The WSU Madrigal Singers, Chamber Singers and Women’s Choir, along with special guest choir, the Shawnee Mission South Concert Choir, will present “Music Inspired by Death” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 26, in Wiedemann Recital Hall. Tickets are $7 for general public and $3 for students with other discounts available.
Rather than a solemn and morbid evening of music, the concert’s theme is to demonstrate how events surrounding death have inspired composers to reach out and touch hearts with a rich language of musical ideas.
Monteverdi’s set of madrigals “Tears of a Lover at the Tomb of the Beloved” have vibrant aural imagery that lifts the spirit of a floundering young man so that in the end the nymphs of heaven are singing over the tomb.
“Horizons,” commissioned by the King’s Singers during their tour of South Africa, is the musical tale of how the tribes were invaded by the Dutch colonists. Despite the carnage, the indigenous population responds with a hope and simplicity that is inspiring.
The composer of “The Wish” knew that he was in the end stages of cancer. The lush harmonies with a text that transcends time are his musical gift to his wife. Tom Wine, director of choirs and professor of music education, at (316) 978-3103 or tom.wine@wichita.edu.Tom Wine directs the WSU Madrigal Singers.
The Chamber Singers, with Chris Shaw as director, look at death in different ways, Wine said. There is an absolute celebration of life in the e. e. cummings setting of “I Thank You God.” The listener is asked to look beyond the grave in the tuneful “Remembrance” by Eleanor Dailey. Closing this set is a rousing African-American spiritual, “Ain’t Got Time to Die!”
The Women’s Choir, directed by John Paul Johnson, will present music from a variety of historical styles.
The Shawnee Mission South Concert Choir, with Dustin Cates directing, is one of three choirs from that school that have been invited to perform for the Kansas Music Educators state conference in February. Their program promises to be outstanding and a model for choral excellence.