Thursday, February 12, 2009

Lovely Music for Lincoln's Birthday

Tonight I will have the honor of singing with the Akron Symphony Chorus behind the Akron Symphony in a concert for Linoln's birthday.

In November, I wrote about the ASC concert which included the Vaughan Williams "Dirge for Two Veterans" from his Dona Nobis Pacem. Tonight we will perform the entire work.

It's the kind of music that singers don't really like when they start rehearsals, but love by the time they get to performance.

In last night's rehearsal, we got to hear Charles Ives' "Decoration Day", which is an incredibly cool work, sort of a collage of music.

Tonight the chorus will also perform "Battle Hymn of the Republic", which never fails to stir my heart.

In the second half of the concert, the chorus will be allowed to sit up in the third balcony so we can experience the photochoreography that ASO has commissioned to accompany this concert.

With our new president's affinity for Lincoln, we Americans have been much more aware lately of this pivotal president. Just reading the program notes for tonight's concert will be a history lesson.

The words for the Dona Nobis Pacem are taken from Walt Whitman's poetry. Whitman admired Lincoln so much that he moved to Washington, DC, after Lincoln's election. While he never met Lincoln, he did see the war from all sides while working as an Army nurse. His poetry was deeply influenced by what he saw and heard in the Army hospitals and tents where he worked.

Conductor Christopher Wilkins told us last night that Whitman said that Lincoln had become the poet of America while he had become the voice of the people, a situation that was the reverse of what he had hoped for and expected when he moved to Washington.

If you are or can be in the Akron area tonight, I urge you to attend this inspiring and memorable concert.

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