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The St. Louis Chamber Chorus dedicates its efforts to the promotion and appreciation of choral music; its mission is not only to entertain but to educate and inspire. Programs are devised to match music to venue and occasion, and the result is a unique marriage of the architectural diversity of St. Louis with the finest a cappella compositions.
The repertoire of the Chorus ranges from the Renaissance to the present day, and is sung in the original language usually without accompaniment. The Chorus's programs explore the choral writing of acknowledged masters such as Brahms and Holst whose instrumental music may already be familiar; this provides some perspective on composers who are perhaps better known for their orchestral works. In this respect the Chamber Chorus is a classical ensemble, complementing other organizations such as the St. Louis Symphony and Philharmonic Orchestras.
Some composers excelled in writing for the voice, and their works constitute a central portion of the Chamber Chorus's repertoire. Through the Chorus's performances you can appreciate the creativity of a wide chronological and geographical span from Luca Marenzio to Herbert Howells. Many of these works are not widely recorded, if at all, and so our concerts represent a unique opportunity to hear them performed in St. Louis. Every generation may claim its share of the unjustly forgotten, and most Chamber Chorus concerts include hitherto unknown ‘gems,’ sometimes by indifferent composers rising, albeit briefly, to write a beautiful miniature.
Premières are always found in every season, since the Chamber Chorus acknowledges its obligation not only to the composers of yesterday, but of today and tomorrow (see our World and U.S. Premières page). This is not entirely altruistic, as adventurous performers and listeners alike relish the 'new.' To this end, the Chorus has commissioned numerous original works and editions, and has introduced other works to American audiences for the first time. Most concerts each season include a world, American or St. Louis première performance.
As befits a mixed voice choir, particular attention is paid to the literature of the nineteenth century, a period when choral singing enjoyed a great revival and highly proficient choruses developed in many European and American cities. In response to this new constituency composers wrote challenging and extended works, and indeed such masters as Brahms, Mendelssohn, Schubert and Schumann found remuneration in writing for, and training, these ensembles. Most seasons, then, the Chorus performs lieder or motets by these composers and their contemporaries.
Although the Chorus is perhaps a little too large to perform madrigals written on an intimate scale, there is nonetheless much Renaissance repertoire which benefits from a choir - rather than a consort - performance. Among the more recognized composers from this period regularly represented in the Chorus's programs are Handl, Lassus and Weelkes. The renaissance of choral music in Britain during the past hundred years provides another focus for the choir (not a surprise, given the background of the founding and current artistic directors). Consequently, the Chamber Chorus has performed many works by Holst, Howells and Vaughan Williams, and by some St. Louis premières of works by contemporary British composers, such as John Tavener and Malcolm Williamson. Modern American composers are also well represented, with several world or regional premières by Ronald Arnatt, Richard Rodney Bennett and Charles Collins, to name but a few (see our World and U.S. Premières page).
The diverse nature of the Chorus's repertoire is yet more daunting for its linguistic range, since wherever possible original texts are sung, so that each season may span up to ten languages. To respect further the integrity of each work, individual songs or movements are rarely excerpted, so that the audience may appreciate the composer's true intentions. Most significantly, strenuous efforts are made to marry musical texture to a suitable setting, not only culturally but also acoustically; the various venues are the choir's 'instruments,' and each must be 'played' differently. Consequently, the St. Louis Chamber Chorus is not bound by any individual auditorium, and in fact has occasionally traveled beyond its home in the Midwest, performing at The White House, Carnegie Hall, and on tour in Germany.
Within its commitment to the a cappella repertoire, the Chorus observes some practices which afford each season a sense of continuity. The itinerant nature of the ensemble makes such a structure valuable to performers and listeners alike, and provides a framework useful for scheduling. Thus the opening "Voices" concert concentrates upon choral works from one particular country or region: In recent years the Chorus has 'visited' Brazil, Hungary, France, and the alpine locales of Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany.
The second concert tends towards the secular. Previous examples have included politically motivated songs, musical epitaphs, and humorous songs.
The third concert, at Christmas, returns to regionalism by celebrating the holiday through the musical heritage of a particular nation. Previous years have included England, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Scotland, Spain, and Australia.
In contrast with the second concert, the fourth concert, in February, has in recent years usually been presented at the Cathedral Basilica, seeking to marry the Cathedral's architectural grandeur with majestic sacred works from the Old and New Worlds.
A more intimate or 'chamber' concert follows as the fifth performance, generally sung by the men's or women's voices alone.
The irony of springtime is that just as Nature is renewing itself, the Chamber Chorus is preparing to conclude its season. So, the sixth and final concert has always seemed a felicitous moment to perform some of the great works of leave-taking, commemoration and death. Throughout its long history, the choir has performed some of the masterpieces of this genre, including Requiems by Duruflé, Fauré and Mozart, and since its devotion to unaccompanied literature, those by Howells and Richafort. The choir does not confine itself to Christian works, but has performed also Salamone's Rossi's Kaddish and secular farewells by Peter Cornelius and Jon Leifs. In addition, several composers have written works in this vein for the Chamber Chorus, including Richard Rodney Bennett and Sasha Johnson Manning.