On Sunday, March 12, Music on the Hill presented March Winds to a full and delighted audience at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport. The Festival Chorus, Jubilate Ringers, and Community Children’s Chorus performed beautiful music about the wind, the sun, the seasons, and the ways in which we are all connected.
The Festival Chorus opened the program with Hymne au Soleil by Lili Boulanger, French composer, and the first female winner of the Prix de Rome composition prize, with text by French poet and dramatist Casimir Delavigne. Unfolding layers of chords echo the awakening of the earth by the sun, “a great hymn of love." Alto Cidalia Kettles’ moving and dramatic solo in the middle of the piece breathes new life into the composition, just as the “the universe, younger and fresher,” is rejuvenated by the newly risen sun.
The Jubilate Ringers next performed Where the Heart Dwells by Artistic Director and conductor, Ellen E. Dickinson, another work that draws inspiration from the wonder of the sun. This work in five parts (parts I through IV peformed here) paints the picture of the sun through the day, opening with With Stillness Comes the Dawn; a single, beautiful, treble melody opens the piece and echos throughout while notes build underneath, culminating in the final cresting of the sun over the horizon. The piece continues with the playful second part Morning Light (Gladness of Heart). Treble bells in Sanctuary play a still and quiet melody over a moving and constant bass line to illustrate a pause in the day, and the finding of sanctuary. The ringers concluded with Brilliant Sun; fresh melody and lush harmonies celebrate and admire the full, brilliant sun.
The Jubilate Ringers continued with Amen, Siakudumisa by South African composer, S. C. Molefe, arranged for handbells by Cathy Moklebust, and accompanied by percussion. Continuing the celebratory section of the program, the Festival Chorus and Community Children’s Chorus, with percussionists, joined together for the joyful and rhythmic Sisi Kushangilia by Victor C. Johnson, a native of Dallas, TX. This jubilant and joyous melody, with simple text in Swahili, surely left audiences singing along, “we will sing, we will dance, we will be glad!”
Moving to the “wind” section of the program, the Community Children’s Chorus sang Wind on the Hill by Victoria Ebel-Sabo with text by A.A. Milne, featuring a beautiful melody for unison treble voices. The Jubilate Ringers presented Sound of the Wind by J. Wayne Kerr.
The Festival Chorus next sang Voice on the Wind by Canadian composer Sarah Quartel. This piece sets an inspiring text, written by the composer, about the empowerment of singing. The chorus also performed Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind by John Rutter, with text from Act II of Shakespeare's As You Like It.
Also featured was Windsong by American composer Dan Forrest, with text from the poem of the same name by American poet Eileen Berry. Berry's beautiful text provides a rich metaphor for healing. Forrest builds textures and creates lush harmonies as the chorus sings “a never ceasing song to tell how things heal."
Next on the program was the expressive and introspective I Dream a World by André J. Thomas, American composer and Professor of Music, Choral Education, and Director of Choral activities at Florida State University, with text by the great African-American poet Langston Hughes. "I dream a world where man no other man will scorn, where love will bless the earth and peace its paths adorn..."
The Festival Chorus brought the program to its high point with Let the River Run by Carly Simon, arranged by American composer Craig Hella Johnson. Dancing keyboard and exciting percussion accompanied this vibrant choral showcase, which was as much fun to sing as it was to experience and hear!
Bells and voices joined together for Over the Rainbow by Harold Arlen and arranged for handbells by Tammy Waldrop. The Community Children’s Chorus introduced the piece, and the audience was invited and delighted to join in singing this favorite a second time.
With a nod to St. Patrick’s Day, the ensembles of Music on the Hill sent the audience on their way with best wishes with Irish Blessing, a traditional Irish melody with traditional Irish text arranged by Eileen Laurence.
Please join the Festival Chorus and the Wilton High School Madrigals on Friday, April 28, for Songs of Love and Springtime, featuring classic choral harmonies and works by Rosephanye Powell, Felix Mendelssohn, Sarah Quartel, Eric Whitacre, and Ola Gjeillo, plus favorites by Ralph Vaughn Williams and Stephen Paulus, and a lively set of Renaissance madrigals!