(LENOX, Mass.) – The Cantilena Chamber Choir presents Soul & Spirit: Karl Jenkins’ Sacred Songs, a concert for chorus and orchestra, on Sunday, April 15, at 3 p.m. at Trinity Church, Lenox. The concert showcases music by the Welsh composer and musician whose career has straddled the worlds of jazz, rock, and classical music, including a stint as a member of the progressive-rock group Soft Machine.
Karl Jenkins, among the most-performed living composers in the world, made his mark writing commercial music for Levi’s, British Airways, Renault, Tag Heuer, Pepsi, De Beers and Delta Airlines. For Delta, he wrote the famous song, “Adiemus,” that accompanies jets in flight. “Adiemus” combined classical with ethnic vocal sounds and percussion with an invented language and topped classical and “pop” charts around the world. His Armed Man: A Mass For Peace has been performed nearly 1,000 times in 20 different countries since the CD was released, and his recorded output has resulted in seventeen gold and platinum disc awards.
In keeping with its tradition of presenting monuments of Russian choral music, the choir will also perform several signature a cappella works in Russian, including the American premiere of a new work by Siberian composer Valery Kalistratov. The program will also feature American spirituals with guest artists the Mt. Everett High School Choir, winners of the 2011 Lenox Caroling Festivals first prize.
All tickets are $25 and children are admitted free. Tickets may be purchased at the door or in advance through the choir’s website. Reservations: 413.637.2440 or satbchoir@yahoo.com. Trinity Church is located at 88 Walker Street in Lenox.
Now in its eighth season, the Cantilena Chamber Choir is the Berkshire region’s leading a cappella group. For the past three seasons it was heard on a special WMHT Christmas Eve radio broadcast of Lessons and Carols recorded at Trinity Church in Lenox. The choir has collaborated with the New England Baroque Soloists, Aston Magna and the Empire Brass. Past season highlights include a program of Shaker songs performed for the Hancock Shaker Village 50th Anniversary gala; a concert of works by Shostakovich; an all-Berkshire composer concert; programs for children; and special benefits for the Lenox Library and the Berkshire Immigrant Center.
Most recently, the choir appeared in a special presentation produced by WGBY-TV in Springfield called “Together in Song,” a celebration of choral singing in Western New England. The choir is a 2011 recipient of Choral Arts New England’s Alfred Nash Patterson award for its most recent concert “Music in the Berkshire Museum.”
The Cantilena Chamber Choir is under the artistic direction of Andrea Goodman, who is also the director of the Northern Berkshire Chorale in Williamstown and the Saratoga Choral Festival, an annual summer concert series for chorus and orchestra in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.