Join Siskiyou Singers for the holidays as we explore the origins of the music we’ve come to love during this special time of year, along with contemporary interpretations of many other seasonal favorites.
Performances of “Ancient Melodies” will be at SOU’s Music Recital Hall in Ashland on Friday, Dec. 8 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 9 and 10, at 3:00 p.m. General admission is $25 ($5 for students and Oregon Trail Card holders). Tickets are available from choir members, at Music Coop or Paddington Station in Ashland, online, or at the door.
The first half of the program will begin with two Spanish villancicos (Christmas carols) from the 16th century. These sprightly pieces will contrast Rachmaninoff’s “Bogoroditse Devo,” and “Videntes Stellam Magi” (“The Wise Men Saw the Star”) by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, a spectacular telling of the story of the wise men written for two antiphonal choirs.
We will also perform contemporary settings of ancient texts, including “O Magnum Mysterium” (“O Great Mystery”) by Morten Lauridsen. Also featured will be a neo-Renaissance piece by well-known local composer William Ashworth and a traditional black spiritual, “See Dat Babe,” in a great concert arrangement, by Stacey Gibbs.
In the second half of the concert we will perform holiday favorites set in exciting ways, including “The Holly and the Ivy” in a heart-warming setting by Alice Parker, and jazz arrangements of “Let It Snow,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” and “Winter Wonderland.” The program will end with a profound setting of “Silent Night” by Ivo Antognini and, as always for our choir, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” as arranged by John Rutter.
Rogue Valley musicologist Ed Wight will present a free pre-concert lecture about the music one hour before the Dec. 8 and 10 performances.
Don’t miss this exceptional holiday celebration!
