Veni, Veni, Emmanuel -- the fifth Mark Motors Audi Signature Series concert of the NAC’s 2011-2012 season – features Venezuelan-born, Spanish conductor José Luis Gomez in his NAC debut and acclaimed guest percussionist Colin Currie. Veni, Veni, Emmanuel is at 8 p.m. in Southam Hall on Wednesday May 16 and Thursday May 17, 2012.

The program includes:
ROSSINI   The Barber of Seville: Overture
HAYDN   Symphony No. 100, “Military”
JAMES MACMILLAN  Veni, Veni, Emmanuel
GINASTERA   Four Dances from Estancia

POST-CONCERT TALKBACK
with José Luis Gomez and Colin Currie in conversation with Andrew Craig

Following the talkback, Colin Currie will sign copies of his CDs in the foyer of Southam Hall

GRAMMY-award winning classical percussion soloist Colin Currie -- acclaimed for his virtuosity and musical integrity -- is a solo and chamber artist at the peak of his powers. He has been the driving force behind new percussion repertoire for more than a decade, and has appeared with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Concertgebouw Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and London Philharmonic. His athletic percussionism, compulsive showmanship, and deep musicality have inspired composers from around the globe.

Veni, Veni, Emmanuel (Come, O come, Emmanuel) is a concerto for solo percussion and orchestra by James MacMillan. It is composed of various Advent Antiphons, and is a translation of Latin text from the mid-19th century. In Christian music and ritual, an antiphon is a “responsory” by a choir or congregation, usually in Gregorian chant, to a psalm or other text in a religious service or musical work. The text for Veni, Veni, Emmanuel is based on the biblical prophecy from Isaiah 7:14 that states that God will give Israel a sign that will be called Immanuel. Matthew 1:23 states fulfillment of this prophecy in the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.

James MacMillan began composing Veni, Veni, Emmanuel on the first Sunday of Advent 1991 and completed it on Easter Sunday 1992, dates that are significant to the work itself. The work was commissioned by Christian Salvesen PLC; it received its premiere on 10 August 1992 at the London’s Royal Albert Hall, performed by Evelyn Glennie and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra under Jukka-Pekka Saraste. The 25-minute work is in one movement, drawing on the Advent plainchant of the same name. There are five main sections to the work: after the introduction is a 'heartbeat' section (representing, according to the composer, “the human presence of Christ”), followed by a 'hocket' dance; transition sequences lead in and out of the central Gaude, after which the dance reappears. The piece reaches its climax with the unfolding of the plainchant in chorale form, after which the work is closed by a coda in which the heartbeat motif and the percussionist on tubular bells have the last word. Veni, Veni, Emmanuel is the most frequently performed concerto composed in the 1990s. City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and percussionist Colin Currie conducted by Marin Alsop gave the 300th performance on 25 March 2003 at Symphony Hall in Birmingham.
 
Colin Currie says, “I was lucky enough to hear one of the very first performances of James MacMillan’s Veni, Veni, Emmanuel in the summer of 1992, when I was 15 years old. I found it to be immediately dramatic, with an extremely strong emotional impact and great poetry within. I have been fortunate enough to go on to perform the work over 120 times, and on every occasion, I reconnect with this wonderful sense of intensity and drama. The percussion works in tandem with the orchestra in this concerto, frequently whipping up a real storm, a dance section or, in the central slow section featuring the marimba, something hushed and reflective, brooding and expansive.”

Veni, Veni, Emmanuel will be performed in Southam Hall of the National Arts Centre on Wednesday May 16 and Thursday May 17, 2012 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20.45, $31.21, $42.51, $53.81, $64.57, $75.33, and $94.17, for adults and $11.38, $16.76, $22.41, $28.06, $33.44, $38.82, and $48.24 for students (upon presentation of a valid student ID card). Tickets are available at the NAC Box Office (in person) and through Ticketmaster (with surcharges) at 613-755-1111; Ticketmaster may also be accessed through the NAC’s website www.nac-cna.ca.

Subject to availability, full-time students (aged 13-29) with valid Live Rush™ membership (free registration at www.liverush.ca) may buy up to 2 tickets per performance at the discount price of $12 per ticket. Tickets are available online (www.nac-cna.ca) or at the NAC box office from 10 a.m. on the day before the performance until 6 p.m. on the day of the show or 2 hours before a matinee. Groups of 10 or more save 15% to 20% off regular ticket prices to all NAC Music, Theatre and Dance performances; to reserve your seats, call 613-947-7000, ext. 634 or e-mail grp@nac-cna.ca.

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Information:  
Gerald Morris
Communications Officer, NAC Music
613-947-7000, ext. 335  
[e-mail]  gerald.morris@nac-cna.ca