When Jefferson Choral Society’s conductor sat down to compose his own setting of “Magnificat,” he was a little intimidated by the task ahead.
“It’s been done by so many of the great composers,” says Aaron Garber, who was invited to compose and conduct it for a premiere at Carnegie Hall in 2006.
Garber says he focused on “how I could make each section different musically. … The text should really dictate what your music (becomes).”
“Magnificat,” also known as the Song of Mary or Mary’s Song, is a hymn that comes directly from the Gospel of Luke.
Garber’s Carnegie Hall concert was eventually canceled by the New York presenter, and now he’s premiering it with JCS during the group’s 20th anniversary concert, set for 4 p.m. April 25 at St. Thomas More Roman Catholic Church.
“The sanctuary (there) is modern, but also traditional,” Garber says. “It’s right for the piece.”
Garber has been a prize-winning composer since his college days, when he won an American Choral Directors Association Composition Competition. He’s mostly composed smaller works for choir and organ, piano or strings. His setting of “My Soul Magnifies the Lord” has sold more than 7,000 copies, and he recently premiered an oratorio, “Jesus, the Son of Our Father,” at the Jefferson Center in Roanoke.
The chorus will be joined by a full, 34-piece orchestra for the 20th anniversary concert. The first half, also conducted by Garber, will consist of classical choruses from major works by Handel, Mendelssohn, Haydn and Faure.
Tickets — $20 for adults and $8 for children 13 and older — can be purchased from JCS singers; at ticket outlets, which include Lynchburg’s Blue Marlin Seafood, Givens Books and Lynchburg Music, Altavista’s Miller’s Jewelry, Forest’s Aylor’s Farm and Garden, Amherst’s What a Blessing Bakery, and Bedford’s Arthur’s Jewelry; or online at www.LynchburgTickets.com.
Call (434) 528-5700 or visit www.jeffersonchoralsociety.org for more information.
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