Francis Poulenc | Figure Humaine
Hilary Purrington | World Premiere
Jeffrey Van | A Procession Winding Around Me

In this program, The Thirteen explores moral beauty in three guises: the second World War, the American Civil War, and the women’s rights movement in America.

Poulenc secretly composed his Figure Humaine in Vichy France, with the intention that it should be performed in Paris upon liberation from Nazi rule. Last performed by The Thirteen in 2018, this twelve-part tour de force is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and to the practice of remembrance.

Leonard Bernstein Award-winning composer Hilary Purrington writes a new work for The Thirteen that traces the progress and intimate stories of the American women’s rights movement. Jeffrey Van’s A Procession Winding Around Me sets Civil War poems by Walt Whitman for choir and solo classical guitar with music as evocative and transcendent as the poetry. 

This program is made possible by a generous gift from Margaret Colgate Love. The commissioning of the World Premiere by Hilary Purrington is made possible by a gift to The Thirteen’s Building for Tomorrow fund by J. Penny Clark.

UPCOMING PERFORMANCES

Johann Sebastian Bach | B Minor Mass

It was 300 years ago, in 1724, when Bach began writing the music that would become his B Minor Mass. Composed over the course of 25 years and likely never performed within his lifetime, the Mass is the culmination of Bach’s life’s work, the summation of his creative output. Replete with driving choruses and time-suspending solos, the B Minor Mass is one of the crowning achievements of the Baroque, and indeed all classical music. 

Performed by The Thirteen with over twenty singers and thirty of the world’s finest period instrumentalists including trumpets, timpani, oboes, and organ, Bach’s iconic masterpiece should not be missed. 

This program is made possible by generous gifts from Sherman & Maureen Katz and Charles Cerf & Cindy Dunbar. The orchestra and choir are sponsored by a gift to The Thirteen’s Building for Tomorrow fund by Margaret Colgate Love. A subsequent commercial video recording of this concert is made possible by a gift to The Thirteen’s Building for Tomorrow fund by Martha Harris.

UPCOMING PERFORMANCES

Joby Talbot | Path of Miracles
Washington, D.C. Premiere

In Path of Miracles, British composer Joby Talbot takes the listener on a musical journey of the mystical Camino de Santiago de Compostela. The pace of a spiritual Camino is built into the structure of the work, with the four movements of the work titled after the four main posts along the Camino. Talbot incorporates various medieval texts in many languages, and musical styles as diverse as those of Taiwanese Bunun people and medieval chant. Paired with projected images of the cosmos, The Thirteen’s performances of Path of Miracles promise to be replete with beauty and wonder.

This program is made possible by a generous gift from Clinton & Missy Kelly. The Thirteen’s Vocal Fellows Program is made possible by a gift from the Andrew Warnock Clarke & Martin ‘Chip’ Sherrill Family Foundation.

UPCOMING PERFORMANCES

In 1933, working deep in Appalachia, renowned folklorist and ethnomusicologist John Jacob Niles encountered a camp meeting where: “A girl stepped out to the edge of the little platform attached to the automobile [and] began to sing. She smiled as she sang and sang only a single line of a song.” This simple tune became the beloved carol I wonder as I wander and is the starting point for The Thirteen’s celebration of the Christmas story in song, as we sing music of wonder and joy for the holidays. Featuring works from the 16th century to today, including works written for The Thirteen, I Wonder as I Wander, explores the intersection between the holiday story and awe, celebration, warmth, and joy!

This program is made possible by generous gifts from Walter Hill & Cheryl Naulty and J. Penny Clark.

UPCOMING PERFORMANCES