St. Charles Singers To Showcase Sacred Music At 2023 Winter And Spring Concerts In Wheaton And St. Charles

The St. Charles Singers, led by founder Jeffrey Hunt, will present two distinctly different programs of sacred music at its March and June 2023 concerts, which conclude the celebrated chamber choir's 39th season. Each program will be heard in Wheaton and St. Charles, Illinois.

"The sound of medieval chant will reverberate through our 'Echoes of Splendor' concerts in March," Hunt says. "It's a musical thread connecting the sacred works we've chosen from the Middle Ages through the 21st century. All but one, Gabriel Fauré's Requiem, were composed by women."

The choir's season finale program in June, "Canta, Alma Mia" (Sing, My Soul), comprises a cappella religious works from America and Europe. The choices were inspired, Hunt says, by the settings and acoustics of the historic churches in Spain and Portugal where the St. Charles Singers will tour the program shortly after the Chicago-area performances.

'Enchanting' winter concerts

The St. Charles Singers' winter "Echoes of Splendor" program will open with Fauré's Requiem in D Minor, Op. 48, "a remarkable work of great serenity and beauty," Hunt says.

The St. Charles Singers, accompanied by the Metropolis Chamber Orchestra, will perform the version for soloists, mixed-voice choir, organ, and instrumental chamber ensemble, edited by English composer and choirmaster John Rutter.

Chant-like elements include repeated notes sung by the baritone soloist in the Offertoire section.

The late French Romantic composer's 30-minute work stands apart from other great Requiems, Hunt says, because of its "ethereal, sublime, and peaceful character."

Archetypal sounds of medieval chant will also echo through the second half of the program, which features 20th and 21st century works by female composers Lili Boulanger, Nancy Grundahl, Jocelyn Hagen, Cecilia McDowall, Alice Parker, and Elaine Hagenberg, plus two pieces by Hildegard von Bingen, German medieval mystic, abbess, and saint.

Grundahl and Hagen composed modern takes on the von Bingen works, and their versions will be paired in concert with von Bingen's originals.

"It will be enchanting," Hunt says.

Boulanger's intimate "Pie Jesu" (Pious Jesus), scored for mezzo-soprano, string quartet, harp, and organ, will be sung by St. Charles Singers ensemble artist Margaret Fox. Hunt describes it as "an amazing piece, full of mystery, passion, and depth."

The program will be heard at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 4, at St. Michael Catholic Church, 310 S. Wheaton Avenue, Wheaton, Illinois; and 3 p.m. Sunday, March 5, at Baker Memorial United Methodist Church, 307 Cedar Avenue, St. Charles, Illinois.

Inspirational music blossoms on spring program

The St. Charles Singers' spring "Canta, Alma Mia" (Sing, My Soul) program of sacred a cappella works offers listeners a preview of what the choir will sing on its mid-June concert tour of historic churches in Spain and Portugal.

Audiences will hear 17 works from the Renaissance to today, including Spanish Renaissance master Tomás Luis de Victoria's "O quam gloriosum" (O, how glorious), Scotsman James MacMillan's "Miserere" (Have mercy), and British composer Herbert Howells' "Regina Caeli" (Queen of Heaven).

Music from the US comprises works by the colonial era's William Billings, widely considered the country's first choral composer, and a host of 20th and 21st century names, including luminaries Samuel Barber, Charles Ives, Morten Lauridsen, Ned Rorem, Jake Runestad, Alice Parker, and Eric Whitacre, among others.

Concerts are at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 3, 2023, at St. Michael Catholic Church in Wheaton, and 3 p.m. Sunday, June 4, 2023, at Baker Memorial United Methodist Church in St. Charles.

Single-admission tickets to the St. Charles Singers' March and June concerts are $40 for adults, $35 for seniors 65 and older, and $10 for students. Group discounts are available.

Tickets and information are available at stcharlessingers.com or by calling 630-513-5272. Tickets are also available at Townhouse Books, 105 N. Second Ave., St. Charles (checks or cash only at this ticket venue). Tickets may also be purchased at the door on the day of the concert, depending on availability.

Founded and directed by Jeffrey Hunt, the St. Charles Singers is a chamber choir dedicated to choral music in all its forms. Hailed by American Record Guide as "a national treasure," the mixed-voice ensemble includes professional singers, choral directors, and voice instructors, some of whom perform with other top-tier Chicago choirs. Classics Today has called the ensemble "one of North America's outstanding choirs," citing "charisma and top-notch musicianship" that "bring character and excitement to each piece." The Chicago Tribune has described the St. Charles Singers as "splendidly disciplined, beautifully responsive" and proclaimed, "Chamber chorus singing doesn't get much better than this." Among the St. Charles Singers' prominent guest conductors have been renowned English composer John Rutter, founder of the Cambridge Singers; Philip Moore, composer and former music director at England's York Minster cathedral; and Grammy Award-winning American choir director Craig Hella Johnson. The choir launched in St. Charles, Illinois, in 1984 as the Mostly Madrigal Singers.

St. Charles Singers
2023 Winter and Spring Concert Season
Complete Program Listing

Echoes of Splendor

Saturday, March 4, 2023, 7:30 p.m., St. Michael Catholic Church, Wheaton
Sunday, March 5, 2023, 3:00 p.m., Baker Memorial United Methodist Church, St. Charles

Gabriel Fauré: Requiem in D Minor, Op. 48
Lili Boulanger: "Pie Jesu" (Pious Jesus)
Hildegard von Bingen: "Karitas habundat" (Love abounds) and "Laus Trinitatis" (Praise to the Trinity)
Nancy Grundahl: "Caritas Abundat"
Jocelyn Hagen: "Laus Trinitatis"
Cecilia McDowall: "O Oriens" (O Rising Sun)
Alice Parker (arranger): "When I Can Read My Title Clear"
Elaine Hagenberg: "Alleluia"

Canta, Alma Mia (Sing, My Soul)

Saturday, June 3, 2023, 7:30 p.m., St. Michael Catholic Church, Wheaton
Sunday, June 4, 2023, 3:00 p.m., Baker Memorial United Methodist Church, St. Charles

James MacMillan: "Miserere" (Have mercy)
Herbert Howells: "Regina Caeli" (Queen of Heaven)
Tomás Luis de Victoria: "O quam gloriosum" (O, how glorious)
John Rutter: "Open thou mine eyes"
Jocelyn Hagen: "Mother's Song"
Jake Runestad: "Let My Love Be Heard"
William Dawson: "Ezekiel Saw de Wheel"
Paul Manz: "E'en So Lord Jesus Quickly Come"
Elaine Hagenberg: "Alleluia"
Morten Lauridsen: "O Nata Lux" (O Born of Light)
Eric Whitacre: "This Marriage"
Alice Parker (arranger): "When I Can Read My Title Clear"
Charles Ives: "Psalm 100"
Samuel Barber: "Agnus Dei" (Lamb of God)
William Billings: "The Bird"
Ned Rorem: "Sing My Soul His Wondrous Love"
Shawn Kirchner (arranger): "Unclouded Day."