PORTLAND – The Choral Art Society Singers will present a “Ye Shall Have a Song” concert at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 17, in St. Luke’s Cathedral, 143 State St. It will include Brahms’ “Songs for Women, Horns, and Harp,” Schubert’s “Serenade for mezzo-soprano and male chorus” and Brahms’ “An Die Musik” sung by the men of the Choral Art Society.
All of these works capture the essence of German Romantic song. “Missa Kenya” and “Alleluia,” Paul Basler’s vibrant settings for mixed chorus, horn and piano, provide a beautiful balance for these works.
The concert will conclude with award-winning soprano Rosie Schonberg joining the Choral Art Society for songs from the gospel and spiritual repertoire.
Other guest artists are John Boden and Carolyn Cantrell, horn players, and Patrice Lockhart, harp.
“I chose this program, as I do most of my programs, because of the appealing combination of works: brooding and inward-looking German Romantic songs balanced by the vibrant and extroverted ‘Missa Kenya.’ The gospel songs are icing on the cake: spiritually fulfilling songs that resonate immediately with me and, I hope, the audience,” said director Robert Russell.
The Choral Art Society has more than 150 members, who perform in three ensembles: the symphonic Masterworks chorus of 125, the 60-member Choral Art Singers and the Camerata, a small, a cappella chorus, which is the society’s touring chorus. All singers are skilled amateurs, selected by audition. The chorus offers a concert series every year and appears regularly as guests of the Portland Symphony Orchestra. The Choral Art Society is based in Portland and draws its members from Portland, the surrounding communities, northeastern Massachusetts and the mountains of Maine and New Hampshire.
FMI: call the Choral Art Society office, (207) 828-0043 or visit www.choralart.org.
Tickets may be purchased by calling the Choral Art Society office, (207) 828-0043 or at Macbeans in Brunswick, Books Etc. in Falmouth and in the Old Port, Starbird Music Shoppe in Portland, and Little Sebago Gallery and Frame Shop in Windham.
Advance tickets are $15, tickets at the door are $20 and $15 for students and seniors.
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