 | As part of its anniversary celebration, the Institute of Sacred Music will present two 12th-century medieval plays on April 16 in Sterling Divinity Quadrangle. |
The Institute of Sacred Music (ISM) will celebrate its 30th year at Yale with a program of concerts, live medieval drama, film, visual arts and a literary reading, Thursday-Sunday, April 15-18.
A direct offspring of the School of Sacred Music at Union Seminary in New York City, the institute came to Yale in 1972-1973, transforming what had been a department of church music in a seminary into a partnership with Yale's School of Music and Divinity School. ISM is now one of the major centers for the study of the liturgical arts in the world, with programs in organ performance, choral conducting, liturgical studies, and religion and the arts.
"Music as a theological discipline is a subject of vital importance," wrote ISM director Margot Fassler in the March issue of the institute's journal, Prism. She added: "Music is the vehicle by which we know and remember biblical and theological themes and distill them within ourselves. ... Music is the glue binding congregations together, in ancient cultures and in the present. The history of its music is the history of a faith ..."
Highlights of the ISM anniversary weekend follow. Unless otherwise indicated, the events are free and open to the public.
* A reading by novelist Michael Malone, described by critics as the "American Dickens" for his works set in the New South, at 4 p.m. on April 15 at the Divinity School Bookstore, 409 Prospect St. The reading -- presented as part of the Yale Literature and Spirituality Series in collaboration with the Yale Divinity Student Book Supply -- will be followed by a book-signing and reception.
* A screening of "Work and Pray: Living the Psalms with the Nuns of Regina Laudis" at 6:15 p.m. on April 15 in the Great Hall of ISM, 409 Prospect St. The 48-minute video, produced by ISM, shows the Benedictine nuns of Regina Laudis living in seclusion in Bethlehem, Connecticut, as they bear witness to the power of music -- and especially the Psalms -- to act upon and within the individual and collective memories.
* A staging of the medieval works "Play of Adam" and Hildegard of Bingen's "Ordo Virtutum" at 4 p.m. on April 16 in Sterling Divinity Quadrangle, 409 Prospect St. The drama will include music, dance, audience participation, victuals, libations and revelry.
* A concert by the Yale Schola Cantorum, under the direction of Simon Carrington, at 4 p.m. on April 17 at the United Church on the Green, corner of Temple and Elm streets. Titled "Bach Family Motets," the program will include works by forebears and scions of the family of J.S. Bach, from the 17th and 18th centuries. Martin Jean will be the organist.
* A premiere by the Yale Glee Club, conducted by Jeffrey Douma, of Lee Hoiby's "Song of Songs" for chorus and organ at 8 p.m. on April 17 at Woolsey Hall, corner of College and Grove streets. The work, commissioned by ISM in honor of its 30th anniversary at Yale, will feature Thomas Murray at the Newberry Organ. Also on the program is Haydn's "Mass in Time of War (Paukenmesse)." Tickets are available by calling (203) 436-4136. The concert is presented by the School of Music with support from ISM.
* A performance of Bach's "Mass in B-minor" with orchestra by The Yale Camerata, under the baton of its director, Marguerite Brooks, on April 18 at 8 p.m., also at Woolsey Hall. There will be a pre-concert talk at 7 p.m. in the Presidents Room, on the second floor of Woolsey Hall. Professor Markus Rathey will speak on "J.S. Bach's Mass in B-minor: The Greatest Musical Artwork of All Times and People."
* An exhibition titled "The Religious Arts in America," curated by Holy Cross professor Virginia Raguin, on display through April 27 at ISM. (See related story) Raguin will present a talk titled "Art Beyond Museums: The Religious Image and Popular Culture in 19th-Century America" at 3 p.m. on April 18 in the Great Hall of ISM. A reception will follow the lecture.
* An installation by Thomas Albrecht titled "Felling Fences/Rolling Stones" at ISM. Both this and the previous exhibition are presented with support from Yale Divinity School.
More information is available at www.yale.edu/ism or (203) 432-5062.
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