PLATTSBURGH — Champlain Valley Voices samples the greatest choral masterworks of all times in a pair of performances Sunday at 2 and 6 p.m. at the Plattsburgh United Methodist Church, 127 Beekman St., Plattsburgh.
“We were thinking about what we would program for our fall concert. Many different masterworks came up, from Mozart and Brahms and Fauré,” director William Verity said. “Then, I decided, instead of us doing just one large work, what if we took some of the greatest movements from those works and put them together on one choral program? So that way, number one, the audience will know a great number of the songs, if not all of them, and the choral members will get a chance to sing a great sampling of the greatest choral works over all of the style periods, from the Renaissance period all the way to the contemporary period.
“The goal is to make it so that these are pieces that we feel, and, I believe, that every audience member should experience live at some point in their lifetime, and every singer should have the opportunity to perform at least once in their lifetime.”
‘GREATEST HITS’
A total of 76 vocalist will perform 14 selections on the program, including “O Fortuna” by Carl Orff, “Sicut Locutus Est” by Johann Sebastian Bach, “How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place” by Johannes Brahms, “In Paradisum” by Gabriel Fauré and “Requiem” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
After intermission, the program features: “Christmas Cantata” by Daniel Pinkham, “Gloria in excelsis” by Antonio Vivaldi, “O Magnum Mysterium” by Tomás Luis de Victoria, “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” by Johann Sebastian Bach and “Hallelujah!” by George Frederic Handel.
Verity’s aim was to have the audience understand that these are greatest hits.
“These are not going to be obscure works that are hard to like. They are going to be songs that are regarded, by many, to be some of the greatest choral works ever written, but then, from that, starting to find examples from the different style periods that would be representative famous examples,” he said.
“So from a list of many, many, many movements, from masterworks and songs, I was able to pare it down to a program that would feature just like an all-star selection of songs that are recognizable and enjoyable.”
Verity and the choir have worked on the program since late August to the present.
“…and incorporating a brass accompaniment. We have string accompaniment. We have organ accompaniment. Putting all those pieces together to make it accessible and enjoyable for the singers — and also for our audience — the process has been great. They’ve been an incredible fun and talented group to work with. They have embraced all of these songs wholeheartedly,” Verity said.
The accompanists are Emily Allen and Elizabeth Mahaney on violin, Olivia Keever on viola, Muriel Kerr on cello, Drew Benware and Keith Kogut on trumpet, Robert Garrow and Mike Nystoriak on trombone, Nate Pultorak on organ, and Ryan Mahony on piano and percussion.
Sunday’s double show is a CVV first.
“The reason we had to make it two concerts is because last year, when we had our concert in December, it was standing room only, so we decided to make it two different performances to accommodate our audience,” Verity said.
“It’s a good problem to have.”
Admission is $20 for adults and $10 for children.