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| 2007-2008 Season | |
2004 Christmas Concerts
December 2004
Christmas Concerts
Saturday, December 11, 2004
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Sunday, December 12, 2004
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As is our custom, our Christmas concerts on December 11 and 12, 2004 presented a variety of beautiful seasonal music that departed a bit from the usual Christmas choral fare.
The centerpiece of the concerts was the stunning Christmas motet O Magnum Mysterium by the late-Renaissance composer Tomas Luis de Victoria. It was surrounded by portions of Victoria 's Missa O Magnum Mysterium, a mass loosely based on the motet. Thus, the audience had the opportunity to hear how the composer drew material from the motet and reused it in the mass. In addition to the motet and mass, there were pieces from the same period by Hans Leo Hassler and Jacob Handl.
The chorus performed several traditional carols in nontraditional settings. There was a striking arrangement by Hungarian composer Zoltan Kodaly of the 15 th century French chant Veni, veni Emmanuel; Michelle Hynson's 2003 arrangement combining Ding Dong! Merrily On High and Angels We Have Heard On High; and the perennial favorite, We Wish You A Merry Christmas, as arranged by Arthur Warrell.
There was also original Christmas music by composers Ned Rorem, Gerald Finzi, and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco; a beautiful carol entitled Lullaby My Jesus set to music transcribed for chorus from Peter Warlock's Capriol Suite; and a selection of delightful carols by Alfred Burt.
The December 11 concert was in the Hefner Auditorium at Asbury Methodist Village in Gaithersburg ; the December 12 concert was at Chevy Chase United Methodist Church in Chevy Chase. Both concerts drew large and enthusiastic audiences.