Cyber Song from NMSU Choirs

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CyberSong

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NMSU Choirs to present Beethoven’s
Missa Solemnis in D

On Friday, April 27 and Saturday, April 28th Las Cruces and surrounding communities will be offered a rare treat in the form of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis in D. A towering work for orchestra, chorus and soloists, the Missa has been keeping NMSU choral students busy this semester unraveling the musical genius of the master composer. When thinking of Beethoven, so often we consider his famous symphonies, dozens of string quartets; piano, violin Ludwig Van Beethoven

	and cello sonatas, and chamber works.
	He composed very few major works for chorus, but the Missa Solemnis written near the end of his life was the piece he considered his finest work. Beethoven began composing as a child.. At age 13 he became 2nd Court organist in Bonn, Germany. His early compositions including choral works, were mostly unpublished, and most of them are lost. He didn’t begin publishing until he moved to Vienna in 1792 at the age of 21. For ten years Beethoven created a prolific variety and number of works: up to thirty individual compositions of all kinds. After 1802 when Beethoven’s hearing problems caused him to compose fewer works, he concentrated immense artistic energy on those, producing the 3rd Symphony, Kreutzer Sonata, 5th and 6th Symphonies, an oratorio and other smaller works. From 1813 - 1825 in addition to his last two symphonies and in spite of acute deafness, Beethoven wrote his last violin sonata , his last three piano sonatas, and last three string quartets. He completed the Ninth Symphony with the concluding choral movement, Ode to Joy. He spent over five years composing the Missa Solemnis in D during this same time. Beethoven was at the height of his powers even though he could not hear his own works. After a performance of works which included three parts of the Missa Solemnis, presented in May,1823, Beethoven heard none of the thunderous applause for his greatest creations. His companion turned him around so that he could see the audience’s enthusiastic response. Missa Solemnis in D is the culmination of Beethoven’s creativity and a return to church music which he began as an 11-year old. The fact that he composed such a masterpiece with his profound deafness, ill-health and family problems is a testament to his prodigious talent. We hope you will be able to join us in hearing this monumental work. Concerts are in the Music Center Recital Hall on the NMSU campus at 8 PM both nights. Call the Pan Am Center Ticket Office at 505.646.1420 for reserved tickets.