The Choir of King's College, Cambridge is familiar to many Chicagoans through its annual Christmas Eve special, "A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols," which is broadcast every year on 98.7 WFMT.
Devotees of the English choral tradition can hear the world-famous Choir performing live at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago on Tuesday, March 24 at 7:30 p.m. The concert is part of the Symphony Center Presents (SCP) concert series.
Stephen Cleobury has served as the Choir's music director for 30 years. He will lead the group in traditional and contemporary English choral music, as well as selections by French composers Fauré and Poulenc. The March 24 program also features a solo organ work by organist and composer Naji Hakim.
The concert will include two anthems from the Choir's most recent recording, English Hymn Anthems. I recently had the opportunity to ask Cleobury, who was touring with the Choir on the East Coast last week, about some of the works on the Chicago program, including the anthems "Hear My Words" by Herbert Parry and "Lord, thou has been my refuge" by Vaughan Williams. I asked him to explain the difference between hymns and anthems:
"Anthems come in many shapes and forms, but are nearly always settings of words from the Bible, although some use religious poetry for a text," Cleobury said. "They are usually written to be sung by a choir. Hymns, in contrast, are nearly always based on poetry, although the poems are very often linked to or inspired by words from the Bible. Musically they are simpler in form than anthems, as they are intended for massed congregational singing."
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