Chiaroscuro: CHORUS PRO MUSICA'S 2011–2012 SEASON
Download the season brochure (PDF format).
Please join us as we present memorable music leading “from darkness to light.”
Sunday, November 6, 2011 at 3 PM
Old South Church
ZOLTÁN KODÁLY: MISSA BREVIS
Johannes Brahms: Warum ist das Licht gegeben
Jonathan Dove: Ecce beatam lucem
Morten Lauridsen O nata lux
Ko Matsushita: O lux beata Trinitas
Thomas Tallis: O nata lux
William Walton Jubilate Deo
Kodály's virtuoso Missa Brevis, aptly subtitled Tempore belli (“In time of war”), was completed in the cellar of a Benedictine convent in Nazi-occupied Budapest and premiered in a cloakroom of the Opera House during the grim Soviet siege of the city. Despite its dark genesis, the Mass shimmers with mystical life and concludes in hope and grandeur.
Brahms's celebrated motet Warum ist das Licht gegeben employs beautiful counterpoint and harmony as it moves from the biblical Job's dark despair to the light of acceptance and hope.
Friday, December 16, 2011 at 8 PM
Old South Church
OTTORINO RESPIGHI: LAUDA PER LA NATIVITÀ DEL SIGNORE
with traditional holiday favorites.
Ottorino Respighi was one of the great orchestral colorists of the 20th century, famous for symphonic poems, including Pines of Rome. His Laud to the Nativity, based on a 13th century poem, is a beautiful pastoral cantata depicting the birth of Jesus. Set for chorus with vocal soloists, a small wind ensemble, and piano (four hands), the work uses madrigals and plainchant to evoke an ancient simplicity while incorporating vivid modern harmonies and beautiful orchestral colors.
Saturday, March 3, 2012 at 8 PM
The Cathedral of the Holy Cross
BENJAMIN BRITTEN: WAR REQUIEM
in collaboration with the Providence Singers,
the Boston Children's Chorus, and
the New England Philharmonic. Performed under the direction of Richard Pittman.
With Sarah Pelletier, soprano; Frank Kelley, tenor; Sumner Thompson, baritone.
Britten's War Requiem is one of the greatest compositions of the 20th century and one of the most profound statements of a pacifist point of view in all of classical music. Written for a commemoration of World War II—the reconsecration in 1962 of Coventry Cathedral—its roots lie deep in World War I, the horrible "war to end all wars." The text intersperses the timeless words of the Latin Mass for the Dead with the poetry of Wilfred Owen, a World War I British soldier who was killed a week before the Armistice.
CpM's performance in the US premiere of this work on July 27, 1963 with the Boston Symphony at Tanglewood is on a commercially-available DVD.
Saturday, June 2, 2012 at 8 PM
NEC's Jordan Hall
JOSEPH HAYDN: THE CREATION
Performed with full orchestra and soloists.
One of the most popular oratorios by any composer and indisputably one of Hadyn's greatest works, The Creation vividly depicts the creation of the world in seven days as described in the biblical Book of Genesis and in Milton's classic Paradise Lost. Haydn's evocation of the primordial chaos is a triumph of orchestral writing, and his depiction of the creation of light is a thrilling tour de force. The chorus, soloists and orchestra bring forth awesome, touching and sometimes amusing pictures of floods, forests, the sun and moon, animals from insects to whales, and finally Adam and Eve. The scope and creative energy are astounding.
Join Us!
Be a subscriber by attending at least three of the four season concerts.
Subscription prices are 10% off single ticket prices. Subscribers have the best seats, invitations to special events, can order extra tickets at a discount, and easily replace lost tickets.
Just check the boxes for the performances you'd like and press "subscribe" and you'll be taken to the subscription page.
If you have any questions or would like to subscribe by phone, call us at
617-267-7442.
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