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Event
40 Voices Singing: Masterworks for Massed Choirs
Join three of Philadelphia's most exciting choral ensembles for a free concert on March 15.
"40 Voices Singing: Masterworks for Massed Choirs" features the Chestnut Street Singers, The Laughing Bird, and PhilHarmonia. The program was organized by the Chestnut Street Singers to celebrate the fifth anniversary of their founding in 2010.
The collaborative program includes more than 50 local singers in works of varying scale and intensity. The titular 40 voices will perform Thomas Tallis' legendary "Spem in alium," also known as the 40-Voice Motet. Written in the late sixteenth century, "Spem in alium" is a masterpiece of Renaissance polyphony, designed for 40 singers each singing their own independent part and standing in a circle around the audience. Due to its incredible complexity, it is rarely performed.
"We're all aware of the fact that this is a once-in-a-lifetime singing opportunity," says Lizzy Schwartz, a Chestnut Street Singers soprano and Board member. "Tallis crafted an incredible work that's at once moving and fun to sing. I was surprised and delighted to find that each one of the 40 parts is a pleasure to sing. And putting it all together with some of Philadelphia's finest choral artists gives me goosebumps."
Other highlights for the massed ensemble include Jordan Nobles' "Lux antiqua," a contemporary piece in which the singers invoke distant galaxies, and a pair of strikingly moving folksongs--one from Lithuania and one from Iceland.
The concert will culminate in an eclectic mass, with each mass movement drawn from a different choral setting of the liturgical text. Each individual ensemble will perform a movement of its own, allowing listeners to discern the groups' different styles and sounds. The mass will also feature two movements sung by the massed ensemble, including Samuel Barber's heart-wrenching "Agnus dei," the choral setting of his "Adagio for Strings," as the grand finale.
As a live performance, "40 Voices Singing" testifies not only to the range of great choral repertoire but also to the vitality of the Philadelphia singing scene. "[The Chestnut Street Singers] have been talking about organizing a big collaborative concert since our founding," explains co-founder and current Board member Caroline Winschel. "Five years ago, though, we felt like upstarts compared to groups like Choral Arts Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Singers. I love the fact that our two partners in this concert, The Laughing Bird and PhilHarmonia, are both younger groups than we are--I think it speaks really well to the continued creative energy of the Philly choral community."
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This free concert is made possible with generous support from the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, PECO, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and the Puffin Foundation.
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Chestnut Street Singers is a Philadelphia-based cooperative chamber chorus. Through live performance, they seek to illuminate the musical, thematic, and textual threads linking Renaissance music to contemporary works. For more information, see www.chestnutstreetsingers.org.
Comprised of four singers from the Philadelphia area, each an established solo, chamber, and choral artist, The Laughing Bird is Philadelphia's premier early music vocal quartet. For more information, see www.laughingbird.us.
PhilHarmonia is a Philadelphia-based 24-voice mixed choir that sings classical and contemporary a cappella choral music. For more information, see www.philharmoniasings.com.
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LocationThe Rotunda (4014 Walnut Street)
4014 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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