Kingston Choral Society: Eternal Light
This spring, let Ian Juby and the Kingston Choral Society transport you to a world of beauty, light, and serenity with ETERNAL LIGHT, a concert featuring some of the most beloved works of the French choral tradition. Guest Artist Christopher Dawes accompanies on the organ.
At the heart of the program are works by Gabriel Fauré: his luminous Requiem, “a lullabye of death” in his own words, a masterpiece of comfort and peace; his elegant Cantique de Jean Racine and the timeless Pavane. Also on the program are Calme des Nuits by Camille Saint-Saëns — a gently shimmering evocation of stillness — and Maurice Duruflé’s exquisite Ubi Caritas, a tender hymn of compassion and unity.
Guest Artist Christopher Dawes accompanies the choir & will perform works by Jehan Alain & Denis Bédard.
Bruce Kelly, baritone
Kathryn McConnell, soprano
The Requiem, Op. 48, first performed in 1888, was not composed to the memory of a specific person but, in Fauré’s words, “for the pleasure of it.” It has been described as “a lullaby of death” because of its predominantly gentle tone. One of the most loved requiems, we are delighted to return to this wonderful work.
The enchanting Cantique de Jean Racine is the earliest of Fauré’s choral works. Composed while still a student it won the premier prix in composition.
The Pavane in F-sharp minor was written in 1887. It was originally a piano piece, but is better known in Fauré’s version for orchestra and optional chorus. First performed in Paris in 1888 it has become one of the composer’s most popular works.
CHRISTOPHER DAWES is a Toronto-based performer, conductor and consultant. A three-decade fixture of the Toronto music community and frequent collaborator with many of its top institutions, he currently serves as Organist and Director of Music to Rosedale Presbyterian Church, and Artistic Director of the 18-voice a capella Marion Singers of Greater Toronto. For two decades he has served as Collaborative Pianist and Coach to the graduate and undergraduate instrumental and choral conducting programs of the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto, and as a Director of Canada’s Summer Institute of Church Music. Since 2018 he has also chaired the Executive of the Southern Ontario Chapter (SOCHS) of the Hymn Society of the US and Canada. Chris’s graduate work in the area of Music Criticism and musical genre has led to occasional blogging and podcasting under the banner “Ideas About Music,” speaking at conferences, and eventually founding the Celtic-crossover band Chroí in 2013.