Scientific Advances Celebrated in Saint Louis

The Chamber Chorus opens its new season with repertoire inspired by scientific observation and discoveries: this introduces a series of programs collectively described as “Voices of Change.” The setting will be the ‘grand space’ of Third Baptist Church in Grand Center, a sanctuary with excellent sightlines and an acoustic ideal for voices.

Mankind has always been fascinated by the stars, and different interpretations & references to constellations pepper the program, from Renaissance composers like Thomas Weelkes and John Dowland, and Baroque genius, Claudio Monteverdi, through the German Romantic, Robert Schumann, to the present day, and the Latvian wunderkind,’ Eriks Esenvalds. With the last composer the Chamber Chorus strays a little from its a cappella roots because the singers will be joined by an ensemble of Tibetan ‘singing bowls’ and musical wine glasses!

Other, non-sung effects are heard in a tour-de-force by contemporary American composer, Eric Whitacre: Leonardo Dreams of his Flying Machine suggests the varied sounds of the winged craft theorized by da Vinci. Firmly back on earth, the Utah-based artist, Grace Brigham, celebrates discoveries made by women scientists like Marie Curie: this piece had won her the “Emerging Composer” prize awarded by the professional ensemble, CANTUS. Another award-winning composer, Gordon Hamilton from Australia, offers a chilling warning about our humanity & technology, with “Turing Believes Machines Think,” that refers to ‘the father of computer science,’ Alan Turing.

Finally, a favorite of the Chorus, the contemporary British composer, Francis Pott, provides a brand new work for eight-part chorus that sets words by the ancient Roman philosopher, Lucretius, who described the nature of matter and atomic theory. Sung in its first English translation (by the 17th century puritan, Lucy Hutchinson, this is the first of six commissions made for the Chamber Chorus to celebrate its anniversary season.

Third Baptist Church
620 North Grand Boulevard
Saint Louis
63103
U.S.