The Chorus (and Trumpet) Shall Sound
by Gary Wood, Music Director
"The Chorus (and Trumpet) Shall Sound" was performed on Dec. 2 & 3, 2006

“Founded in 1982, Cantemus Chamber Chorus is committed to maintaining the high standards of musicianship and programming that are our signature. The essential Cantemus experience melds artistry, full engagement and a passion for beauty to create moments of magic for singers and audience alike.”

“High standards – artistry – engagement – passion – beauty – magic”: sounds simple, doesn’t it? As I begin to plan a concert program, I also look beyond the next concert, further into the future, and think about building a choral instrument that can reach greater heights of choral expression through expanded repertoire choices and technical challenges. Usually I have in mind one or two pieces that might serve as a skeletal concert framework.

This year, it seemed right for Cantemus to do a bit more Baroque music, which led me to think about that MESSIAH aria for baritone, trumpet, and keyboard (or orchestra) “The trumpet shall sound.” It’s not a choral piece, but the music just takes off from the very opening bar. Why not inspire that same energy with a Cantemus concert called “The chorus shall sound?” Or how about inviting a trumpet player and baritone singer, resulting in “The trumpet and singer and chorus shall sound?” Well, you get the point. Trumpet, baritone, chorus – all of this linear thinking means that you, the audience, are in for a real treat this December, as Cantemus performs repertoire for trumpet/chorus and baritone/chorus, along with other accompanied and unaccompanied works.

We look forward to singing Halsey Stevens’ contemporary setting of Mary’s song (Magnificat), composed in 1962 for chorus, trumpet, and keyboard. The Magnificat text (Luke 1:46-55), which begins “My soul doth magnify the Lord,” relates Mary’s joy and wonder in a rhythmically vital setting of mixed meters and rhythmic combinations that will create a meaningful listening experience. And what better way to re-visit Baroque choral technique than with a few MESSIAH choruses that sound with a majestic trumpet: “And the Glory of the Lord,” “Glory to God,” and “Hallelujah.”

We’ll also perform “Transeamus usque Bethlehem” (Let us go to Bethlehem) for chorus, baritone solo and organ by the late eighteenth-early nineteenth century composer Joseph Schabel. This work exudes seasonal joy with repeated cries of “gloria, gloria.” With more beautiful sections for baritone solo and chorus, we’ll sing Herbert Howells’ lush setting of words from the fourteenth century beginning “A spotless rose is blowing, sprung from a tender root” and Roger Emerson’s setting of a traditional Christmas spiritual, “Glory Hallelujah to the Newborn King,” which will showcase the baritone soloist’s upper register in a call-and-response style with exuberant choral stylings.

The program is also filled with unaccompanied choral works by Hugo Distler, Vijay Singh, Charles Wood, and Zoltan Kodaly, and includes a setting of Thomas Hardy’s poem “The Darkling Thrush” by a young Minnesota composer named Timothy Takach. And there are also the usual Cantemus surprises which I think I will keep to myself until concert time!

Cantemus seeks ever-higher artistic singing that will challenge your mind, inspire your heart, engage your passion and thrill your artistic senses. We hope you will join us at one of our December concerts as we seek those shared moments of musical magic.