This article appears in the September 17, 2021 issue of Executive Intelligence Review.
[Print version of this article]
Schiller Institute NYC Chorus
presents
9/11 Memorial Concert
Beethoven’s Agnus Dei
Bitte um inneren und äußeren Frieden
Friday, September 10, 2021
Our Lady of Pompeii Church
Greenwich Village, NYC
PROGRAM
America the Beautiful, arr. Nathaniel Dett
Schiller Institute Chorus
Greetings from Terry Strada, National Chair, 9/11 Families & Survivors United for Justice Against Terrorism
Schubert: Litanei
Maria Ines Rodriguez Rey, Soprano; Felix Ruiz, piano, video
Schubert: Arpeggione D. 821
Dura Jun, piano/Molly Aronson, cello
Harry T. Burleigh: Deep River
Schiller Institute Chorus
Diane Sare, conductor
Robert Schumann: Gypsy Life
Schiller Institute Chorus
Dura Jun, piano; Nancy Guice, conductor
Giuseppe Verdi: Va, Pensiero
Schiller Institute Chorus
Dura Jun, piano; John Sigerson, conductor
Beethoven Op. 123, Sanctus/Agnus Dei
Schiller Institute Chorus
John Sigerson, orchestration and conductor
Liz Fodor, audio/video editor
Nancy Guice, project coordinator, Sanctus assistant video editor
John Scialdone, Agnus Dei assistant video editor
On Beethoven’s 250th birthday in December 2020, the Schiller Institute Chorus presented the virtual performance of the opening Kyrie and Gloria sections of his Missa Solemnis, followed by the daunting Credo in April of 2021.
At this 9/11 Memorial concert, we present the fitting final sections of the Missa Solemnis, which end with Beethoven’s unique Dona Nobis Pacem. Beethoven’s inscription above the Dona Nobis Pacem section reads Bitte um inneren und äußeren Frieden, a call for “inner and outer peace,” i.e., a plea for both spiritual and worldly peace.
And so, Schiller Institute NYC Chorus has now completed the performance of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Opus 123, a project begun just before the onset of the deadly pandemic.
It is hoped that this will be performed live in full when conditions allow.
And two tumultuous decades after the 9/11 attack, let us hope that our efforts will help the world find the path to peace through mutual and friendly development of all sovereign nations.
