SKU: CA.3116205

ISBN 9790007172251. Language: German/English. Scripture: Matthew 22:1-14.

The cantata for the 20th Sunday after Trinity. Ah! I see now, as I to the wedding bidden, BWV 162 was first performed on 25 October 1716 in the Castle church at Weimar. During the first year in his position as Thomaskantor, Bach made a revival performance of the cantata on 10 October 1723. For this Leipzig version he added an additional obbligato voice in the first movement and in the final chorale he added a Corno da tirarsi, which played colla-parte with the soprano. However, we do not know what this mysterious instrument looked like. For performances today we recommend using a trumpet or a slide trumpet. The cantata begins not with an introductory chorus, but rather with a sonorous bass aria with a string accompaniment and obbligato trumpet. The following movements, movement 2 through 5, are also performed by vocal soloists. The third movement, a soprano aria, presents a peculiarity: the obbligato wind parts were not contained in the original version of this cantata. Our edition offers a reconstruction for the flute, made by the famous Bach interpreter and expert, Masaaki Suzuki. Score available separately - see item CA.3116200.

SKU: PR.411411640

ISBN 9781491137642. UPC: 680160691098. The Garden of the Finzi-Continis novel by Giorgio Bassani.

Based on Bassani’s 1962 novel, THE GARDEN OF THE FINZI-CONTINIS dramatizes the true story of a prosperous Jewish family’s disruptions and consequences from state-mandated antisemitism in Italy during World War II. Gordon describes the opera as “romantic, sun-drenched, and cataclysmic, all at the same time.” This dramatically topical and personal grand opera premiered at New York City Opera and National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene to rave reviews in 2022. Chris Ruel wrote in OperaWire, “I have chosen Ricky Ian Gordon and Michael Korie’s THE GARDEN OF THE FINZI-CONTINIS as my favorite opera of 2022.”.
At one point, in 2008, I was walking down 72nd Street, and I passed the video store, (this is when there were video stores) and I thought to myself, I wonder if Kevin (my partner) has ever seen The Garden of the Finzi-Continis? which was always one of my favorite movies. My reaction when we watched it that night was unlike any other time I had seen it. I was wrenched, sobbing, inconsolable. My heart felt like the autumn leaves we see blowing through the garden at the end of the movie. It seemed immediately that this had to be my next opera. I called Michael Korie, and we both bought the Bassani novel and read it. We settled on it. It felt clear that we both had a collective story to tell through it.Because this opera is so close to both of our hearts, it is dedicated to our fathers.It is not only that The Garden of the Finzi-Continis is a Holocaust story that makes it so resonant for me, though obviously this is no small matter, but the tragedy of people trying to live their lives, or actually living them, their petty disappointments, their heartbreaks, against the backdrop of total catastrophe… that makes it so moving. They cannot possibly imagine what will befall them, but we know… and this makes their every move fascinating and devastating… like watching moths under a glass. It is romantic, sun-drenched and cataclysmic, all at the same time.This is why I had to write it.