In Memory... For Peace... Gaining Strength
Nov. 13, 2001
KALAMAZOO -- In the weeks following the national tragedy of Sept. 11, music has been used frequently as a source of solace and hope. The nation remembers its departed, mourns them, contemplates the future, and moves forward.
Beginning at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 17, the Western Michigan University Women's Chorus will present a concert in this spirit of remembrance and healing. The public is welcome to this free performance in the Dalton Center Recital Hall.
Titled "In Memory... For Peace... Gaining Strength," the program will be divided into three segments. "In Memory" will feature Jeffery Van's "Echo," the text of which speaks of a lost loved one and how the memory of that loved one returns to the author in dreams. "For Peace" draws music from the Book of Common Prayer in an antiphon titled "Da Pacem" (Give Peace).
The third segment, "Gaining Strength," rises from the mourning through spirituality and national pride. The "spiritual" will be represented by Ruth Watson Henderson's "Psalm 100," the first line of which reads "O be joyful in the Lord, all ye lands;" and hymns set by Josef Rheinberger. The "national" will be represented by Otmar Macha's Hoj, Hura, Hoj (a Moravian Czech mountain song), Malcolm Dalglish's "Reel a' Bouche" (a French Canadian lilting piece), and Ken Berg's arrangement of "Rothsay-O!" (a Scottish folksong). The three songs share one healing characteristic: a celebration of national heritage.
Media contact: Kevin West, 616 387-4678, kevin.west@wmich.edu