Ars Choralis pays tribute to Lincoln

Performances of “Lincoln: Lamp of Liberty” take place this weekend.

The award-winning chorus Ars Choralis will present two performances of “Lincoln: Lamp of Liberty,” a celebration of the nation’s 16th president, this weekend.

The performances will take place Saturday, March 17, at 7 p.m. at Riverview Missionary Baptist Church, 240 Catherine St., Kingston; and Sunday, March 18, at 4 p.m. at Overlook Methodist Church, 233 Tinker St., Woodstock.

Did you know Lincoln loved music? He delighted in hearing fiddle tunes and nonsense songs and wept during sentimental ballads and patriotic tunes. Yet, his taste in music included a broad spectrum of musical genres. Opera was among his favorites.

To capture the Civil War Era in these concerts, Ars Choralis — with piano, guitar, banjo and fiddle — will sing an array of music popular during Lincoln’s lifetime. Among the songs are two arias from Lincoln’s favorite opera, Flotow’s “Martha?”

But the concerts will feature more than Civil War period music. It honors the man who visited gatherings of the contraband slaves and joined in their singing. A friend of Lincoln’s remembered that on one occasion Lincoln was so moved by “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen” and “Go Down Moses” he openly wept. Moses Hogan’s riveting arrangement of “Go Down Moses” will be among the spirituals and freedom songs performed.

This concert commemorates a man of humility and keen wit who once welcomed Sojourner Truth into the White House. She told him that he was the “best man to take the Oval Office,” but admitted that before he became president, she’d never heard of him. Lincoln assured her that he had known of her work well before they met.

Ars Choralis will perform with the gospel choir of Riverview Missionary Baptist Church, led by Tonya VanDermark. The choirs, with narrator Gilles Malkine, instrumentalists Andrea Shaut, Greg Dinger and Jim Sullivan, and a host of others will join their voices in narration and song to Lincoln.

Advance tickets for adults are $18 in advance and are non-refundable. Adult tickets at the door are $22. Tickets for youngsters ages 18 and under are half-price.

Visit arschoralis.org or Ars Choralis’ Facebook page for more information.