St. Charles singers will perform sacred music in St. Charles and Wheaton
Posted Thursday, February 01, 2007
The St. Charles Singers will reach out to a new suburban audience during its spring concerts of sacred music of the 20th-century and Renaissance periods.
The 34-voice professional chamber choir will give its first-ever performances of Maurice Duruflés’ “Requiem,” modern French choral music, at 7:30 p.m. March 31 at Baker Memorial United Methodist Church, 307 Cedar Ave., (Fourth Avenue at Route 64) in St. Charles, and again at 4 p.m. April 1 at St. Michael Church, 310 S. Wheaton Ave., Wheaton.
The April 1 “Duruflé” Requiem and Other Sacred Masterworks’ concert marks the St. Charles Singers’ Wheaton debut, although the ensemble has been performing in metropolitan Chicago for 22 years.
“It’s always exciting to reach a new audience,” Jeffrey Hunt, founder and artist director of the St. Charles Singers, said in a prepared statement. “Wheaton is a culturally sophisticated community that appreciates great music and great singing. We’re delighted that St. Michael invited us to perform as part of their sacred music series.”
Duruflé’s 40-minute Requiem of 1947 combines the timeless spirituality of medieval Gregorian chant with the luminous 20th-century French Impressionism of Debussy, Ravel, and Dukas and the influence of Fauré.
Duruflé (1903-1986) composed several arrangements of the Requiem for various instrumental forces. The St. Charles Singers will perform the version for choir and organ.
Duruflé was an organ virtuoso. The wide-ranging organ part substitutes for an entire orchestra and is notoriously difficult. It will be played by Ellen Coman of Wheaton, the ensemble’s regular organist.
Hunt plans to enrich the audience’s experience of the Requiem through the creative placement of singers in the sanctuary. For the “Sanctus” movement, he will position the sopranos and altos on stage and the tenors and baritones in another location in the hall for a surround-sound experience.
In the “Pie Jesu,” a prayer sung by a solo mezzo-soprano with cello and organ accompaniment, Hunt will have the other singers leave the stage. The soloist will represent the voice of all humanity.
Just as Duruflé’s Requiem draws on ancient and modern musical styles, the seven short Latin motets and English-language anthems Hunt chose to round out the concert span the centuries. Three date from the English Renaissance, written around the time of Shakespeare. These include Orlando Gibbons’ “Almighty and Everlasting God” with its dramatic word painting; William Bryd’s “Sing Joyfully” and John Sheppard’s “Liber nos, salva nos.”
The chorale will also perform the work of Russian “migr” Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971), who underwent a religious reawakening in France, where he wrote his “Ave Maria” in 1934.
Charles Villiers Stanford’s “Beati Quorum Via” is based on a psalm. Stanford (1852–1924) combined European musical training with his Irish heritage of folklore, folk music, and mysticism to bring a fresh vision to English church music.
The concert includes the “Lord’s Prayer” by English composer John Tavener, who won a 2003 Grammy Award.
“Regina Caeli” by Herbert Howells (1892–1983) will also be performed.
Single tickets for the Duruflé Requiem concerts are $35 (premium seating); $25 (general admission) and $20 for seniors age 65 and older and full-time students 23 and younger.
For concert tickets and information for both the St. Charles and Wheaton concerts, call (630) 513-5272.
