Amid the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, Monadnock Chorus will add to the joy with “Hope for the Holidays” celebrating musical traditions from around the world. This selection of heart-warming holiday music features traditional English Christmas carols, as well as carols from Ukraine and Venezuela, Gospel music from the African-American tradition, a piece celebrating Asian Mahayana Buddhism, winter songs from Norway, a Chanukah celebration in the Jewish Tradition, a hymn from Russian Slavonic Vespers and an Old Scots secular folk song celebrating winter solstice. The program will be anchored by Misa Criolla, a mass based on Argentine and Bolivian folk dances and tunes.
Concerts will be Saturday, Dec. 14 and Sunday, Dec. 15 at 4 p.m., in the Peterborough Town House. Tickets are $20 (students admitted free) and are available at Steele’s Stationers and Toadstool Bookshop in Peterborough, or through the Chorus website: www.monadnock-chorus.org.
“‘Hope for the Holidays’ is centered on our communal desire for peace and human kindness,” said Monadnock Chorus Artistic Director Dr. Matthew Leese. “Around the world, people in many traditions and faiths join at this time of year to sing songs with a focus on heart, love, giving and compassion. As the days grow shorter, we too find ourselves turning inward, examining our core and our principles. This concert will celebrate the diverse ways people around the world use music to express these universal human desires.”
The Chorus is collaborating with Mariposa Museum to amplify the multicultural theme of the concert. Tapestries and artifacts from the Mariposa’s collection reflecting the traditions from which the music is drawn will be on display in the concert hall.
The centerpiece of the musical program, Misa Criolla, is a celebrated work by Argentine composer Ariel Ramirez. Written in 1964, the work was widely hailed as a stunning artistic achievement that combines Spanish text with indigenous instruments and rhythms. The Monadnock Chorus presentation of the work will feature the brilliant Columbian tenor David Rivera-Bozón, as well as an orchestra of guitars, charango (an Andean instrument in the lute family) percussionists, double bass and piano. Rivera-Bozón, currently pursuing graduate studies at the New England Conservatory, is known for his exceptional, robust, vibrant and mesmerizing voice. With his captivating presence he has charmed audiences internationally.
The Monadnock Chorus, celebrating its 60th season, is a volunteer, non-auditioned community chorus. As part of its mission to provide quality choral singing opportunities for area residents, the Chorus presents two major concerts each year. All interested singers are welcome to join at the start of each semester, in January (for May concerts) and September (for December concerts). More information available at www.monadnock-chorus.org.