The world premiere of SEVEN: A Cycle of Sins, a commissioned song cycle based on the seven deadly sins, takes place Sunday, March 23 and Monday, March 24 at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center. The performances pair the new work with Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem in D Minor, Op. 48 in a program titled “Sins and Grace.”
The cycle features seven songs composed by Michael Abels, Will Aronson and Dolan Morgan, William C. Banfield and Michael R. Jackson, Jason Robert Brown, Heather Christian, Ted Hearne and Gregory Spears. Conceived by MasterVoices Artistic Director Ted Sperling and commissioned as a companion piece to the Fauré work, the cycle mirrors the Requiem’s seven angelic movements using the same orchestral and vocal forces, including soprano, baritone, chorus, orchestra and organ.
Soprano Mikaela Bennett and baritone Justin Austin join the MasterVoices Chorus and Orchestra of St. Luke’s for the performances.
Sperling explained the concept started with a desire to program the beloved Fauré Requiem and pair it with something contrasting in tone. The Fauré is known for its gentle approach to dying and the heavenly afterlife, while the new cycle explores the temptations that torment daily life. After its New York premiere, SEVEN: A Cycle of Sins will receive regional premieres by Los Angeles Master Chorale and VocalEssence.
The program features Ted Sperling conducting, with each composer tackling one of the seven deadly sins: Michael Abels (Lust), Will Aronson and Dolan Morgan (Gluttony), William C. Banfield and Michael R. Jackson (Sloth), Jason Robert Brown (Envy), Heather Christian (Wrath), Ted Hearne (Greed) and Gregory Spears (Vanity).
Both performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $34 and are available here, the Alice Tully Hall box office at Broadway and 66th Street in Manhattan’s Upper West Side, or by calling CenterCharge at 212.721.6500.
→ Continue reading at NYS Music
