The End Is Near!
Yes, the year is going, going…and maybe the last choral sound you’ll hear this most choir happy month will be a friendly chorus of ‘Auld lang syne.’
The next such singing for you could be a church choir rehearsal, or it could be joining in the Mountainside Master Chorale sing along on Sunday, 6 January, where you can sing the Dubois ‘Seven Last Words of Christ,’ and the Lauridsen ‘Lux Aeterna,’ as the chorale begins preparing for its 24th of March concert.
If Haydn is to your taste, and you are a skilled choral singer, you could attend the first rehearsal of the Claremont Chorale of Haydn’s oratorio ‘The Seasons,’ on Monday, 7 January, as the chorale prepares for its concert of Saturday, 23 March. The chorale web-site invites prospective singers to attend this rehearsal and arrange an audition. A taste of the Dubois and a bit of the Haydn (in German) is available on Youtube by clicking on the links below.
Dubois, Seven Last Words of Christ – First Word
Haydn, The Seasons – Spring: introduction and spring chorus.
Because one of our choral community (living between our two endpost colleges) is taking part, here’s an event farther afield in both distance and musical period from the events above: the Jouyssance concerts in Los Angeles and Pasadena on the 5th and 6th of January.
Anthem treasure hunt: If you sing in or direct a church choir or have heard any Lenten choir anthems, you’re invited to take part in a Lenten anthem treasure hunt, before Lent begins in February. Just suggest a couple of good anthems for Ash Wednesday through Easter, either well loved treasures from your choir’s library, or new favorites of this season to be, and use the comments function of this site soon, and soon, hopefully, a list of such treasures should appear here.
Have you news of local special music? Please pass on other special choral music in our area (from Walnut to Rancho Cucamonga, from Mt. Baldy Villlage to Chino Hills, or by someone who sings or directs choral music here, even if it is to happen elsewhere) so that it may find its way to future postings on this site. Special anthems yes, but especially anything where two or more groups or churches join together chorally.
Here’s one more link for you, because some friends will be singing Tallis, Byrd and Campion at a benefit concert in February: the Hilliard Ensemble singing ‘O nata lux.’
Let’s all sing in the New Year!