The (Mostly) ABCs of Music - October 2014

Chromatica, the San Ramon Valley based classical and contemporary music chorus, will perform four concerts in October: a concert reserved for Rossmoor residents, and public concerts on October 18, 19 and 25 in Orinda, Danville and Clayton Valley. Locations and addresses are Holy Shepherd Lutheran Church, 433 Moraga Way, Orinda, Peace Lutheran Church, 3301 Camino Tassajara, Danville and Clayton Valley Presbyterian Church, 1578 Kirker Pass Road, Clayton.

Titled “The (Mostly) A.B.C's of Music”, the concerts will include works from Chromatica's repertoire which includes Thomas Arne, Leonard Bernstein, Johannes Brahms, Luigi Cherubini, Cecilia McDowall and Frank Ticheli.

The Cherubini Requiem in C Minor, written for King Louis XVIII of France for a memorial service for his grandfather Louis XVI, guillotined in the French Revolution, was described by Schumann as “being without equal in the world”. It was performed at Beethoven's funeral at his request.

By a strange twist, Brahms' Liebeslieder, a series of eighteen love songs, is believed to have been inspired by his frustrated love for Clara Schumann's daughter. First performed in January 1870, they have continued to be much loved by audiences across the classical music world and are often seen as Brahms' homage to Schubert.

Adding to these two extraordinary works are a short piece by Thomas Arne titled “Which is the Properest Day to Sing?”, a moving setting of “There Will Be Rest” by Frank Ticheli and a chorus from Leonard Bernstein's musical “Candide” as well as a hauntingly beautiful setting of “A Red, Red Rose” by contemporary English composer Cecilia McDowall.