Willamette Master Chorus and Willamette Girlchoir Combine for Winter Celebration

I am so excited about the Willamette Master Chorus’ Winter Celebration Concert. Not only are they performing a “Collage Mass” under the direction of founding conductor, Dr. Wallace Long, they are partnering with the Willamette Girlchoir to perform one of my favorite Rutter masses, Mass for the Children. This will be the second time the Willamette Girlchoir has performed this piece, but the personnel are all different.
Written in five movements, this is a non-liturgical mass. It was first performed by the Willamette Girlchoir when the joined the First United Methodist Church Masterworks Chorale shortly after the piece was debuted at Carnegie Hall in 2003. While Rutter is well known in the world of choral composition, Mass for the Children is a departure from his normal work, as it is written for the blending of adult and children’s voices. While Rutter finds the sound of the children’s voice to be irresistible, he also wrote this Mass as a celebration of the joy he received as a boy soprano when his chorus worked with adult choirs. There are also many who believe that this Mass was written in memory of his son, who died in 2001, however this has not been confirmed. Regardless of why it was written, it is a beautiful piece of music.
The opening Kyrie is absolutely gorgeous with the children’s choir slowly giving way to the adult voices marking the start of the day. As the piece continues, the movements are reminiscent of the hours that mark one day. The middle movement, Sanctus and Benediction was probably my favorite to sing. The blending of the two choruses with the orchestra is indescribable. This will definitely be a well spent Saturday evening or Sunday afternoon.
The concert will be performed in Hudson Hall on the campus of Willamette University on Saturday, February 27 at 7pm, with a matinee performance on Sunday, February 28 at 3pm . For more information or tickets, visit www.willamettemasterchorus.org. Visit www.artsmartsalem.org for a listing of events for the current month and remember, “There’s Something to do in Salem”.