Samuel Barber - Conspirare

IX. Cemetery of kissesCemetery of kisses, there is still fire in your tombs,Still the fruited boughs burn, pecked at by birds.Oh the bitten mouth, oh the kissed limbs,Oh the hungering teeth, oh the entwined bodies,Oh the mad coupling of hope and forceIn which we merged and despaired.This was our destiny and it was the voyage of our longing.And in it all our longing fell, in us all was shipwreck!It is the hour of departure, the hard cold hourThat night enforces on all timetables.Forsaken like the wharves at dawn.Oh farther than everything! Oh farther than everything!It is the hour of departure. Forsaken!Performing NoteConspirare has the privilege of performing in a variety of beautifulvenues. We seek out acoustical and aesthetic environments that can bestenhance choral performances and we are deeply grateful to our hosts.While our performing venues may represent specific traditions and thetexts of some of our repertoire may also be representative of specifictraditions, it is in no way intended to be exclusive of any individualwhose experience or set of beliefs is not represented.Conspirare respects and celebrates the great diversity of religious,artistic, and human experiences represented among our singers andaudience members. Our shared musical experiences are intended tobring us together as we all seek to be inspired by the power of greatchoral music. The audience creates the space in which the music is held.Craig Hella Johnson,Artistic Director & ConductorCompany of VoicesSopranoMela DaileyCassandra EwerMelissa GivensEstelí GomezJulie KeimGitanjali MathurJulie McCoy*Kathlene RitchMelanie RussellSonja TengbladAltoWendy BloomJanet Carlsen Campbell*Pam ElrodStella HastingsEmily LodineLaura Mercado WrightKeely RhodesDebra ScrogginsAngela Young SmuckerTenorDan BuchananDerek ChesterPaul D’ArcyErik GustafsonStefan Reed*Tracy ShirkMatt TreslerDana WilsonBassCameron BeauchampCharles Wesley EvansDavid FarwigArtistic PersonnelBradford GleimRobert HarlanGlenn MillerCraig Peterson*Larry SpeakmanPaul Max Tipton*Section leaderThe LoversChamber EnsembleKatie Wolfe, violin IKaren Clarke, violin IIBruce Williams, violaGreg Sauer, celloMelanie Punter, double bassAdah Toland Jones, fluteVanguel Tangarov, clarinetRebecca Henderson, oboeKristin Wolfe Jensen, bassoonPatrick Hughes, hornBrian Shaw, trumpetNathaniel Brickens, tromboneTom Burritt, percussionJacquelyn Venter, harpFaith Debow, pianoConspirareProduction TeamAnton BoydRick GabrilloRobert HarlanAnn McNair20 21