Mother and Child

Program:

William Grant Still – Mother and Child

Leonard Bernstein – Chichester Psalms

Henryk Górecki – Symphony No. 3
Miriam Khalil, soprano

Simply, but powerfully put, William Grant Still’s Mother and Child is one of the most beautiful pieces you’ve never heard. As more and more of Still’s music is discovered, the composer is posthumously getting the recognition he so richly deserved. The SoNA Singers join us in Chichester Psalms, perhaps Leonard Bernstein’s most popular choral work, and it’s absolutely pure “Lenny”. Biting chords, pungent colors, awe-inspiring harmonies, and masterful orchestration make this music one of a kind. And did you know that the best-selling classical album of all time is Henryk Gorecki’s Symphony of Sorrows? It’s true! And we’re going to play this huge work that contains an entire world of human emotions: love, sorrow, sadness, loss, and an ecstatic enveloping beauty. In Gorecki’s Symphony of Sorrows, internationally-renowned soprano Miriam Khalil will join us to sing haunting Polish texts spanning centuries, giving perspectives from both a mother having lost their child, and a child separated from their parents. This cathartic, emotional program touches a core human experience – each piece evokes the love that exists across time, between a mother and her child.