40th Anniversary Season:
“The Choir Supernal”

Sunday, January 22, 2012
Judson Memorial Church

In celebration of our 40th anniversary season, the West Village Chorale, through heavenly sounds both sacred and secular, will take you on a journey into a celestial world. The first half revels in the glories of the a cappella choir, and the second will feature the Chorale's long-time collaborator, pianist Elena Belli. These singularly gorgeous choral gems—from the tender and meditative to the raucous and unconstrained—offer proof that the realms of heaven and earth do collide.

Ralph Vaughan Williams, Mass in G Minor
Norman Dello Joio, Dreamers
John Corigliano, Fern Hill
John Tavener, Song for Athene
Bernhard Lewkovitch, 3 Salmi op. 9, Exsultate
David L. Brunner, I Am in Need of Music
Stephen Chatman, Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind

“The Happy Wanderer”

Saturday, May 14, 2011
Judson Memorial Church

A celebration of folksong from around the world featuring masterful choral settings from thirteen countries in eight languages, including well-known works by Brahms, Holst, Vaughan Williams, Dvořák, Bartók, and Alice Parker. Selections range from classics like “Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair” and “Greensleeves” to contemporary gems including Ward Swingle's “L'amour de moi,” Emma Lou Diemer's “She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain,” and Moses Hogan's “Deep River” and “Elijah Rock.” A truly joyous, tuneful and touching journey to the very heart and soul of music itself.

“Alter Egos!”

Sunday, January 30, 2011
Judson Memorial Church

Bach: Motet #V Komm, Jesu, Komm
Mozart: Kyrie, from the Mass in C Minor
Tchaikovsky: Excerpts from the Liturgy of St. John Chrisostom
Beethoven: Elegischer Gesang
Conley: Immortal Beloved (New York City premiere)
Copland: In the Beginning

Alter-Egos is an exploration of the "flip side of the coin": composers writing in a manner that somehow reflects a mirror image of how we normally perceive their style and aesthetic. Thus, Bach will be romantic, Mozart - dark, Tchaikovsky - sober and religious, Beethoven - calm, Conley - imitating Beethoven, and Copland - sacred and mystical. Not sure what exactly it is we're comparing and contrasting? No worries. In each case, a representative short work will be offered immediately before the featured piece, performed by the Chorale's own magnificent pianist, Elena Belli, string quartet, and the superb mezzo-soprano Sarah Craft.

Mark your calendars and join us on January 30th at our new home, the acoustically marvelous Judson Memorial Church, on Washington Square South at Thompson Street. And don't forget, last year's winter concert sold out, so get your tickets early!

“Around the World in Eighty Minutes”

Saturday, May 8, 2010
Judson Memorial Church

The grand finale to our multiyear series of musical journeys! Scandinavia, England, Germany, France, the West Coast and, most recently, the American South, are some of the stops we've made on our multiyear musical journey, but we've saved the best for last.

For the final concert of this grand expedition, the Chorale traverses all six continents, a multitude of languages, and a vast variety of musical styles. Besides return visits to England, France and Germany, new destinations are as far-flung as Java, South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, and South Korea. Composers include names you probably know, like Palestrina, Bach, Mozart, Brahms, Debussy and Piazzola, along with others less familiar but no less inspiring.

Two featured works bookend this journey in Florence, Italy: Nuper rosarum flores, composed in 1436 for the consecration of Brunelleschi's dome, and Eric Whitacre's jaw-dropping contemporary depiction of Leonardo da Vinci's fascination with flight, Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine. Accompanying this musical feast are an array of percussion instruments from around the world and a multimedia visual display illustrating each work and its composer's time and place. The Chorale once again returns to the wonderful acoustics of Judson Memorial Church for this gala concert. All you need is a ticket to join us on this extraordinary journey.

“American by Birth, Southern by the Grace of God”

Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010
Church of St. Luke in the Fields

We continued our multi-year series of concerts from around the world with a trip to the American South and Appalachia, including the world premiere of a new work by our own artistic director, Michael Conley.

Works included:
• William Averitt’s Afro-American Fragments, based on texts by Langston Hughes
• Classic spirituals and shape-note tunes, in arrangements by Marylou Jackson, Alice Parker, and Brad Holmes
• Choral works by Undine Smith Moore, Adolphus Hailstork, Ronald Stabeli, and Frank Ticheli
• The world premiere of Appalachian Reqiuem, by Michael Conley, WVC Artistic Director with chorus, soloists, string quartet, hammered dulcimer, and piano

“Monks and Sages, Sacred Pages”

Friday, May 15, 2009
Judson Memorial Church

Sunday, May 17, 2009
Sleepy Hollow High School
(Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.)

The West Village Chorale and the Choral Arts Society of Westchester presented a pair of joint spring concerts, entitled "Monks and Sages, Sacred Pages," at their respective urban and suburban venues. Combining their forces into an 80-voice company under Music Director Michael Conley, the West Village Chorale and the Choral Arts Society traversed two 20th century masterpieces: Carl Orff's spectacular Carmina Burana, with two pianos and percussion ensemble; and Leonard Bernstein's lively Chichester Psalms. Completing the program were three glorious motets for double choir by Felix Mendelssohn, in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the composer's birth.

The texts of the popular 1937 Orff work were taken from secular, sometimes bawdy medieval poems uncovered long ago in a Bavarian monastery and are sung in an odd, rhyming mixture of Latin and old German, with a touch of French. The 1965 Bernstein piece sets Psalm 100, Psalm 23, Psalm 131, and verses of Psalm 108, Psalm 2, and Psalm 133 in the original Hebrew, while the Mendelssohn motets, in German, are also drawn from sacred sources, including Psalm 100 ("Heilig," "Denn er hat seinen Engeln," and "Jauchzet dem Herrn").

Conley, who is music director of both groups, conducted the joint concerts. Pianists were Elena Belli and Timothy Heavner; soloists, Nell Snaidas (soprano), Zachary James (baritone) and Sorab Wadia (tenor.)

“Ja, ja, it's a smörgåsbord!”

Saturday, January 24, 2009
Church of St. Luke in the Fields

Our multiyear series of musical journeys around the world continued with a choral tour of Scandinavia! From the romantics, Crieg, Sodermann, Stenhammar and Nielsen, to living composers, we indulged in a true smörgåsbord of musical treats from this underperformed repertoire. It is a body of work which stems from the austere, cold beauty of the Scandinavian landscape, possessing extraordinary lyrical charm and all the drama and color of the northern lights.