On Friday, April 28th, the Festival Chorus of Music on the Hill, conducted by Ellen E. Dickinson and accompanied by David H. Connell, and the Wilton High School Madrigals, conducted by Will Mandelbaum, presented Songs of Love & Springtime at the Wilton Presbyterian Church.
The Festival Chorus opened the program with two lively Renaissance madrigals, Sing We and Chant It by English composer Thomas Morley (1557 - 1602), and Fa una canzona by Italian composer Orazio Vecchi (c. 1550 - 1605). For these two madrigals, half of the 34-voice Festival Chorus stood in front of the audience, and half sang from the balcony, surrounding the audience in lively sound.
The Wilton High School Madrigals next performed a set of winter songs. These beautiful melodies invite the audience to remember the season past, and to appreciate the new season ahead. Included in this set of winter songs was the Choral Suite from Frozen, arr. Roger Emerson, “Eyze Sheleg” from Five Hebrew Love Songs by Eric Whitacre, and O magnum mysterium by Morten Lauridsen.
Following the set of winter songs, the Festival Chorus performed two songs welcoming spring, in the section of the program called “The Winter is Past.” Rosephanye Powell’s resplendent Arise, Beloved! setting the composer’s own text based on Song of Solomon 2:7-13, assures the listener, “lo, the winter is past…the rain is gone, the flowers appear, the birds are singing.” Next on the program was Sarah Quartel’s simply beautiful setting of the Langston Hughes poem In time of silver rain. “In time of silver rain, the earth puts forth new life again, green grasses grow, and flowers lift their heads. And over all the plain, the wonder spreads, of life, of life, of life!”
The Madrigals next performed two selections, Rogers Emerson's tender, lyrical Shoshone Love Song (The Heart's Friend), and Moira Smiley’s gentle, hypnotic arrangement of Huddie Ledbetter’s Bring Me Little Water, Silvy, with body percussion.
The Festival Chorus continued with a set of pieces celebrating “Music in Nature,” beginning with Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo’s The Rose, setting the Christina Rossetti poem of the same title. Visit our blog post here to learn more about this mysterious poem and beautiful piece.
The Festival Chorus next performed Anticipation of Spring (Frühlingsahnung) by Felix Mendelssohn, with poetry by German Romantic poet Ludwig Uhland. “O, soft caressing breeze, once more you awaken, sweet songs of springtime, soon violets bloom anew.” (And for German speakers, here is Uhland’s original work: “O sanfter, süsser Hauch! Schon weckest du wieder, Mir Frühlingslieder, Bald blühen die Veilchen auch.”)
Concluding this section was Ralph Vaughn Williams lively arrangement of the English folk song Just as the Tide was Flowing, an audience, and chorus, favorite.
The Festival Chorus opened “Night Songs” with the wondrous Sure on this Shining Night by Morten Lauridsen (his O magnum mysterium was heard earlier on the program), with moving text by James Agee. “Sure on this shining night of star made shadows round, Kindness must watch for me this side the ground.” The Madrigals then performed Kirby Shaw's breathtaking arrangement of Billy Joel's Lullabye.
For the penultimate selection, the 65 voices of the Festival Chorus and the Madrigals led the audience in singing Franz Schubert’s An die Musik, text by Franz von Schober, translation by Richard Lalli. To close the concert, both choruses joined in singing Stephen Paulus’ The Road Home, a beautiful choral favorite.
Many thanks to the Wilton High School Madrigals and Will Mandelbaum for this beautiful collaboration, and to the wonderful audience who joined us on Friday night.
Mark your calendars for the 20th annual Summer Chorus, Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem. Rehearsals are Tuesdays and Thursdays in July, starting Thursday, July 6, from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. with the concert on Thursday, July 27 at 8:00 p.m. at the Clune Center for the Arts at Wilton High School. Singers from all choruses, adults and teens, are welcome to join the Summer Chorus. To register, click here or email info@musiconthehillct.org. See you this summer!