It's hard to believe the choral season in Niagara is all but done this weekend, but it is. Chorus Niagara performs their final concert of the season this evening at the Cathedral of St. Catherine of Alexandria in downtown St. Catharines with a concert titled Feel the Spirit. The concert takes its name from the John Rutter suite of spirituals he recorded with his Cambridge Singers just a few years ago.
Some of the gospel favourites given the Rutter touch include Deep River, Steal Away, Every Time I Feel the Spirit and of course, Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child. Rutter is no stranger to Chorus Niagara, of course, as his works have been performed many times over the years and in fact, he appeared with the Chorus a few seasons back. He is undoubtedly the finest choral composer/conductor of our generation, and in fact wrote a piece specifically for the recent wedding of Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton, the current Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
Another nice aspect of this concert is Feel the Spirit will feature a jazz singer well-known in the Region, Tianna H., who along with her group perform regularly at venues both large and small. I have had the pleasure of knowing Tianna H. for a few years now, dating back to my first narration duties for the annual Black History Month concerts staged by Choralis Camerata. Her voice is a powerhouse, and her interpretative skills are exceptional, so she will be a great addition to the evening's proceedings.
The other half of the concert is a commission jointly funded by Chorus Niagara as well as choirs in Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton and Ottawa, written by Imant Raminsh. Titled Quarternity: A Cantata for Seasons, the work is a lush and harmonic contemporary work exploring the four seasons, much as Vivaldi, Haydn and others have done over the years, as well as the four cycles of life. In spite of being a contemporary choral work, Cooper assures everyone it is still very accessible to the ear and quite exciting to hear.
Joining Chorus Niagara for the concert tonight will be the Orpheus Choir of Toronto, Cooper's 'other' choral initiative, as well as the Chorus iagara Side-by-Side High School Chorale, which is made up of young singers with a love of choral music, who might someday join the adult choir. Musical accompaniment is provided by the Talisker Players.
Should be a great wind-up to a season that has seen a series of "highs" for the folks at Chorus Niagara, beginning of course with their now infamous "flash mob" performance of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah, performed at the food court of the Seaway Mall in Welland last November. To date, that performance has reached 32-million hits worldwide on YouTube, and continuing to grow. Just a phenomenal achievement!
Incidentally, although I won't be selling at the concert this weekend, you can order the John Rutter Feel the Spirit CD conducted by the composer himself through my website, http://www.finemusic.ca/, where you'll find it listed on the Mike's Picks page. Or, you can email me directly at music@vaxxine.com. It's a tremendously uplifting recording and one you'll want in your collection after you hear the performance this evening.
Happy listening!
May 14th, 2011.
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