SATURDAY, MAY 3rd
8:00 PM BLOOMINGTON
(Evangelical Community Church, 503 S. High Street at the corner of East Second Street)

Join us for Johannes Brahms’ choral masterpiece, Ein deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem). Absent from this comforting work are the terrors of the Dies Iræ (Judgment Day) and the mourning of the dead, which are familiar from Requiems following the Roman Catholic liturgy. Instead, Brahms has chosen Biblical passages which console the living who “carry grief.” These texts from Martin Luther’s translation, so familiar to Germans, emphasize the human dimension of this profound piece and focus on the significance of the enduring goodness of what we do in this life more than on an eternal life in another world.

Although the work achieved its finished form about 1868, when Brahms was 35, he had been working on the piece from his youth, and it stands as a supreme example of his characteristic musical subtlety and richness, wasting, as one critic put it, “not a note.” At its center is the familiar “Wie Lieblich” section (“How Beautiful Are Thy Dwelling Places”), which has become part of the standard repertoire of choral assembles everywhere. The soloists are Christina Pier, soprano, and Austin Kness, baritone, both of whom have graced our performances before.

Rounding out the concert are two other meditations on the meaning of life and death; Samuel Barber’s “Knoxville: Summer of 1915” (1948) for soprano solo, on a text by James Agee; and Brahms’ choral “Schicksalslied” (“Song of Fate”), op. 54, an 1871 setting of a poem by Friedrich Hölderlin.

Advance sale tickets at $18 are available at the Sunrise Box Office, on-line at www.BloomingtonArts.info, or from any BCS member. Tickets will be available at the door on the night of the concert for $22; $18 for seniors and students. This event is sponsored by WFIU, the Bloomington Area Arts Council, and the Bloomington Community Arts Commission.

OUR LATEST CD – LAST SPRING'S ELIJAH

On March 3rd, 2007 the Bloomington Chamber Singers presented Felix Mendelssohn's monumental oratorio, Elijah. The concert played to a sold-out house, was one of our most rewarding musical experiences to date, and received a spontaneous standing ovation.

We were honored to collaborate with a wonderful orchestra and four of the finest professional soloists available. Distinguished Professor of Music Timothy Noble delivered a stunning performance as the prophet Elijah, a role for which he is internationally acclaimed. He was joined by Mary Ann Hart, chairperson of the Voice Department at the Jacobs School of Music, tenor Allen Bennett, and soprano Dawn Spaetti. The quartet was masterful, captivating, and inspiring. Music Director Gerald Sousa, now in his 17th season with BCS, conducted the performance.

You can read the concert review that appeared in the Bloomington Herald-Times by clicking here.

A 2-CD set of the performance is now available from any BCS singer or by calling 876-7342.