday, November 18, 8:00 p.m. at The Riverside Church, 490 Riverside Drive (bet. 120th & 122nd St.), Morningside Heights.  (Event was rescheduled from last month due to snowstorm.)

Led by RCCNY artistic director Nikolai Kachanov, the program will include John Tavener's Svyati for chorus and cello, in which the composer uses text from the Russian Orthodox service associated with grieving; and Chant by renowned Siberian composer Yuri Yukechev. This polyphonic masterpiece is full of profound drama, breaking through sorrow to come to a climax of hope.  Also featured will be liturgical works by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Zeiger.

• Blessed are They Whom Thou Hast Chosen (Peter Tchaikovsky)
• We Hymn Thee (soloist: Hanna Golodinskii) (Sergei Rachmaninoff)
• Chant (Yuri Yukechev)
• Adagio for Strings (choral adaptation by Nikolai Kachanov) (Samuel Barber)
• Now Let Thy Servant Depart (Michael Zeiger)
• Svyati (Adrian Daurov, cello) (John Tavener)
• New York Mass (Efrem Podgaits)

Following a visit to Manhattan in summer 2001, Podgaits began composing New York Mass, which shows the deep connection he composer felt with the people of New York after the attacks.  The fascinating story of this composition can be read in the composer's own words: http://www.rccny.org/doc/Efrem-Podgaits.pdf.

Tickets to the concert are $25 at the door and $20 for students and seniors.  For more information, visit www.rccny.org and click Concert Schedule or www.theriversidechurchny.org; or call RCCNY at 212-928-1402 or The Riverside Church at 212-870-6720.

SOURCE The Riverside Church