Live with me, and be my love,
And we will all the pleasures prove
That hills and valleys, dales and fields,
And all the craggy mountains yields.
— William Shakespeare (?)
Go, lovely rose—
Tell her that wastes her time and me,
That now she knows,
When I resemble her to thee,
How sweet and fair she seems to be.
— Edmund Waller
Michelle, ma belle, sont des mots qui vout très bien ensemble.
— John Lennon
Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited love.
— Charlie Brown
Ah love! From the bard Shakespeare himself to the likes of the hapless Charlie Brown, love has been the theme of countless poems, stories, and songs down through the ages. And this spring, the Glen Ellyn-Wheaton Chorale puts love front and center in our concert LOVE IS IN THE AIR.
Actually, three of the four texts with which I began this post are included in the Chorale's concert. (Guess which one didn't get a musical setting? Sorry, Charlie!) I'm excited about the wide variety of music you'll hear in this concert. Let me give you an overview, and then in coming weeks, stay tuned as Ensemble director Mac Willaert and I talk in greater detail about specific selections.
If you were in our audience for Wintersong 2017, you'll recognize the name Z. Randall Stroope. At Christmas we sang his setting of This Endris Night. Stroope's music is back this spring, and the Chorale is actually going to sing two of his settings. The first is his treatment of Edmund Waller's Go, Lovely Rose. The second is a hauntingly beautiful setting of Song to the Moon for chorus, piano, flute, and oboe.
Representing the more "popular" side of our concert are two arrangements of well-known Beatles tunes. These settings of Michelle and Yesterday were both made popular by the King's Singers, and I think you'll enjoy hearing them sung by the Chorale.
Are you more of a 30s and 40s aficionado? There's something for you too! How about these titles: It's Only a Paper Moon, Love Is Here to Stay, and Stormy Weather? Oh, and speaking of weather . . . the Chorale also takes a run at the Carpenters' hit song Rainy Days and Mondays.
There's much more on the program, and we'll have more to say about it in upcoming posts. But for now, mark your calendar for one of our two concerts: Friday, May 11 at 7:30 p.m. or Saturday, May 12 at 3:00 p.m. Both concerts are at College Church in Wheaton. And watch for more discussion right here in these blogs!
Greg Wheatley
Music Director, Glen Ellyn-Wheaton Chorale