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Winter Solstice Round by Becky Reardon is a simple, uplifting choral round often performed in women’s choirs or community singing circles. It’s designed to be sung in overlapping harmonies, evoking the turning of the seasonal wheel: embracing the depth of winter darkness while affirming the promise of returning light and renewal on the longest night.
This is a great piece that has not done in Canada until this upcoming weekend! On December 14th at 4:00pm at the First Presbyterian Church, 10025 105 St NW. (Edmonton, Alberta)
If you’re looking for a fresh, heartwarming way to experience the Christmas story, Bob Chilcott’s Christmas Oratorio is an absolute gem that’s quickly becoming a modern classic. Premiered in 2019 at the Three Choirs Festival to rave reviews as “a palpable success… and utterly new,” this majestic work weaves the familiar biblical narrative from St Luke and St Matthew with beautiful 16th- to 19th-century poetry, creating a compelling and deeply moving retelling of the Nativity.
Chilcott, one of the world’s most beloved choral composers (and a former King’s Singer), brings his signature accessibility and lyrical beauty to every movement. From moments of rapt stillness—highlighted by the Evangelist’s intimate storytelling accompanied by harp and flute—to soaring choral sections and brand-new hymn tunes that invite the audience to sing along, the music is warm-hearted, joyful, and perfectly Christmassy. Standouts include the sweet harmonies of “Jesus Christ the Apple Tree,” the tender “Love Came Down at Christmas,” and an energetic finale that leaves you glowing with festive spirit.Critics have called it “irresistible,” “internally warming,” and “as Christmassy as it gets,” praising its blend of tradition and innovation that captures the magic, wonder, and joy of the season.
Whether you’re a lifelong choral fan or just seeking an uplifting holiday experience, this Oratorio is balm for the soul—accessible yet profound, with melodies that linger long after the final note.I’m thrilled to be singing in an upcoming performance, and I’d love for you to join us! Come celebrate the true spirit of Christmas through this exquisite music—it’s the perfect way to fill your heart with peace and joy. Tickets are available now—don’t miss out!
Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A major, K.622 (1791), his final instrumental work, is the defining masterpiece of the clarinet repertoire.
First movement (Allegro, A major, sonata form)
Opens with a genial, singing orchestral theme in A major that radiates autumnal warmth. The solo clarinet enters with effortless lyricism, spinning long-breathed melodies of almost vocal purity. The development explores minor-key shadows without ever losing poise; the cadenza (Mozart left none, so Stadler’s or modern ones are used) is usually tender rather than virtuosic. Ends in serene sunshine.
Second movement (Adagio, D major, ternary form)
One of Mozart’s most transcendent slow movements: a single, unbroken melodic arch of heartbreaking simplicity over muted strings and gentle pulsation. The clarinet’s chalumeau register glows with ineffable calm; many consider this 5–6 minutes the emotional peak of the entire concerto.
Third movement (Rondo: Allegro, A major)
A sparkling, playful rondo that repeatedly returns to a skipping, hunt-inspired refrain. Five episodes allow the clarinet dazzling runs, leaps, and witty dialogues with the orchestra. The mood is buoyant, almost operatic (echoes of Papageno), and the work dances to a joyful close.
Overall character: intimate, radiantly melodic, poised between happiness and poignant farewell—Mozart at his most humane and technically refined, written for his friend Anton Stadler and the extended-range basset clarinet (modern performances usually on standard A clarinet with downward transpositions).
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s *Pie Jesu*, from his 1985 *Requiem*, reimagines the traditional Latin prayer as a luminous soprano duet. Written for the Latin Mass text—“Pie Jesu, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem”—it blends ethereal melody with lush harmonic shifts, rising from tender pleas to a radiant climax before dissolving into serene resolution. Premiered at St. Thomas Church, New York, with Sarah Brightman and Paul Miles-Kingston, it became an instant classic, later adapted by André Rieu in Maastricht with Kimmy Skota and Mirusia Louwerse. Rieu’s orchestral warmth amplifies Webber’s romantic lyricism, preserving the piece’s devotional core while framing it for popular reverence.
“We Remember Them,” composed by Susan LaBarr in 2017, is a poignant choral work for SATB voices and piano, drawing from a Jewish liturgical prayer of remembrance by Rabbis Sylvan Kamens and Jack Riemer. Its text unfolds as a meditation on grief and continuity: “When we are weary and in need of strength, we remember them… In the laughter of a child, in the flush of a lover’s kiss, we remember them.” The refrain anchors the piece—”As long as we live, they too shall live, for they are now a part of us, as we remember them”—evoking the enduring presence of the departed in the rhythms of the living. LaBarr’s melody, with its contemporary ballad sensibility and accessible harmonies, renders the work suitable for concerts, memorials, or funerals, transforming solemn reflection into a shared act of renewal.
On this Remembrance Day, let us pause amid the shortening light to honor the fallen, whose silent valor secured the fragile edifice of our freedoms. In their names, we pledge not mere recollection, but resolve: to guard against the tempests of division and the sirens of forgetfulness, so that their sacrifice endures not as echo, but as foundation.
Lest we forget.
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