Sangre de Cristo Chorale. Courtesy photo
Music Director George Case
MUSIC News:
The Sangre de Cristo Chorale will perform The Passing of the Year, the opening concert of its 48 th season, on Saturday, October 11 and Sunday, October 12 in Santa Fe. Both concerts will be at 4 pm at the First Presbyterian Church of Santa Fe. The 52-voice Chorale is led by Music Director George Case and accompanied by pianist Deborah Wagner.
This concert celebrates nature and the changing seasons with music by Jonathan Dove, Aaron Copland, Z. Randall Stroope, Craig Hella Johnson, and more. English composer Dove’s The Passing of the Year weaves poetry by Blake, Dickinson, Tennyson, and others into a dramatic telling of the joyful and poignant passing of a year. Pieces by other composers incorporate poetry by Robert Burns, Langston Hughes, Robert Frost, and Emily Dickinson into music celebrating the harvest, autumn, and the natural world.
Music Director George Case states, “This opening concert is focused on poetry and how composers enhance and honor the words in a poem. The texts were written by revered and lauded poets, and it’s clear the composers chose them deliberately and with intention. Dove’s The Passing of Time provides a wonderful insight into how he viewed the poems. From his lush setting of William Blake’s “Ah, Sun-flower!” to his frenetic setting of Emily Dickinson’s “Answer July,” we can imagine how he wanted to capture the essence of each poem in the seven-movement piece.”
“The music in this concert explores the passing of time, the closing of another year, the fleeting joy in nature, growing older, and the remembrance of people who come in and out of our lives. Although the themes may seem cause for lament, the music across composers is forthright and optimistic, and provides excellent illustrations of the connection between words, music, and composer’s intent.”
Tickets cost $30 for adults and students under 18 are free. Tickets are available online at sdcchorale.org. The First Presbyterian Church is located at 208 Grant Avenue in Santa Fe.
The mission of the Sangre de Cristo Chorale is to entertain, educate, unite, and inspire singers and audiences by performing great choral music. Founded in 1978, the Sangre de Cristo Chorale is among the longest continually performing independent chorales in New Mexico and performs diverse choral music for the educational and artistic enrichment of the audience, the community, and its members.
Sangre de Cristo Chorale. Courtesy photo