Remembrance Day can mean many different things to people. For Island Voices Chamber Choir, under the direction of Jenn Forsland, it is a chance, once again, to present a concert of thoughtful music and emotional readings honouring those affected by war.
This concert will also feature the Campbell River Children’s Choir under the direction of Barbara Prowse.
Throughout the concert, local actors will read from personal and family accounts of war collected from the community. Conductor Forsland has chosen a wide variety of moving repertoire to guide a thoughtful reflection of the realities of war.
All That They Had They Gave was written to honour those who fought in World War I, with the text pulled from Rudyard Kipling’s “The King’s Pilgrimage”(1922).
The audience will hear a gorgeous setting by Eleanor Daley of the familiar In Flanders Fields as well as Homeward Bound by Martha Keen, an anthem for soldiers returning home from war.
A text from Mother Theresa is exquisitely rendered in Prayer by Rene Clausen. A Cuban sacred chant, a Spanish blessing, How Lovely are the Messengers composed by Felix Mendelssohn, and Graeme Langager’s prize winning interpretation of Gaudium Vestru Sit Plenum will be sure to stir the emotions.
The Campbell River Children’s choir River choir and the smaller Zephyr choir will sing After the War, a touching love song, by Paul Gross and David Keele which was featured in the film ‘Passchendaele’, Alleluia Incantation by Andrew Miller, and Epitaph composed by Malcolm Dalglish with poetry by Wendell Berry.
The Zephyr choir and Island Voicestogether will sing the familiar Irish Blessing, arranged by Katie Moran Bart.
The Campbell River Concert is at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 11 at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, 34 South Alder Street. Entrance is by donation.
For more information visit, www.islandvoiceschamberchoir.bc.ca or call 250-285-3560.
Island Voices will also be performing at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 11, at St. George’s United Church, 505 6th Street in Courtenay.