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As an integral part of its mission, the Olympia Choral Society dedicates itself to providing experienced singers the opportunity to share in the joy of performing quality music. Nowhere is this commitment more evident than in OLYMPIA SINGS, the most recent adventure to spring from the fertile brow of our director, Terry Shaw.
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This program is an unencumbered invitation to all interested singers in the area to participate in some glorious music. It is open to all comers for each of three evenings during the dog days of summer. The repertoire may be a major challenge, but an even greater delight.
2005
Unlikely as it may seem, some of the greatest works in the vast universe of choral music are devoted to the most somber of all human experiences - death - and with it the hope of redemption and eternal peace. There are few classical composers who have not devoted some portion of their incredible talent to this bleak topic, and in the first of the OLYMPIA SINGS evenings, we were honored to present three of the most remarkable.
Week one brought back memories of what was probably the greatest hour in the history of OCS, the extraordinary performance of the Mozart Requiem to commemorate the victims of the tragedy of September 11, 2001. Mozart’s is a thesis of terror and condemnation accompanied by a passionate plea for mercy and forgiveness. Generations later, French composer Gabriel Faure redirected the Requiem to emphasize tranquility and hope, and it was this thesis that dominated week two. Finally, the Requiem of contemporary composer John Rutter further redefined the traditional supplication to one of repose and reconciliation.
All in all, OLYMPIA SINGS was a vivid illustration of the sheer power and diversity of the wonderful world of choral music. Further variety was provided by the baroque artistry of Antonio Vivaldi, as the group performed his amazing Gloria, in which he converted an eighty-five word prayer into a work of twelve movements as beautiful as any prayer ever put to music. With the inspired accompaniment of Art Peterson, mere adjectives cannot describe this experiment in community music that exceeded all expectations. When adjectives fail, understatement is the natural consequence, and to merely say that a good time was had by all would be a classic understatement.
2006
The second session of OLYMPIA SINGS was no less unique and challenging. Visualize if you will, a renaissance orchestra consisting of such instruments as a Kortholt, the Hirtenchalmei, the Krumhorn, and the Worstfagott. Now visualize a German composer who dared to break the bonds of these ancient instruments to honor the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary with the greatest muisical instrument of all - the human voice. Visualize further the papacy of Gregory I and the tradition of the Gregorian Chant that has survived for generations, as compline and vespers are sung devoutly throughout the world on a regular basis. This is the style of music featured in the second session of OLYMPIA SINGS under the direction of the masterful Susan Bloomquist, organist and choir director for St. John’s Church in Olympia.
As noted above, it would seem that in the course of their musical creativity, all the major composers have addressed the issue of death. Also as noted, the Mozart Requiem was one of terror and the horrors of the Last Judgment. There was the tranquility and hope stressed by Faure, and the reflection and redemption implicit in John Rutter’s masterpiece. And then there are the gentle concepts of Johannes Brahms, whose Requiem seeks to comfort the living who must deal with and accept death. Brahms’ perspective on mourning was in response to the untimely and protracted death of his close friend and mentor, Robert Schumann. Even so, this Requiem is not a simply a memorial to his mentor, but a tapestry of solace - a message of hope for all.
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