Faith, Hope ... Music to Inspire! - Spring 2023

Following two concerts focused on music for stage, screen and even video games in November which played to packed houses, Chromatica's April concerts will take place on Saturday, April 15 at 7pm at Peace Lutheran Church, 3201 Camino Tassajara, Danville and on Sunday, April 16 at 4pm at Holy Shepherd Lutheran Church, 433 Moraga Way in Orinda. The Peace Lutheran concert in Danville will feature its popular (and free!) wine reception after the performance.

The poster for these concerts features the colors of the Ukrainian flag and Chromatica has added Ukrainian words to the always popular Do You Hear The People Sing? from Les Misérables.

The centerpiece of the April concerts will feature the glorious Mass in D Major by Antonín Dvořák. Written for a patron to celebrate the opening of a chapel in the grounds of his country estate, it is the only surviving Dvořák Mass. It features an organ accompaniment played by chorus member Dale Scovill. Said Dvořák upon completing the Mass: “It could be called faith, hope and love for God Almighty, and an expression of thanks for this great gift”. A contemporary reviewer (1894) said: “This is truly a magnificent piece of music, such as can only be written at rare intervals even by a Dvořák.” Intensely lyrical and contemplative, it is a Mass of transcendent beauty.

The balance of the program includes the aforementioned Do You Hear the People Sing?, Voces Lucis by Andrea Ramsey with lyrics by Grammy-nominated Charles Anthony Silvestri, and “All that could never be said” from Grammy-nominated Christopher Tin's The Lost Birds, streamed millions of times on Spotify since its release late last year. The program also includes Pentatonix's popular Sing, Carole Bayer Sager's The Prayer, You Raise Me Up, and the lovely I Miss You.