Hillsdale College Presents Sacred Concert
HILLSDALE, Mich. — The Hillsdale College Chapel Choir performed a Sacred Concert in Christ Chapel on Nov. 2. Students, faculty, staff, and members of the Hillsdale Community attended the concert.
The choir performed the 1888 original chamber version of Gabriel Fauré’s “Requiem, Op. 48,” Jan Dismas Zelenka’s “Miserere,” and other works by Healey Willan, Arvo Pärt, and György Orbán.
Timothy McDonnell, associate director of sacred music, conducted the choir and Katherine Rick, adjunct instructor of music, served as the accompanist.
“This was the very first concert that the Chapel Choir had ever performed, and so, the program was designed to convey not only the variety and richness of the sacred repertoire, but also the capacity for beauty to enliven and enrich Christian faith,” McDonnell said. “The whole choir was moved by the reaction of the audience, and I was moved by the audience reaction to our performance of these sacred works.”
Fauré’s “Requiem, Op. 48” was specially chosen for its musical and historical significance. “Although this work is firmly in the 19th-century musical language, the Requiem vividly foreshadows the next century with its richly expanded harmonic palette,” McDonnell said.“‘Requiem, Op. 48,’ has long been a treasured classic of the late-Romantic choral repertoire.”
A video of the performance will be made available here.
To learn more about the Sacred Music Program at Hillsdale College, click here.