St. Cecilia Chamber Choir Presents the Fauré Requiem and musical potpourri on May 4 and 5 in Damariscotta

St. Cecilia Chamber Choir will present the Fauré Requiem on Saturday, May 4 at 3:00, and Sunday, May 5 at 3:00 p.m., at Damariscotta Baptist Church. The beloved Requiem was first performed in 1888, and has become a standard of the choral repertoire. Paired with the Requiem will be the exquisite Cantique de Jean Racine. Both of Fauré’s works will be accompanied by Sean Fleming on organ and a professional chamber orchestra, with the featured soloists Jonathan Scott, baritone, and Marybeth McCaffrey, soprano. Advance tickets are strongly encouraged for the concerts.

Unlike many works composed in the late 19th century, Fauré left out the more fiery aspects of the Requiem Mass. Of his Requiem, Fauré wrote, “Altogether it is as gentle as I am myself.”

Artistic director Linda Blanchard has selected a potpourri of music for the second half of the concert; including the comforting “Sing Gently” composed by Eric Whitacre in 2020, a setting of Emily Dickinson’s poem “Hope is the thing with feathers” by Christopher Tin, and Elizabethan composer Thomas Weelkes’ “Thule, the Period of Cosmography,” based on an interesting text full of geographical place names. Several pieces based on sea subjects will be sung, including an arrangement of the chantey “High Barbary,” “Full Fathom Five” by Charles Wood, and “The Mermaid.” And be prepared for a surprise or two!

Tickets are $20 for adults, free for students. Purchase them at Sherman’s Maine Coast Book Shop in Damariscotta and online at ceciliachoir.org. For more information, please email , visit facebook.com/stceciliachamberchoir and ceciliachoir.org, or call 207-548-3632.