Vocal ensembles’ fall concert to feature sacred choral masterworks
The Hanover College Concert Choir, Chamber Singers and Ringers will delve into themes of awe, peace, praise, wonder and grief during their fall concert, titled “The Fire and the Stillness: Each note a flame, each silence a prayer.”
“The Fire and the Stillness” will explore the tension and harmony between passionate praise and quiet prayer through sacred choral masterworks. Selections for the performance, which cover six different styles, will include Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s “Stabat Mater” (Italian Baroque), Franz Josef Haydn’s “The Heavens Are Telling” (classical Austrian), John Rutter’s “O How Amiable” (contemporary British), Tsvetan Denev’s “A Prayer” (contemporary Bulgarian), Georg Philipp Telemann’s “Praise the Name of the Lord” (German Baroque) and Olena Yunek’s “Praise the Name of the Lord” (contemporary Ukrainian).
Hanover’s vocal ensembles, under the direction of Madlen Batchvarova, D.M.A., will perform at 2 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 1, at Fitzgibbon Recital Hall, Lynn Center for Fine Arts. Admission is free of charge.
Vocal music has been part of Hanover’s curriculum since 1838. During its 187-year history, the College’s choir has performed throughout the U.S., including such venues as New York City’s Carnegie Hall, and toured Europe.
Batchvarova, professor of music, is a Grammy Award recipient and experienced conductor, pianist, singer, clinician and adjudicator. She currently serves as the national chair for world musics and cultures for the American Choral Directors Association and has directed festival, honor and all-state choirs in the U.S., Canada, Austria and Bulgaria. She has guided the College’s choral program since 2001. In recent years, she has led Hanover’s ensembles during tours of Bulgaria and the southern U.S., and directed performances for academic ceremonies, regional churches, professional sporting events and the inauguration of former Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb ’90.
