Nylea Butler-Moore, Artistic Director, right, and Nelly Case, Coro rehearsal accompanist reviewing music score for upcoming concerts. Courtesy photo
CORO DE CAMARA NEWS RELEASE
Coro de Cámara returns this fall for its 38th season of delighting Northern New Mexico audiences with enchanting choral music. On October 24 and 25 at 4:00 p.m., the chamber chorus presents “Songs of Enduring Love” with guest organist David Solem. Coro invites you to be encompassed in the exquisite Requiem by Maurice Duruflé and soul-stirring a cappella works by Andrea Ramsey and Morten Lauridsen. (Concert details appear below.)
The featured work, the Duruflé Requiem, premiered in 1947, shortly after World War II. Rooted in ancient chant and influenced by 20th-century French music, the composition reflects Maurice Duruflé’s conservative style and distinctive harmonies that make the chant feel new and relevant to contemporary audiences. Everyone involved in the debut of the Requiem – from the musicians to the listeners to Duruflé himself – had experienced devastating wartime loss.
Duruflé had also lost his father two years earlier, dedicating the Requiem to him. Maurice believed the familiar chants would touch people deeply, while his fresh harmonies might offer a moving and healing experience. Even the final chord of the work creates a sense of hope by not resolving to the tonic. As guest artist David Solem says, “it feels like it’s floating on into eternity,” that “the singing of the Requiem, the ideas of the text, can never be over.” They are eternal.
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After the “Songs of Enduring Love” program, guest organist David Solem will step into the role of Coro’s Collaborative Pianist. Solem, who is a versatile, in-demand musician in the Santa Fe area, expresses his excitement about working with the chorus, stating that he said yes to this role because of the group’s musicality and Artistic Director Nylea Butler-Moore’s incredible direction. He is looking forward to working regularly with the group in a collaborative capacity, and Coro is thrilled that David is joining the team.
Each season, Coro de Cámara offers unique, thematic programs from diverse composers. The chorus aims to achieve excellence in the music it creates, perform programs that educate and expose audiences to diverse musical traditions, and encourage broad community engagement through accessible programming.
Coro’s new season is called “enCOMPASSing,” which includes three thematic words: “encompassing,” “compass,” and “sing.” The three programs will surround you with music that invites you in, explores directions our life journeys take, and broadens our horizons, all through the uniting of voices in song. We hope to see you at our first program as we share sublime “Songs of Enduring Love.”
Concert Information:
Saturday, 10/24 – 4:00pm, Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church, Los Alamos
Sunday, 10/25 – 4:00pm, First Presbyterian Church of Santa Fe
Tickets available at the door and for a discount online.For more information, visit: corodecamara-nm.org.