‘Luminous Night of the Soul’ will open 42nd season
<p class="indent">The Louisiana Choral Foundation’s Masterworks Chorale is launching its 42nd season with a fall concert featuring two performances, at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 19 and 3 p.m. on Oct. 21.</p><p class="indent">Both performances of “Luminous Night of the Soul” will be presented in the sanctuary of University United Methodist Church.</p><p class="indent">The concerts will include two selections based on poetry included in the “Gitanjali” collection of Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore; “Gitanjali Chants” by Craig Hella Johnson and “The Golden Harp” by Gwyneth Walker.</p><p class="indent">In addition to being a poet, Tagore was also a novelist, composer, painter, lecturer, politician and playwright who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913.</p><p class="indent">Music critic Christopher Hyde has said, “Tagore’s poetry extols the beauty of the divine and the beauty of the soul within.”</p><p class="indent">Both “The Golden Harp” and “Luminous Night of the Soul” will be accompanied by a string quartet with piano added for the Gjeilo selection.</p><p class="indent">The concert will end with choral selections from “Wicked” by Stephen Schwartz and arranged by Mark Brymer.</p><p class="indent">The Choral Foundation’s annual Christmas concert, “Angels of the Light,” will be presented in two venues: First United Methodist Church, 7:30 p.m., Dec. 7 and Immaculate Conception Church in Sulphur, 3 p.m., Dec. 9.</p><p class="indent">For those performances, the Masterworks Chorale will present Randoll Bass’ “Festival Magnificat,” accompanied by a treble choir.</p><p class="indent">The centerpiece of the concert will be “Snow Angel,” by Canadian composer Sarah Quartel. “The work asks the listener to see the tremendous potential present in our children,” Quartel said. “It celebrates love, beauty, and the strength that a child’s voice can bring to our troubled world.”</p><p class="indent">Susan Morton, guest cellist, will join with Masterworks Chorale for that selection.</p><p class="indent">“Carols of Central and South America” and “Carols of North America,” arranged by Mark Hayes, will be the final musical pieces of the performances.</p><p class="indent">In addition to Masterworks Chorale, Les Petites Voix, directed by Kari Proksch, will present seasonal selections.</p><p class="indent">The concert will conclude with the traditional “O Holy Night.”</p><p class="indent">A spring concert by Masterworks Chorale that will also feature vocal soloists and a small orchestra, will be held in May with more details to come as the date gets closer.</p><hr /><p class="indent"><em>For more information, visit The Louisiana Choral Foundation page on Facebook.</em></p>