Vancouver Chamber Choir serves up a feast of music to celebrate St. Cecilia
Benjamin Britten, Ina Boyle, and three Cecilias are some of the composers on the roster
The Vancouver Chamber Choir
With CECILIA Vancouver Chamber Choir pays tribute to the patron saint of musicians on November 4 at Pacific Spirit United Church.
The third-century Roman saint is the namesake of the November Feast Day of St. Cecilia, which has become a major musical festivity and composers and poets alike have celebrated the day with regular new offerings. This concert is a reminder that Cecilia’s inspiration is not tied to human conventions or categories.
The concert features works by women, including three contemporary Cecilias: Cecilia Livingston, Cecilia Damström and Cecilia McDowall. Also featured is Gaelic Hymns, a gem by Ina Boyle, an underrepresented Irish composer of the 20th century.
Benjamin Britten’s Hymn to St. Cecilia, for which the composer turned to W. H. Auden to commission a poem from him to set to music, rounds out the celebration. The musical setting is rhapsodic with a great array of characters, the most striking of which are imitations of musical instruments in four of the solos (flute, violin, timpani, trumpet). The ending is magical and brings to mind a distancing ship at sea.
The program of this concert might appear to be a little unruly with especially the texts ranging from devout to progressive and serene to anguished. This is a point in itself: inspiration tends to lead us down unexpected paths and make the world more colorful and surprising than sturdy craft. A Cecilian world is one that challenges, comforts and delights.
You can find more information and tickets here.
Post sponsored by Vancouver Chamber Choir.