Light and Hope
MAGIC VALLEY CHORALE SPRING 2024 CONCERT
This year’s Spring concert is on the theme “Light and Hope, A Concert to Lift the Soul”. It is our sincere
hope that all of us, audience and musicians alike, will be refreshed in light and hope in a world where these
often seem to be in short supply.
The main piece we will perform is Dan Forrest’s Requiem For the Living, which has become one of the
most performed choral works in recent history, since it was composed in 2013. Based roughly on the Latin
Requiem Mass, Mr. Forrest starts us out with the words…
Rest eternal grant to them, O Lord,
And let perpetual light shine. Upon them.
Hear my prayer, for unto Thee all flesh shall come.
Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.
In the second movement, the choir plunges into the depths of human misery and despair with the text:
Vanity of vanities, all is vanity! (from Ecclesiastes)
Merciful Lord Jesus, grant them rest,
Full of tears, (from the Dies Irae)
He said, Let the day perish wherein I was born. (from Job 3:2-3)
The third movement is a plea, containing some of the most superlative choral music imaginable, for mercy:
Lamb of God,
Who takes away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us; grant them rest…
Mr. Forrest does not leave us with a plea for mercy. The fourth movement is a strong and confident declaration:
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory.
Hosanna in the highest!
In the fifth movement, we completely emerge from despair and darkness…
May light perpetual shine upon them, O Lord,
In the company of Thy saints forever;
For Thou art merciful,
Let light perpetual shine on them.
Then, in the fifth movement, we hear the tenor solo singing IN ENGLISH (the only time we hear a text in English):
Come unto me, all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Then, back to Latin, as we hear the choir and a soprano soloist:
Rest eternal grant to them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. Grant us peace.
Dan Forrest’s Requiem for the Living will be bookended by four much shorter pieces, all from living
composers (John Rutter, David Heck Jr., Jake Runestad, and an arrangement by Mack Wilberg). One of these, Let
My Love Be Heard, is another choral work of stunning beauty that has also made its way around the world and is
one of the most performed choral works in recent history.
All of these together are designed to lift us up, to renew our hope, to fill us with Light
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Magic Valley Chorale Vision Statement
The Purpose for the Magic Valley Chorale shall be to promote the
highest possible level of choral music via:
1. Careful selection of repertoire representing a wide variety of styles, to include classical, popular (i.e. familiar Christmas music), world music, jazz, gospel, shaped-note, etc., as well as pieces from all of choral history, from the Renaissance to the 21st century. 1
2. Aiming our efforts toward younger singers, as well as interfacing with children whenever possible, the point being to nurture an appreciation for and participation in excellent choral music for future members of the Magic Valley Chorale.
3. Collaboration with other musical ensembles, dance teams, actors, soloists, and other art forms in the Valley. 2
4. Provision of scholarships for young conductors and other students of choral arts, particularly focusing on CSI students.
5. Join hands with local, national, and international justice agencies by providing financial support via ticket sales, gifts, and corporate sponsorship, so that each concert becomes a means for us to both publicize such agencies and to offer financial support from whatever we bring in that exceeds that concert’s expenses. 3
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1 The 2022 Christmas concert and the 2023 concert with the Symphony Orchestra utilized classical music, show tunes, familiar and unfamiliar Christmas music from 3 centuries (Baroque, Classic, Romantic, early 20th century, and 21st century), African music, aleatoric music, and a cappella (unaccompanied) choral music.
2 The 2022 and 2023 concerts featured collaborations with the Symphony Orchestra, as well as musicians from the same for our Christmas concert, two dance teams, the CSI Madrigal Singers, local soloists, and soloists from within the ranks of the MVC.
3 This is a zero-sum arrangement, whereby we neither lose nor make money, but give to agencies (as voted on by members of the Chorale) what we bring in over and above expenses, dividing these funds between local and national/international agencies, as decided by members of the Chorale.
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The Magic Valley Chorale, Celebrating our 50th year!
In 1958, Roger Vincent founded a community choir (entitled ‘A Chorus of Magic Valley Singers’) that performed Handel’s Messiah under the sponsorship of the Twin Falls Music Club. These annual performances of The Messiah were sponsored by the Magic Valley Council of Churches and the Twin Falls Ministerial Association.
In 1973 the Magic Valley Chorale (MVC) was officially formed, and a board of nine directors was appointed. Roger Vincent was President and conducted the Chorale for our first five years. This year’s performance marks the MVC’s 50th Golden Anniversary!
From 1978 to the Spring of 2021, The MVC was led by Harold Smith, Gary Kirkaby, Patrick Wulliver, Joe Casperson, and Carson Wong. Professor Wong in particular directed the MVC for many years, as they performed such masterpieces as Britten's Mass In Time of War, Brahms'; Requiem, Haydn's The Creation, Mendelssohn's Elijah, plus many other works.
Every three years or so, the Chorale has been privileged to combine our efforts with the Magic Valley Symphony to elevate the quality of our musical offerings. These have been musically and relationally rewarding to all of us, as together we celebrate the spirit of cama- raderie and collaboration, incorporating other expressions of art.
The MVC has a bright future ahead of us, as we seek to further collaborate with other artists (dance, drama, graphic arts, etc.), and especially as we look to give even more effort to the young among us. Specifically, we are initiating a Magic Valley Children’s Chorus (look for
that next Fall!).
If you are interested in joining the MVC and/or involving your children
in this new chorus, let us know at mvchorale23@gmail.com