Tucson Chamber Artists ends its 2009-10 season this weekend with a concert of works closely associated with funerals.
Before you dust off the dark suit and pull out the black veil, take a closer look at the program: These are happy, joyful, enlightening and uplifting Masses. Fauré's famous Requiem is paired with Bach's "Jesu, Meine Freude" and Brahms' "Geistliches Lied," which the professional choir's Conductor/Music Director Eric Holtan says is "among the best five minutes of classical music. It is so exquisite."
"The text is all about not despairing and trusting in the divine providence and benevolence of God as opposed to the wrath and anger and judgment," Holtan added.
That message of hope and joy is a common thread of all three pieces including Fauré's centerpiece.
"People who know this music might think, 'Oh, this is music for a funeral.' That's really not it," he said. "This is really uplifting music."
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The concert, which features Tucson Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster Aaron Boyd performing the solo violin passages in the Fauré, closes the professional choir's 2009-10 season of "Now More Than Ever …" which explored "Hope," "Joy," "Beauty" and, with this weekend's concerts, "Peace." Holtan said the season was built around the notion that in these dire days of economic and world turmoil, we needed to focus on life's beauty.
Meanwhile, TCA will perform in next week's 2010 Western Division Conference of the American Choral Directors Association to be held at St. Augustine Cathedral Wednesday through March 6. They are among only 15 choirs from California, Arizona, Hawaii, Utah and Nevada invited to the conference. The Arizona Honor Choir featuring students from the three state universities and the University of Arizona Symphonic Choir led by Elizabeth Schauer also are scheduled to perform.
Special guests include Hak Won Yoon leading the Korea-based Incheon City Chorale and the Grammy-winning Chanticleer from San Francisco.
If you go
• Tucson Chamber Artists in concert
• Featuring: Violinist Aaron Boydand guest soprano Rachel Carlson.
• When and where: 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Grace St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 2331 E. Adams St.; 2 p.m. Sunday at Christ Church United Methodist, 655 N. Craycroft Road.
• Tickets: $20 and $30, $10 for students; kids through 12th grade are free.
Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@azstarnet.com or 573-4642.
