THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 31, 1997 TAG: 9701290114
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ERIC FEBER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 94 lines
Beat the winter blahs by savoring a concert of uplifting songs and heart-felt spirituals.
That's what will happen if you attend this weekend's annual Winter Concert of the Chesapeake Civic Chorus under the direction of Geraldine T. Boone, noted piano teacher, retired public school choral teacher, concert singer and occasional member of the Virginia Opera Chorus.
Boone said the chorus' forte has always been classical and contemporary sacred music and old-fashioned spirituals. For this Sunday concert it will present an entire program of music for the soul and the heart.
``We do that best and we're performing in a church, so we thought this type of program would be appropriate for the venue,'' said Boone, who is also the Civic Chorus' artistic director.
Boone said the concert will feature the 43-voice choir accompanied on piano by Ernest Brown, a member of the Norfolk State University music faculty and longtime Civic Chorus accompanist.
The evening's program will range from classical and contemporary sacred music to old-fashioned spirituals.
``We'll include a set of negro spirituals,'' Boone said. ``Those are those old-fashioned songs that have call-and-response with a lot of syncopation and those great old-fashioned vocal harmonies. When we sing these songs people will get a flavor of what was performed many years ago.''
The program will open on a classical note with Mozart's ``Veni Sancte Spiritus.''
``First of all, it's Mozart, that alone makes it worthwhile,'' Boone said. ``The piece is a challenge for the chorus. It's sung in Latin, it's short and to the point and it's very beautiful and lyrical.''
To offer a bridge from classical sacred music to contemporary, Boone said she'll follow Mozart by performing two songs from Felix Mendelssohn's oratorio, ``Elijah.'' The first will be ``He, Watching Over Israel.'' The second Mendelssohn selection will feature the women singers only.
``We needed something classical to move us further along from Mozart and thought Mendelssohn would work well,'' she said. ``The first selection will be followed by another song from `Elijah' called `Lift Thine Eyes.' It will be sung by the female voices only, without any musical accompaniment.''
Moving from classical, Boone said the program will then feature ``Lord, Our God Have Mercy,'' a Russian song adapted by N. Lindsay Norden.
``I recently heard the Russian Cossack singers perform it,'' Boone said. ``I also remember the song from my college days. It's based on Russian church music and we'll even include some of the Russian lyrics.''
The rest of the concert's first half will include Allen Pote's ``A Jubilant Song,'' Manuel's ``Alleluia,'' Ken Medema's ``Moses'' and one secular song, Irving Berlin's ``Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor.''
``The Pote song is joyful, it moves and features a lot of musical accents,'' Boone said. ``The Manuel piece is really something. He creates beautiful music. I love this song and if you watch the chorus members halfway through it, you'll see that they're in rapture, it's such a moving work.''
After an intermission, Boone said the chorus will kick off the second half with ``Teach Me Lord,'' a contemporary gospel song written by John Cotes that will feature a special vocal solo by Emma Harris, esteemed area voice and music teacher.
The chorus will then turn back the clock and with a set of spirituals featuring ``Walk Together Children,'' arranged by William Henry Smith; ``Set It Down,'' arranged by Montgomery/Raymond; and ``Oh, What a Beautiful City'' by William L. Dawson.
The entire concert will end with the program's other secular song, ``Like An Eagle,'' by Carl Strommen.
``I picked that song because it will finish the concert on a solemn, yet sweet and meditative note,'' Boone said. ``We think this will be a glorious and very uplifting concert. We consider this our `people's concert,' because we're performing several requests from our supporters and it seems like our audiences really enjoy our sacred songs and spirituals.
``Last year our winter concert was snowed out, we hope this time everything will go on as scheduled. It will be well worth the effort.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff file photo by STEVE EARLEY
Geraldine Boone, director of the Chesapeake Civic Chorus, said the
43-voice choir will perform works ranging from classical and
contemporary sacred music to old fashioned spirituals.
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INSPIRATIONAL SONGS
What: Annual Winter Concert funded in part by grants from the
Virginia Commission for the Arts, the Chesapeake Fine Arts
Commission, the Business Consortium for Arts Support and the Ford
Motor Co.
Who: The Chesapeake Civic Chorus under the direction of Geraldine
T. Boone.
When: 5 p.m., Sunday.
Where: St. Paul's United Methodist Church, 437 Providence Road.
Tickets: $5 donation at the door. Children younger than 12 are
free.
Phone: For more information, call 545-9197 or 421-9784.