Photos: https://bit.ly/ps_fiat_lux

Music Director Carl St.Clair Leads Pacific Symphony and Pacific Chorale with Soloists Soprano Elissa Johnston, and Baritone Christopher Maltman

Available for Streaming on Apple Music, Spotify, and Amazon Music

YouTube Videos of World-Premiere Performance and Interviews with Behind-the-Scenes Material To Be Available in July, 2024

Pacific Symphony and Music Director Carl St.Clair announce the release of the orchestra’s world-premiere recording of Fiat Lux by composer Sir James MacMillan and librettist Dana Gioia, Poet Laureate of the State of California. This is the 11th commercial recording by Carl St.Clair with Pacific Symphony, including numerous recordings with its artistic partner Pacific Chorale. The commissioning and recording of Sir James MacMillan’s Fiat Lux, as well as the world-premiere performances last season, were made possible by a generous grant from Howard and Roberta Ahmanson, Fieldstead & Company, and the National Endowment of the Arts. The release coincides with the finale of Pacific Symphony’s 45th anniversary season leading into Carl St.Clair’s 35th season with the orchestra, making him the longest tenured American-born music director with a major American orchestra.

St.Clair, music director and conductor of the Pacific Symphony, leads the orchestra, and is joined by frequent collaborators Pacific Chorale (Robert Istad, artistic director) and soloists Elissa Johnston, soprano, and Christopher Maltman, baritone.

On the occasion of this world premiere recording of the work, St.Clair commented, "It was both an honor and a profoundly moving experience to conduct the first performances and world-premiere recording of Sir James MacMillan’s Fiat Lux. Pacific Symphony’s exceptional artistry truly brought this magnificent composition to life, complemented exquisitely by the voices of the Pacific Chorale, beautifully prepared by Rob Istad. The superlative solo singing by our vocalists was phenomenal. The glorious sounds of the William J. Gillespie Concert Organ added a profound resonance that elevated the entire performance. And to have Sir James present at all the rehearsals and the concerts—since this is a live recording taken from concerts and not a studio recording—was an extraordinary gift.”

St.Clair concluded, “We are all deeply grateful to Howard and Roberta Ahmanson, whose generosity made the commission, the performances, and this landmark recording possible. This project not only showcases the artistry and vision of everyone involved but also reinforces our commitment to presenting groundbreaking new works to the world."

Fiat Lux serves as an invocation, blessing, and benediction to the glory of God's creation, salvation, and the resilience of nature and man in California.
Specifically, the piece rededicates the Christ Cathedral—the "Crystal Cathedral":
Considered the pre-eminent Scottish composer of his generation, Sir James MacMillan has been hailed by The New York Times as “ceaselessly inventive, evocative, and penetrating.” MacMillan’s Fiat Lux was written in 2020 to mark the 2019 consecration of Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove, Calif. The world premiere was delayed due to the COVID-19 global pandemic and was first performed by Pacific Symphony and Pacific Chorale under the direction of Carl St.Clair in Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall June 15-17, 2023. There was a special encore performance on June 20, 2023 at Christ Cathedral, celebrating their refurbishment of the Hazel Wright Organ, the fifth largest pipe organ in the world.

The large-scale work is based on a poem by Dana Gioia, a California poet laureate and former chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, and also incorporates Latin biblical texts. Approximately 30 minutes long, Fiat Lux is a single through-composed movement made up of five sections: “In the Beginning,” “Chorus,” “Litany of Light,” “Light of the World,” and “Hymn: Cathedral of Light.”

Read the composer note for Fiat Lux.

Pacific Symphony Discography
Music Director Carl St.Clair has led Pacific Symphony in numerous critically acclaimed albums. Under his guidance, the orchestra has commissioned works which later became recordings, including music by William Bolcom, Richard Danielpour, Michael Daugherty, Philip Glass, and Elliot Goldenthal. Read more.

Fiat Lux Recording Credits
Released on the Tonsehen label. Fiat Lux was recorded at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, Calif. on June 15, 16, and 17, 2023. The recording producer is Christian Amonson and recording engineer is John Downey.

Peter Pitout, cover art: Distant Fires V

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FIAT LUX (“Let there be light”)
by composer Sir James MacMillan and librettist Dana Gioia

Carl St.Clair, conductor
Elissa Johnston, soprano
Christopher Maltman, baritone
David Ball, organ
Pacific Chorale—Robert Istad, artistic director
Pacific Symphony

World-Premiere Performance recorded live in
Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Costa Mesa, Calif.
Streaming at Apple Music, Spotify, and Amazon Music on June 10, 2024

 

About Pacific Symphony
Pacific Symphony, led by Music Director Carl St.Clair since 1990, has been the resident orchestra of the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall since 2006. Currently celebrating its 45th anniversary season, the Symphony is the largest orchestra formed in the U.S. in the last 50 years and is recognized as an outstanding ensemble making strides on both the national and international scene, as well as in its own community of Orange County. In April 2018, Pacific Symphony made its debut at Carnegie Hall as one of two orchestras invited to perform during a yearlong celebration of composer Philip Glass’ 80th birthday, and the following month the orchestra toured China. The orchestra made its national PBS debut in June 2018 on Great Performances with Peter Boyer’s Ellis Island: The Dream of America, conducted by St.Clair. Presenting more than 100 concerts and events a year and a rich array of education and community engagement programs, the Symphony reaches more than 300,000 residents—from school children to senior citizens.

In both 2005 and 2010, the Symphony received the prestigious ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming. Also in 2010, a study by the League of American Orchestras, Fearless Journeys, included the Symphony as one of the country’s five most innovative orchestras. The Symphony’s award-winning education and community engagement programs benefit from the vision of St.Clair and are designed to integrate the orchestra and its music into the community in ways that stimulate all ages. The Symphony’s Class Act program has been honored as one of nine exemplary orchestra education programs by the National Endowment for the Arts and the League of American Orchestras. The list of instrumental training initiatives includes Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra, Pacific Symphony Wind Youth Ensemble, Pacific Symphony Santiago Strings, and Pacific Symphony Youth Concert Band. The Symphony also spreads the joy of music through arts-X-press, Class Act, Heartstrings, Lantern Festival Orchestra, and Symphony in the Cities.

About Pacific Chorale
The GRAMMY® Award-winning PACIFIC CHORALE, the resident choir at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, is noted for its artistic innovation and commitment to expanding the choral repertoire. It has given the world, U.S., and West Coast premieres of more than 40 works, including numerous commissions, by such lauded composers as John Adams, Jake Heggie, James Hopkins, David Lang, Morten Lauridsen, Tarik O’Regan, Karen Thomas, Frank Ticheli, András Gábor Virágh, and Eric Whitacre. In addition to presenting its own concert series each season, Pacific Chorale enjoys a long-standing partnership with Pacific Symphony, with whom the choir made its highly anticipated Carnegie Hall debut in 2018. The chorus also regularly appears with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with which it won the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance for its contribution to the live recording of “Mahler: Symphony No. 8, ‘Symphony of A Thousand,’” conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, featuring the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, Los Angeles Master Chorale, National Children’s Chorus, and Pacific Chorale. The choir has performed with such leading orchestras as the Boston Symphony, National Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, and Musica Angelica, among others.