New Chattanooga Chamber Choir presents inaugural performance this Sunday

Chattanooga Chamber Choir Artistic Director Josh Golden, left, with organist John Wigal. / Harv Wileman photo
Chattanooga Chamber Choir Artistic Director Josh Golden, left, with organist John Wigal. / Harv Wileman photo

The new 25-voice Chattanooga Chamber Choir, led by Founder/Artistic Director Josh Golden, will present its inaugural performance "Requiem: An Offering for a Holy Week" on Palm Sunday, April 14, at the Church of the Good Shepherd on Lookout Mountain.

The program will include full presentations of 20th-century Requiems by French composer Maurice Duruflé and English composer Herbert Howells. A Requiem is vocal music in which prayers and other sacred texts are offered for the repose of the souls of the dead.

If you go

› What: “Requiem: An Offering for a Holy Week”› Where: Church of the Good Shepherd, 211 Franklin Road, Lookout Mountain› When: 5 p.m. Sunday, April 14› Admission: Free› More info: 423-821-1583

"For me, these two contrasting works represent the height of 20th-century Requiem composition, and each has a compelling history," says Golden.

Duruflé was commissioned by the Vichy regime, then in power in France in the mid-1940s, to write a fully instrumental symphonic poem, but he chose instead a Requiem based on Gregorian chant. He set the traditional Catholic text to be accompanied by virtuoso organist, but he eliminated the apocalyptic Dies Irae ("Day of Wrath") section central to most requiems, seeking a calmer, more meditative affect to his piece, dedicating it to the memory of his father.

Howells' setting is a cappella and features writing for double chorus.

"It has a portion of the traditional Requiem text, but the rest is in English and includes texts from the Psalms and the book of Revelation," Golden describes. "It was secretly written in response to the untimely death from polio of the composer's 9-year-old son in 1936, but was not performed publicly until near the end of his life almost 50 years after its composition."

Golden formed this choir with professional soloists and choral singers for this initial concert. His goal is to offer multiple performances per concert season representing the full scope of repertoire for chamber choir.

Soloists drawn from the choir for the Howells piece include the quartet of Kristen Wiram, Emily Halbert, John Overholt and Aaron Murphy. Mezzo-soprano Elisabeth Schrock and cellist Eric Reed are featured in the Duruflé.

This concert is co-sponsored by the Church of the Good Shepherd and will feature its organist/choirmaster John Wigal on the Duruflé Requiem.

"I've played the piece once before, but have still put in three solid months of work to re-prepare it," says Wigal.

'The composer was a master organist himself, so there are tricks like using the same hand to play two different keyboards at the same time. As an organist, though, he understood how to make these things possible and effective, but they are technically hard to achieve. One must also have a full-time assistant at the console to push and pull stops, turn pages, etc. as the organist is so occupied in playing the notes musically and fluently."

"Holy Week is a good time for reflection and for pondering how what happened on the cross affects you as a person and your functional and spiritual role as a Christian in the world today. The Requiem is not traditionally a liturgy for Holy Week, but it is the introspective and ultimately redemptive nature of these two pieces that make them ideal as a lead-in to one of the holiest times of the year," concludes Wigal.

Upcoming Events