LCPC’s All Saints Concert Features Duruflé Requiem

^{First published in the Oct. 13 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.}

The La Cañada Presbyterian Church’s All Saints Concert on Sunday, Oct. 23, at 2 p.m. features two of the most luscious works for choir and orchestra.
The concert will be presented in-person, and livestreamed on the LCPC website. As this year marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Ralph Vaughan Williams, the choir and orchestra will commemorate by performing his luminous “Serenade to Music” in the first half of the program.
The climax of the afternoon will be the requiem by Maurice Duruflé, dedicated to the memory of the composer’s father. This year is the 120th anniversary of Duruflé’s birth.
The concert celebrates All Saints Day and will feature the La Cañada Presbyterian Church Chancel Choir and LCPC Orchestra. Soloists are Rebecca Sjöwall, soprano; Natalie Buickians, soprano; Matthew Thomas, tenor; and Mark Beasom, bass.
The “Serenade to Music” by Vaughan Williams, is a musical setting of a scene from Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice.” At its premiere, the great Russian composer, Sergei Rachmaninoff, wept, declaring that he had never been so moved by a piece of music. The same could been said of Durufle’s Requiem — one of the favorite requiems of all time, which is built around Gregorian chants in a modern musical setting. The closing work, “The Old Hundredth Psalm Tune,” also by Vaughan Williams, is a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, whose passing last month was commemorated around the world.
As has become the custom with LCPC concerts, the multimedia program will include slides on the big screens of paintings of John Atkinson Grimshaw accompanying the “Serenade to Music,” and images of stained-glass windows accompanying the requiem. In addition, a photo tribute to recently deceased members, family and friends of LCPC congregation will be accompanied by Vaughan Williams’ “Fantasia on Greensleeves.”
Prior to the concert, LCPC’s Director of Music & Worship Arts, Jack Lantz, will present a lecture on the program and the composers in the church sanctuary at 1:30 p.m.
The concert will be held in the sanctuary of La Cañada Presbyterian Church, 626 Foothill Blvd., La Cañada Flintridge 91011. There is no cost for admission.
For those who cannot attend in-person, the concert and pre-concert lecture will be livestreamed: live.lacanadapc.org.