Event Information:
We invite you to encounter the beauty and complexity of music written for two choruses,
featuring Frank Martin’s enthralling Mass for Double Choir.
Originally written as a personal devotion— “a matter between God and myself”— Frank
Martin's Mass remained hidden from public view for 40 years before the composer allowed its
premiere in 1963. The Mass fuses aspects of Renaissance polyphony with modern harmonic
and rhythmic expression. As the musical world honors the 50th anniversary of Martin’s death,
experience the awe, anguish, and hope of this sublimely human work.
We also present Bach’s dazzling Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied (Sing to the Lord a New
Song), whose scoring for double choir is exploited to its full potential. Bach’s kaleidoscopic
array of textures sees his two choruses echo, support, contrast, compete, and, finally, unite.
Completing our program are two shorter double chorus works: Raffaella Aleotti’s Surge,
propera amica mea (Arise, My Love), written circa 1593; and the world premiere of Andrés
Ballesteros’ Ave Maria. A local composer and Jameson Singers tenor, Ballesteros entwines
ceremonial Latin in one choir with a more personal and subdued Spanish in the other, creating
an exquisite meditation on grief.
Location:
Second Church in Newton, 60 Highland Street, West Newton
Date:
2024-05-05
Time:
15:00
Price Range:
Lowest Price — $5.00
Highest Price — $30.00