BEETHOVEN SYMPHONY NO. 1

The Grant Park Chorus was formed in 1962 by Thomas Peck, who led the group until his passing in 1994. His protégé, Michael Cullen, took up the reins until 1997, after which the Chorus worked with a series of prominent guest conductors until 2002 when an international search identified the current chorus director, Christopher Bell. In a typical year, Bell oversees a chorus of more than 100 singers, along with the Project Inclusion Vocal Fellows, a unique professional development program designed to increase diversity in the field of choral music. Bell prepares all of the Festival’s choral programs and conducts the orchestra and chorus in several concerts throughout the season.

Winners of the 2006 Margaret Hillis Award for artistic excellence, the Grant Park Chorus is a fully professional ensemble with a majority of the vocalists working and living in Illinois. In addition to making frequent solo appearances and holding teaching positions in music schools, universities and private studios across the Chicago area, members of the Grant Park Chorus perform with ensembles such as Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicago a cappella, and the Chicago Symphony Chorus. In 2012, the Grant Park Chorus celebrated its 50th anniversary season with the commercial recording Songs of Smaller Creatures and Other American Choral Works.

During the 2021 Grant Park Music Festival, the Chorus has played a prominent part in the season’s offerings at Millennium Park’s Jay Pritzker Pavilion, with all featured soloists coming from within the ranks of the Chorus—a testament to the depth of talent of the celebrated ensemble. The Chorus will again take the stage on Wednesday, August 18th to perform music by Franz Schubert and Benjamin Britten, and over the following weekend (August 20 & 21) to perform the rarely heard Dettingen Te Deum by George Frideric Handel.

This concert is drawn from the traditional music of Irish choral repertoire with a fresh take on the theme featuring contemporary settings by modern composers. The musical breadth is well represented in this collection of standards. Historically, the music of Ireland finds its roots in a variety of forms. Coupled with the unique sounds of instruments like the banjo or fiddle, the distinct nature of the genre is further accentuated. What makes this concert unique is that it features the chorus.

In Irish culture, music has always played an important role in fostering a sense of hope and joy. Opening the program is a setting of the timeless melody “O Danny Boy” by Ēriks Ešenvalds (b. 1977). Based on the famous text (1913) by the English lawyer and lyricist Frederic Weatherly, “O Danny Boy” is most often paired as it is here with the traditional tune Londonderry Air. Featuring a variety of soloists supported by the sustained lines of the chorus, there is a feeling of sentimentality that captures the theme of the program immediately.

Of course folk song is but one aspect of Irish music. This evening’s concert also features contemporary and sacred works, including Three Motets by the ‘elder statesman’ of the group: Charles Villiers Stanford. Stanford was an organist, music teacher and conductor who wrote a variety of works from operas to songs to symphonies to string quartets. The inclusion of his Three Motets on this program is a stark contrast to the secular pieces to follow.

Rounding out the program is a bouquet of popular Irish standards arranged by various people including Mark Sirett, Leslie Hewlett, Earlene Rentz, Teena Chinn, Craig Courtney, and Desmond Earley, and ending with Erik Jones’ playful setting of the Irish children’s song “I’ll Tell My Ma.” Of special interest is the inclusion of the setting by Joseph Martin (b. 1959). A composer whose works are a staple of church choral libraries around the world, it is a wonderful contrast to see his music in this program of mostly secular works for chorus with his setting of “The Last Rose of Summer.” Martin explained: “I arranged ‘The Last Rose of Summer’ following a wonderful trip to Ireland. It is one of those quintessential love songs that tickles the ear and touches the heart. The song was actually composed by the great Irish songwriter Thomas Moore. Moore based his ballad after a traditional Irish Air called “The Groves of Blarney.” The arching contours of this time-honored song are expressive and filled with deep beauty. In my arrangement I hoped to let the timeless message of life and love speak with gentle grace and sincerity!”

A lovingly themed program built around conductor Christopher Bell—an Irishman himself—this choral concert presents thoughtfully selected music from a wide range of repertoire that is certain to conjure a spirit of both nostalgia and delight.

@2021 Patrick D. McCoy