Hallelujahs will ring out as the Chester River Chorale heralds Christmas and Hanukkah with their 17th annual presentation of A Chester River Holiday, heralding the season of jubilation, joy, and awe with songs of praise, remembrance, and hope for peace and goodwill.
The young voices of the Chester River Youth Choir will again join in for the celebration in the beautiful sanctuary of the Presbyterian Church of Chestertown for two performances, the first at 8:00 p.m. Friday, December 4, and the second at 1 p.m. Saturday, December 5.
“There’s something for everybody in this program,” said Douglas Cox, artistic director, “fresh arrangements of familiar Christmas carols, excerpts from major classical works, music that celebrates both Christian and Jewish religious traditions, and even a few well-known secular carols that are an ever-present part of the American holiday experience. The program will be a joyful kick-off to the holiday season, offered with a spirit of hope that we pray will stay with people into the new year.
The lyrics will be in English, Latin, and Hebrew, some expressing adoration for the humble nativity in Bethlehem, and others for the Jewish deliverance from subjugation two centuries earlier that is symbolized by the miracle that kept the Temple lanterns burning for eight days with one day’s supply of oil. And there will be one in English mocking the mad, mad, mad rush that comes with coping with the holidays.
Some of the music will be familiar to those who have gone to past holiday concerts, and some will be new, such as a prayerful setting of Ave Maria, and an arrangement combining two German folk carols, Still, Still, Still and Silent Night
Instrumentalists will include a nine-piece string ensemble, along with woodwinds, harp, and percussion. They will be joined by Sammy Marshall, the Chorale’s accompanist on piano and Stephen Harouff on organ. Baltimore baritone Spencer Adamson, veteran of many regional opera productions, will be the soloist for Kadusha and for Ralph Vaughn Williams’ Fantasia on Christmas Carols.
For the third year in a row, the Chester River Youth Choir, founded and directed by Chorale soprano Julie Lawrence and now grown to over two-dozen singers, will join in the festivities, meaning the singers will range in age from eight to 80 plus. The young singers will perform Hallelu, a Christmas piece with African American spiritual overtones, and take the lead on Al Hanissim, a traditional Hanukkah song with a triumphant, racing rhythm.
Chorale soprano Michelle Sensenig, a newcomer to Chestertown who is pursuing an advanced degree in music education and conducting, will conduct two of the songs. “I am very pleased to share the podium with Michelle,” Cox said. “We are incredibly fortunate to have her musical talent and leadership in our ranks.”
A cascade of bells, strings, and harp will set the holiday mood before the 85-voice chorale launches into Exsultate Justi, written by John Williams for the soundtrack of Empire of the Sun to express the jubilation of prisoners liberated from a Japanese internment camp. The rousing piece, sung in Latin and reminiscent of centuries older church music, almost instantly became a classic chorale piece upon the movie’s 1987 release.
Another piece in Latin follows, this one part of a Missa brevis (short Mass) written by 18th century composer Georg Reutter, a mentor of the Haydn brothers. The work lay undiscovered in a private library in a Polish castle for more than 200 years until its recent rediscovery. The Chorale is presenting two movements of the Missa in a North American premier.
Among the presentations by the Chester Chamber Singers, drawn from the ranks of the full Chorale, will be The Star Carol, the last of the 15 annual carols written by jazz musician Alfred Burt before his death in 1954.
The audience will get their chance to join in on two Christmas classics, White Christmas and It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.
The concert will be capped with the familiar one-two holiday punch of Joy to the World followed by the Hallelujah Chorus.
Suggested donations at the door are $15. No tickets will be sold. The Chorale has been performing to full houses for the past several years, so patrons are urged to come at least 15 minutes early to be assured of being seated.
Chorale members are amateur singers drawn mainly from Kent and Queen Anne’s counties. If you love to sing, come join us. No audition is required.
The Chester River Chorale is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization funded in part by the Kent County Arts Council and by an operating grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive.
The CRC’s Mission is to provide opportunity and inspiration for amateur singers to strive for artistic excellence. CRC performances entertain diverse audiences and enrich the cultural life of the community. For more information, visit www.chesterriverchorale.org or call 410–928-5566.
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