On Sunday, October 1st, the Taylor Festival Choir will present a choral concert entitled “So Hallow'd the Time,” a performance featuring two choral cycles written by two renowned American composers: Stephen Paulus, generally regarded as one of the great compositional voices of the 20th and 21st centuries; and Seattle-based Brian Galante, a rising star in the choral field. The work performed by Paulus will be his “Christmas Dances,” a lush, neo-romantic setting of texts by legendary writers such as Christopher Smart and Ben Johnson on the Christmas birth narrative. Brian Galante says this about his work:On Sunday, October 1st, the Taylor Festival Choir will present a choral concert entitled “So Hallow'd the Time,” a performance featuring two choral cycles written by two renowned American composers: Stephen Paulus, generally regarded as one of the great compositional voices of the 20th and 21st centuries; and Seattle-based Brian Galante, a rising star in the choral field. The work performed by Paulus will be his “Christmas Dances,” a lush, neo-romantic setting of texts by legendary writers such as Christopher Smart and Ben Johnson on the Christmas birth narrative. Brian Galante says this about his work:
So Hallow'd the Time takes the listener through a journey of self-discovery and renewal, as the end of one year yields to the optimism and hopefulness of a new. The five movements—titled Wisdom, Peace, Love, Light and Hope—progress through Advent and Christmas, toward the New Year, with texts by William Shakespeare, John Milton, Robert Southwell and Alfred Lord Tennyson, coupled with excerpts from the “O Antiphons”, the traditional antiphons used in Vespers during the final days of Advent.
Both works are set for chamber choir, harp, flute and violin.
“I am so honored to be conducting these two works by truly great composers who both happen to be personal friends of mine” Robert Taylor states. “Stephen Paulus (who past away from complications after a stroke in 2014) was a hero of mine as far back as 1987. We became friends as he traveled to our beautiful city to hear me conduct his works with the Taylor Festival Choir and the Charleston Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. What a marvelous composer! And an even better person! As for Brian, he is like family. My wife Mary and I have watched him grow from a bright undergraduate at LSU into being one of the major forces in choral music in the United States. What a privilege.”
Tickets for the concerts can be purchased at www.TMGCharleston.com
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Editor’s Note – This is an unedited press release
