Concert: War and Peace

Westchester’s largest chorus will close its fourth season on Saturday, May 17, 2014, at 7:30 pm at the Irvington High School with a program, War and Peace, featuring two transfixing choral compositions written during vastly disruptive and painful historical events: Ralph Vaughan Williams’ deeply moving Dona Nobis Pacem, composed between two world wars and based predominantly on the Civil War poetry of Walt Whitman, and Franz Josef Haydn’s Missa in Angustiis (Mass in Times of Anguish, aka Lord Nelson Mass), penned at a time when the world had a divided opinion about the victories of Napoleon Bonaparte.

While living during different historical periods and in different parts of the world, Walt Whitman, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Franz Josef Haydn are among those artists who undeniably reveal both their torments and their hopes regarding the times in which they were living, times which are not unlike those in which we are living today.  Whitman is considered one of the greatest American poets of the 19^th century, Vaughan Williams is the first truly English composer of the 20^th century and is so beloved by his countryman that he is buried in Westminster Abbey, and Haydn is called the father of the symphony and was loved both by his Austrian countryman as well as the Frenchman that were invaders in his country.  Music lovers won’t want to miss this extraordinary coupling of two masterworks which will include professional soloists and full orchestra along with the Hudson Chorale.  Whitman’s beloved Beat! beat! drums! Blow! bugles! blow! accompanied by drums and bugles stands in musical and emotional contrast to the final words of both pieces: Dona nobis pacem (grant us peace).

Following the concert, the audience is invited to join the performers for an informal reception, a long-standing Hudson Chorale tradition.  Tickets are $25, $10 for students, and can be purchased at the door or in advance by calling (914) 332-0133, or through the website:  www.hudsonchorale.org.  Irvington High School is located at 40 North Broadway, Irvington, NY.  Handicap parking is available and conveniently located.