Yale Schola Cantorum to perform a concert of Choral Prayers

On Friday, April 21 at 7:30 p.m. David Hill conducted Yale Schola Cantorum as they performed Choral Prayers in Yale’s Woolsey Hall. The concert was free and open to the public. 

The program included In the Land of Uz by Judith Weir, a dramatised reading of the biblical book of Job in the musical form of a cantata, or short oratorio. The majority of the music was sung by the chorus, but there was also obbligato roles for a small group of instruments which appear singly or in pairs; viola, double bass, soprano saxophone, trumpet, tuba and organ. Job appears from time to time as a solo tenor; his thoughts are also represented by the viola. Although the bulk of the storytelling is undertaken by the chorus, a speaking narrator also makes occasional appearances. Judith Weir is Master of the King’s Music in the U.K.

The concert also featured The Beatitudes by Arvo Pärt, Totus Tuus by Henryk Mikolaj Gorecki, and several works by John Tavener, to include The Lamb, Mother of God, Here I Stand, Song for Athene, The Lord’s Prayer, and Hymn for the Dormition of the Mother of God.

David Hill is adjunct professor of Choral Conducting at the ISM and principal conductor of Yale Schola Cantorum. He has a long and distinguished career as one of the leading conductors in Europe. Yale Schola Cantorum is a chamber choir that performs sacred music from the sixteenth century to the present day in concert settings and choral services around the world.