Description

Ralph Vaughan Williams was unquestionably one of the leading composers of choral music in the twentieth century. While his large-scale works are mainstream repertoire, much of his music for unaccompanied chamber choir remains neglected outside England. He arranged dozens of folksongs for chorus, including the famed Loch Lomond, and wrote for coronations and other the Anglican and Catholic rites. He also set great English literature in a musical language far removed from his folksong- and Renaissance-inspired works. We will present examples taken from throughout his compositional life, with several works you’ve probably never heard in concert before. In addition, we will present the Mass in G minor, one of history’s greatest settings of this historic text, sung by one voice per part. It is a true celebration of this master composer’s sesquicentennial.

Ensemble Photos

Emerald Ensemble. Photo: Bruce Weber