Concert choir to sing out for peace.Byline: Bob Keefer The Register-Guard The Eugene Concert Choir Eugene Concert Choir is a non-profit choral organization based in Eugene, Oregon, United States. It consists of two mixed-voice choruses: the 100-member Eugene Concert Choir (ECC), and the semi-professional chamber group Eugene Vocal Arts Ensemble (EVAE). wraps up its "War and Peace" musical season on Saturday with "Grant Us Peace," a program of choral works by Ralph Vaughan Williams Noun 1. Ralph Vaughan Williams - English composer influenced by folk tunes and music of the Tudor period (1872-1958) Vaughan Williams , Sergei Rachmaninoff and Igor Stravinsky. Accompanied by two guest soloists and with the Oregon Mozart Players Oregon Mozart Players is a professional chamber orchestra based in Eugene, Oregon. The orchestra presents six concert sets in a typical season, in addition to numerous small ensemble performances and recitals by guest artists. expanded to symphonic size, the choir will sing Vaughan Williams' "Dona Nobis Pacem Dona nobis pacem (Latin: Give us peace) is a phrase in the Agnus Dei section of the Roman Catholic mass. It was set as a separate, final movement in Bach's Mass in B Minor. ." Also featured will be the Stravinsky Symphony of Psalms The Symphony of Psalms by Igor Stravinsky was written in 1930 and was commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. , Rachmaninoff's ``Vocalise'' and Robert Kyr's `Voices for Peace.' The concert culminates a weeklong Festival of Peace for the choir. ``I envisioned this concert almost three years ago and had hoped by the time we got to this concert we would no longer need a peace concert,'' said Diane Retallack, the choir's director. ``I hoped we would have a peace concert in celebration of the harmony and tranquility we were experiencing. I am distressed to see how much this concert is needed.'' The Vaughan Williams ``Dona Nobis Pacem'' - that's Latin for ``Give Us Peace'' - is composed around Walt Whitman poetry about the American Civil War American Civil War or Civil War or War Between the States (1861–65) Conflict between the U.S. federal government and 11 Southern states that fought to secede from the Union. . Vaughan Williams published the music in 1936 as the world lurched towards World War II. In one section, a soldier looks at the face of a dead enemy and mourns "a man divine as myself." The piece ends with what Retallack calls "this beautiful vision of peace, this beautiful hope" in which "nation shall not lift up a sword against nation." ``The music is absolutely glorious,'' she said. ``It's stirring. A big anthem that just moves your heart, but it doesn't end with big bombast.'' Guest soloists for the ``Dona Nobis Pacem'' are soprano Carmen Carmen throws over lover for another. [Fr. Lit.: Carmen; Fr. Opera: Bizet, Carmen, Westerman, 189–190] See : Faithlessness Carmen the cards repeatedly spell her death. [Fr. Pelton and baritone James Bobick. Pelton has worked with the Atlanta Symphony and Baltimore Symphony and sang on several Grammy Award-winning classical records. Bobick has sung more than 20 roles for New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is based in Philip Johnson's New York State Theater at Lincoln Center. The company was founded in 1944 with the aim of an opera company that would be financially accessible to a wide audience, innovative in its choice of repertory, and a home . At the start of the concert, Eugene poet Ingrid Wendt will read her poem "Sanctuary," and Toni Van Deusen will read "Hitler's Daughter." They are among two dozen poems published in a small booklet, "Dona Nobis Pacem / Grant Us Peace: Poems," by the Lane Literary Guild. The booklet will be distributed free at Saturday's concert. CONCERT PREVIEW Grant Us Peace What: Eugene Concert Choir's season finale, featuring soloists Carmen Pelton and James Bobick Program: Ralph Vaughn Williams' ``Dona Nobis Pacem''; Rachmaninoff's ``Vocalise''; Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms Where: Hult Center's Silva Concert Hall, Seventh Avenue and Willamette Street When: 8 p.m. Saturday Tickets: $15 to $28 through the Hult box office, 682-5000 Free lecture: Diane Retallack on ``20th Century Musical Language,'' noon Friday, Hult Center's Studio One Preconcert pre·con·cert tr.v. pre·con·cert·ed, pre·con·cert·ing, pre·con·certs To agree on, settle, or arrange in advance. lecture: Composer Robert Kyr on ``Dona Nobis Pacem,'' 7 p.m. Saturday, Silva Concert Hall |
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