Glacier Symphony and Chorale to perform two impressive works
The Glacier Symphony and Chorale’s March concert Into Paradise will bring the power of the full orchestra and chorale together onstage for two monumental symphonic choral works. The first is the Requiem Mass in D minor by Gabriel Fauré, followed by Ave verum corpus (Hail true body) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The Fauré piece evokes a French Catholic atmosphere with its chant-like musical lines reminiscent of a Latin mass in memory of the departed. Fauré himself said of the work, “Everything I managed to entertain by way of religious illusion I put into my Requiem, which is dominated by a very human feeling of faith in eternal rest.”
Mozart’s choral motet was composed in 1792, six months before he died while he was also writing The Magic Flute and La Clemenza di Tito. Maestro John Zoltek says he chose to complement the two spiritual pieces by Fauré and Mozart with two outstanding examples of John Williams’ deeply felt music Three Pieces from the movie Schindler’s List and Hymn to the Fallen from Saving Private Ryan.
“Both of these pieces are excellent examples of a film composer finding a direct music path into our most emotional places. For different reasons, the two pieces above strike a powerful chord of humanness that cannot fail to deeply affect both those who are performing and those who are listening,” Zoltek explains.
While rehearsing the Glacier Chorale for the piece, chorale conductor Micah Hunter had some enlightening observations about Fauré’s work. “His sensitivity to the text, as well as his highly sophisticated harmonic language became immediately apparent, and I had a wonderful and exhilarating experience searching out the depths of his harmonic functions. I believe it is important for listeners and performers to remember that although the text is liturgical, it is highly poetic as well.” He adds that “Fauré’s music so strongly reflects this textual content that it has been a natural point of emphasis for us in our preparation to sing with a greater degree of understanding than we may normally have when singing foreign language texts.”
Into Paradise will be performed on Saturday, March 14, at 7:30 pm at Whitefish Performing Arts Center and Sunday, March 15 at 3 pm at Flathead High Performance Hall in Kalispell. As with all GSC Masterworks concerts, all youth through grade 12 are admitted free to this concert when accompanied by an adult. Tickets must be reserved in advance by calling 407-7000 or on the web at www.gscmusic.tix.com.