Pilgrim Festival Chorus (PFC), a 100-member South Shore community chorus representing more than 20 regional communities, presents a four-performance holiday concert series at The Church of the Pilgrimage, 15 Town Square, Plymouth. The series opens with the winter concert, “Seven Joys of Christmas: Music to Celebrate the Season,” on Saturday, December 5 at 7:30 pm, and Sunday, December 6 at 1 pm and 4 pm, and concludes with a community event, “Celebrate! Messiah and Carol Sing,” on Sunday, December 20 at 4 pm. The choral concert is led by Artistic Directors William B. Richter, conductor, and Elizabeth Chapman Reilly, organist. The community sing-along “Messiah” is led by William B. Richter, director, and Michael Eaton, organist, with members of Pilgrim Festival Chorus as soloists.
The concert includes a wide range of carols and seasonally themed music by well-known composers Felix Mendelssohn and Ralph Vaughan Williams, as well as delightful contemporary music by Elaine Hagenberg, Shawn Kirchner, and Eric Whitacre. The centerpiece of the concert is Kirke Mechem’s 1964 suite of carols from different countries, “Seven Joys of Christmas,” which focuses on the various “joys” that come with this festive season.
Mechem, often called the “dean of American choral composers,” wrote the suite for a college chamber choir in San Francisco comprised of freshman singers, only one of whom had ever sung in a chorus. He set aside the challenging program he had planned and arranged carols instead. “I looked for carols from different countries that would express these joys of the season: the joy of love, of bells, of Mary, of children, of the new year, of dance and of song,” Mechem recalls. “I wrote one piece a day, so the work was ready for the first rehearsal.”
More than 60 years later, “Seven Joys” remains a favorite of choirs. “I am of course grateful for the success of ‘Seven Joys,’ but find it somewhat odd that a piece with such humble, utilitarian origins should have become my most popular work,” says Mechem, now age 101. “Could it be because the tunes are so wonderful?” The suite closes with a “quodlibet,” in which familiar carols are sung against one another in counterpoint, sometimes four tunes simultaneously. “Composers have fun with this kind of music — it’s like solving a crossword puzzle,” Mechem notes, inviting listeners to see how many tunes they can pick out.
Mechem learned that “anyone who can carry a tune can sing polyphony,” and the series ends by putting that idea into practice.
Previously held out of town, “Celebrate! Messiah and Carol Sing” is PFC’s community event returning to Plymouth this season, a collaborative undertaking among singers, community members and volunteer soloists, singing Part I (and the “Hallelujah” chorus) of George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah,” one of the world’s best-known choral works. First performed in Dublin in 1742, “Messiah” remains a favorite of singers and audiences worldwide. Led by PFC members, the audience becomes the chorus. Scores are available to borrow, or attendees may bring their own, and the afternoon includes a sing-along of seasonal favorites. Attendees are welcome to sing or just enjoy listening.
Tickets for “Seven Joys of Christmas” are $25 general admission and $20 for seniors and students over 18. Tickets for “Celebrate! Messiah and Carol Sing” are $10. Children ages 18 and under and Card to Culture attendees are admitted free to all performances. Tickets are available at pilgrimfestivalchorus.org, with limited availability at the door.
For more information, visit pilgrimfestivalchorus.org. Follow Pilgrim Festival Chorus on Facebook and Instagram.
Calendar:
“Seven Joys of Christmas: Music to Celebrate the Season” with Pilgrim Festival Chorus
Saturday, December 5, 7:30 pm
Sunday, December 6, 1 pm and 4 pm
The Church of the Pilgrimage, 15 Town Square, Plymouth
Tickets: $25 general; $20 seniors and students over 18; free for ages 18 and under and Card to Culture attendees.
Tickets are available at pilgrimfestivalchorus.org, with limited availability at the door.
“Celebrate! Messiah and Carol Sing” with Pilgrim Festival Chorus
Sunday, December 20, 4 pm
The Church of the Pilgrimage, 15 Town Square, Plymouth
Tickets: $10; free for ages 18 and under and Card to Culture attendees.
Tickets are available at pilgrimfestivalchorus.org, with limited availability at the door.
At this community event, the audience participates as the chorus, with Pilgrim Festival Chorus members adding their voices to the singing of Part I of Handel’s “Messiah” and the “Hallelujah” chorus. A sing-along of seasonal favorites follows. Scores are available to borrow, or bring your own. Come to sing or to listen!