The 成人头条 A Cappella Choir and special guest choir, the Andover High School Madrigal Singers, will present 鈥淎 KMEA Preview鈥� at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 22, in Wiedemann Recital Hall.
Tom Wine
In the tradition of a KMEA concert, the choir is singing in four different languages. These include a 10-part Italian love song, 鈥淚o Son l Primavera,鈥� a German double choir masterpiece of the Baroque era, 鈥淪inget dem Herrn鈥� and a South African folk song using a Zulu text.
There is also a 鈥渇un鈥� arrangement, Wine said, of 鈥淚鈥檓 a Train,鈥� originally written for the King鈥檚 Singers. What the television show 鈥淕lee鈥� has done for popular music of this generation, he said, the King鈥檚 Singers did for folk and popular songs 30 years ago.
Emphasizing the national standards for music education, the repertoire includes several selections with unique historical significance.
The Civil War ballad 鈥淭he Vacant Chair鈥� is a tribute to an 18-year-old who was killed in Virginia. The image of the vacant chair is familiar to Midwesterners who have visited the site of the bombed Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. This particular arrangement has two different countermelodies.
In the second verse, the women in the choir become the mothers, sisters and wives left behind in war singing to their soldier 鈥淐ome Home.鈥� Woven throughout the piece is the trumpet playing 鈥淭aps.鈥�
In celebration of Black History Month, the concert closes with the Gospel piece 鈥淭he Storm is Passing Over鈥� by Charles Tindley. Tindley composed songs at the beginning of the 20th century using the chorus and refrain tradition of spirituals.
His 45 Gospel hymns include 鈥淚'll Overcome Someday,鈥� whose chorus was changed to 鈥淲e Shall Overcome鈥� and became the anthem of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s.
The Andover High School Madrigal Singers, Robert Schofer director, is preparing a program that is full of contemporary choral literature. Their program includes a rousing spiritual along with some vocal jazz. The group performs a rich tapestry of choral styles from a variety of musical genres.
This preview program will be repeated at the KMEA鈥檚 state convention on Friday morning, Feb. 26, at Century II.