Mineral Area College’s Music Department will present the Spring Choral Concert, Songs of Peace, at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 5, at First Baptist Church in Farmington.
 
The concert is free and open to the public.
 
Harry Cecil, the Director of Choirs at MAC, said the Spring Choral Concert will feature Gabriel Faure’s Requiem—a masterpiece, he said, that exquisitely portrays a serene approach to life’s end and after.
 
“The theme for the Spring Concert is restful peace” he said. “Along with the Requiem, there will be other songs that match the ideas of serenity and calmness.” 
 
“The history of the requiem text is longstanding,” he said. “Faure’s Requiem maintains the tradition of a funeral service, which is a pillar in the Catholic Liturgy. This follows the musical legacy of other great composers, such as Mozart, Verdi, Brahms, and many others who also have written funeral masses.  But using an approach that avoids the traditional text of judgement elicits a result never quite heard before.  The beautiful writing joined along with the simple orchestration of Faure’s 1893 version of this work, reinforce that theme of peaceful serenity.
 
“In addition to the masterwork, other wonderful, yet smaller, choral works will also be presented by our MAC Singers and Chamber Singers groups.  It is sure to be an enjoyable night of music.”
 
For more information about the Spring Choral Concert, please contact Harry Cecil, (573) 518-2230 or hcecil@mineralarea.edu.