Chattanooga Times Free Press - ChattanoogaNow
Choral Arts sings music for Lent
Three days into the season of Lent, Choral Arts of Chattanooga will present a concert themed to the religious observance on Friday night, March 3, at Second Presbyterian Church.
“Dark and Luminous Nights of the Soul,” conducted by Darrin Hassevoort, combines pieces from Brahms, Mozart and Beethoven with contemporary composer Ola Gjeilo.
The concert will open with Mozart’s “Ave Verum” before Choral Arts’ females perform a setting of Psalm 13 by Brahms. Its lyrics ask, “Lord, how long will you so completely forget me?” before evolving from despair to praise, “I want to sing to the Lord for he does such good things for me.”
“It’s deeply moving music, especially meaningful as the season of Lent begins,” says mezzo-soprano Lonna Williams.
The concert title is inspired by the work of contemporary composer Ola Gjeilo, whose pieces conclude the concert.
“‘Dark Night of the Soul’ and ‘Luminous Night of the Soul’ emphasize the idea of moving from darkness into light,” explains Hassevoort. “We all go through dark times, and this music shows that there is always a pathway, there is always light.”
A string quintet will accompany the 26 singers. Chattanooga Symphony & Opera musicians Mark Reneau, Josh Holritz, Robert Elder, Eric Reed and Taylor Brown will perform throughout the concert. Organist and pianist Jason Duroy will accompany the musicians.
Those musicians will be featured in an instrumental chamber music selection, the second movement of Cesar Franck’s Piano Quintet in F Minor.