.jpg)
The Rockbridge Chorus, under the direction of William McCorkle, will present a spring concert on Sunday, April 23, at 7 p.m. at Lexington Presbyterian Church. The program will focus on 20thcentury English choral works with brass instruments and organ. Guest organist will be Peggy Haas Howell.
The central work of the program will be John Rutter’s “Gloria,” a dazzling work composed in 1974, which has become a favorite of singers and audiences alike. This piece in three movements, setting parts of the Latin Gloria, pairs the chorus with an ensemble of eight brass players, two percussionists, and a virtuoso organist. “Gloria” displays Rutter’s distinctive harmonic language, his understanding of choral singing from his decades of conducting, composing, and arranging choral music, and his thorough grounding in the rich, fruitful choral tradition of his native England.
Said William McCorkle: “I have wanted for a long time to return to Rutter’s “Gloria,” which the Rockbridge Chorus performed as part of a Christmas concert decades ago. I’m excited to have built this program around this work, sampling other fine pieces for chorus, brass, and organ, and exploring the resemblances and ties which exist between composers in the tradition.
Sharing the program with the Rutter work will be two well-known short works by Ralph Vaughan Williams, arguably the most important, and certainly the most influential British composer of the 20th century: “O Clap Your Hands,” a fanfare-like setting of parts of Psalm 47; and “The Old Hundredth Psalm Tune,” composed for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.
Other anthems from the English tradition will include C Hubert H. Parry’s I Was Glad,” a showpiece for chorus and organ. This setting of Psalm 122, composed for the coronation of King Edward VII in 1902, has been sung at subsequent coronations. A refreshing contrast to the brilliance of the brass pieces will come in Charles Villiers Stanford’s “Beati Quorum Via,” an a cappella setting (1905) of words from Psalm 119; and Colin Mawby’s shimmering setting of the memorable communion text, “Ave Verum Corpus.”
The most recent work on the program represents the English tradition on the west side of the Atlantic. Paul Halley’s luminous “Wondrous Love,” a hauntingly beautiful setting of the American hymn “What Wondrous Love Is This,” alternates choral sections with moments of modal fanfare from the brass. Halley, born in England, raised in Canada, has flourished as a leader in church and choral music in Canada and the U.S., including a 12-year tenure at New York City’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine.
Lynchburg organist and conductor, Peggy Haas Howell has performed extensively in the U.S. and abroad. She was last in Lexington as organist with the Rockbridge Chorus in 2020, performing Vaughan Williams’s oratorio Hodie. Joining her and the Chorus will be an impressive ensemble of brass players and percussionists from the western half of Virginia.
Advance tickets for the performance are available online at rcs.org. ($12.50 / $35 family) or at the door ($15 /$40 family). For more information, call (540) 460-9650.
The Rockbridge Chorus is a part of the Rockbridge Choral Society, which receives support from area individuals, businesses, and organizations.
