POSTPONED: Madrigal Singers and Concert Choir Choral Concert: “Reflection and Celebration”

About the event

The WSU Madrigal Singers and Concert Choir will perform on Thursday, April 20 at 8:00pm in Bryan Hall Theatre.

“Reflections and Celebrations”  will feature English madrigals, Chinese folk songs, and Rossini’s operatic style, Southern gospel hymns, Georgian dance rhythms, Mendelssohn’s flowing melodies, and contemporary works as we take you on a global excursion through music and language.  The concert is free and open to the public.

The Madrigal Singers, directed by Lori Wiest, professor of Music, will perform English Renaissance madrigals by John Wilbye, John Dowland, Thomas Bateson, and Thomas Tomkins that have a melancholy view of love.  The Lamentations of Jeremiah, sung in Latin and composed by Orlandus Lassus (Orlando di Lasso) setting of the first 3 verses of the lamentations, reflect on the fall of Jerusalem.  Concluding their performance will be four settings of Chinese folksongs, sung in Mandarin, featuring Jasmine Flower, Riding on a Mule, Guessing, and Fengyang Song, all arranged by Chen Yi.

Concert Choir will perform Rossini’s festive and operatic Toast pour le nouvel an (Toast for the New Year) followed by a reflective contemporary composition by Swedish composer Sven-David Sandström’s To See a World which develops from one short melodic motif into a gloriously rich romantic harmony.  Felix Mendelssohn, known for his beautiful melodic phrases, composed a prayer for peace, Verleih’ uns Frieden, performed with pianist Frankie Bones, graduate student in piano performance.  Celebrating the folk music and drum rhythms of the country of Georgia, Doluri captures the drum sounds and the rhythmic energy of the Georgian language.  Concluding the concert, we will return to our American roots with a rousing Southern hymn, Unclouded Day, arranged by Shawn Kirchner, incorporating a feeling of bluegrass harmonies that will lift your spirits and leave you humming the tune!