Horsham Chamber Choir’s autumn concert provides a feast of spiritual and meditative compositions.
At the heart of the programme are Missa Brevis by Hungarian composer Zoltán Kodaly and Berliner Messe by Estonian contemporary composer Arvo Pärt. The former was written while the Soviet Union was bombing Budapest and written initially for solo voices, chorus and orchestra. Kodaly saw out the Battle of Budapest in the shelter of the city’s opera house, and Missa Brevis received its first performance in a cloakroom there. The backdrop for the Berliner Messe by Pärt was the emancipation of the city following the break up of the Soviet Union.
Counterpoints to these historic, emotional and spiritual pieces are “and the Swallow” by Caroline Shaw, set to the text of Psalm 84, and Sonnet 73 by William Shakespeare, arranged by Horsham Chamber Choir’s very own Music Director Timothy Peters. Both pieces help to provide a seasonal vibe for the concert.
