Now in their 31st year, The City Cantábile Choir, directed by Frederick N. West, presents musical works from many cultures as well as the choral classics of Western civilization. In the pursuit of our mission, we have been privileged to perform with Dave Brubeck, Eduardo Mendonça, Hamza el Din, Pat Wright, Kent Stevenson, and Paco Peña, among other musical greats.
We have been distinguished for performing Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms, Mozart's Requiem, Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, and Orff's Carmina Burana. In July 1996 we toured Europe, singing by invitation in Austria's 1000th anniversary celebration. In addition, we have introduced Seattle to the African mass Missa Luba, the Andean mass Misa Criolla, and the Chilean Canto General, the poems of Pablo Neruda set to music by Mikis Theodorakis. After several concerts of Celtic music, in winter 2000 we blended Celtic and West African music, drums, and instruments based on the folk rhythms common to both cultures.
Most recently, we've been recognized for our work in interspecies musical communication: for the last several years, we've used specialized underwater speakers to sing for the Orca pods off the San Juan Islands and were featured for our efforts on 60 Minutes II in January 2001. The New York Times TV division and the German TV network ARD are currently preparing follow-up stories on the Orca Sing project for 2001.
Frederick N. West who has traveled throughout Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Mann, has had a great passion for the ancient lore and music of Celtic culture, this being his own heritage.
Through witnessing the actual Book of Kells in Dublin, exploring the 5000 year old Newgrange site of the Winter solstice alignment of the rising sun, spending many a night in the pubs which are the musical meccas of Irish culture, and reading voluminously of Celtic legends and folklore, Mr. West has distilled a poignant and powerful musical score for Diarmaid and Gráinne.
The orchestration for this work is unusual, calling for oboe, french horn, bass clarinet, and percussion. Also featured in the concert are the magnificent talents of Tom Creegan on Irish pipes and Dale Russ on fiddle as well as the soprano solo of Grainne sung by Katherine Hanson, praised for her clear perfect intonation and shimmering vocal tone, and full chorus. Acclaimed Seattle actor Darragh Kennan will narrate the story, which is spoken as from the old tradition of the bard with the addition of choruses which reinforce the beauty and tragedy of the tale.
The show will begin with a set of Irish jigs and reels and the Irish musicians will play throughout the narrative of the tale.
A special appearance by Christian Swenson, who is widely acclaimed as an extraordinary physical theatre artist, will add an element of astonishment as Fion MacCumhail comes to life.
This piece was first performed as a work in progress ten years ago and is now presented in the full version.
The story of Diarmaid and Gráinne. This is the ancestral tale of both Lancelot and Guinevere and Tristan and Isolde from very early pre-Christian Irish lore. It is part of what is called the Fenian Cycle of Myths which revolve around the great Irish hero, Fionn Mac Cumhail (pronounced: Finn McKool).
Fionn is the leader of a band of warriors much like the knights of the round table in Arthurian legend.The men of this band, called the Fianna, have taken great oaths to protect women, to renounce personal revenge and to pursue knowledge and physical prowess. (As a side note: the boy scouts of Ireland take their name from the Fianna. And "Finnegans Wake" has a hidden meaning: Finn again will wake. This refers to the hero Fionn MacCumhaill, who is thought by some not to be dead but will rise and again champion the Irish people.)
The age old struggle against English rule and oppression often found inspiration from these mythical tales. Students of Gaelic in Ireland today will read Diarmaid and Gráinne as part of standard curriculum.
This story begins in Fionn’s old age as he is betrothed to the much younger Gráinne, princess of Tara.
Gráinne instead falls for the younger irresistible Diarmaid, who she pleads with to spirit her away from her own wedding feast and save her from an unhappy match with the aging Fionn. An enraged Fionn pursues the young lovers, who are helped by Diarmaid's benefactor Angus Og, the god of Love.
These are the best people in the land who become entangled in the drama of jealousy, heartbreak, and betrayal.
