Cantilena Chamber Choir: World Favorite Carols
Trinity Church Concert, Lenox, Dec. 6
By: Ariel Petrova - Nov 14, 2009
The performance at Trinity Church will feature music from the list of 50 greatest carols compiled in a survey conducted by the BBC Music magazine in December of 2008. 50 choirmasters from major British and American churches, cathedrals, and chamber choirs were asked to choose their five, all-time favorite carols from the 4th century to the 21st. The results blended old favorites with previously unknown rarities.
Included in the program will be a countdown of the top ten carols by Leighton (Lulla, lulla #5), Warlock (Bethlehem Down #4), Howells (A Spotless Rose #3), Pearsall (In dulci jubilo #2) and the number one favorite carol of all time, Harold Darke's In the Bleak Midwinter. A few less well-known works from the list will also be included such as John Tavener's The Lamb (#24), and Arvo Pärt's Bogoroditse Dyevo (favorite of composer John Rutter). The children's choir will sing the Darke and Pearsall carols, as well See amidst the Winter Snow (#47) by John Goss and I wonder as I Wander (#30) by John Jacob Niles.
Now in its sixth season, the Cantilena Chamber Choir is the Berkshire region's leading a cappella group. It is comprised of 24 singers who possess vocal training, good sight-reading skills, and considerable choral experience. Last season it was heard on a special WMHT Christmas Eve radio broadcast of Lessons and Carols recorded at the church. The Choir has collaborated with the New England Baroque Soloists, Aston Magna, and The Empire Brass. It will appear a second time this December with The Empire Brass at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington. Past season highlights include a concert of works by Shostakovich, an all-Berkshire composer concert, several programs for children, and a special benefit for the Lenox Library with Shakespeare and Company's Annette Miller. The Choir is in residence at Trinity Church in Lenox.
The Cantilena Chamber Choir is under the artistic direction of Andrea Goodman who is also the Director of the Northern Berkshire Chorale in Williamstown and the Saratoga Choral Festival, an annual summer concert series for chorus and orchestra in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
All tickets are $15 and are available at the door or in advance by email from satbchoir@yahoo.com. Phone: 413-637-2440. Trinity Church is located at 88 Walker Street in Lenox. Those interested in more information can visit Cantilena Chamber Choir .