January 26, 2005
Concert strikes chord
100 area singers perform 'Requiem' concert Sunday to benefit tsunami victims
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Raising their voices to make a joyous and helpful noise, more than 100 area singers rehearsed Sunday afternoon at the First Congregational Church.
These experienced singers from around the region will join with area musicians to present John Rutter's "Requiem" at 4 p.m. this Sunday at the church. The proceeds from the free will offering taken at the concert will benefit victims of the tsunami in Asia that struck on December 26.
Attendees will have three options for donations by check at the event; cash donations will go directly to the United Church of Christ world outreach program.
Mel Larimer, music director for the First Congregational Church, will conduct the concert, which his choir instigated. The requiem will feature two soloists: sopranos Barbara Hoig and Nancy Moyes.
The word went out to singers earlier this month inviting experienced singers or those who have sung the piece before to participate. Larimer scheduled just two rehearsals to pull the sound together, so he has been strict about those two prerequisites.
Larimer has had his church choir members working through portions of the requiem for the past month.
"We've gotten a head start but still it is going to be mostly people who have sung it before and will be able to pull it together in a hurry," Larimer said.
Tenor Kevin Weber said this is his second time singing the Rutter "Requiem" and his second collaboration with Larimer. A member of the Unitarian Universalist Choir, Weber attended Sunday's rehearsal and is looking forward to the performance.
"Of course, Mel Larimer's reputation is very good and we pretty much know when we're singing with him that he's very efficiently going to get good sound out of us and put together a good sound as well from the orchestra," he said. "When you get the opportunity to do a piece again, it is just great and you can add on a little more intensity and learn a little more and get a little deeper."
Weber is also pleased to lend his singing to a cause that could help so many.
"You like to think that you can do something in either an economically useful or spiritually meaningful way when something like the tsunami happens," he said.
Sunday's rehearsal first broke singers into sections and then gathered the whole group in the church's sanctuary to sing the piece. Larimer guided the singers on everything from Latin pronunciation to tempo to singing with full commitment.
The church hosted a musical benefit similar to this one after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, which Larimer recalled drew 200 singers.
Larimer chose the Rutter "Requiem" because, while still a mass to honor the dead, it deviates from the usual liturgical mass. Instead of verses only in Latin, the composer also includes uplifting text from the New Testament in English.
"It is the most personal and intimate mass for the dead of any of them that have been written and, in that regard, is the perfect one to do for this occasion," he said. "This is full of song and warmth and hope and I know it will make all of us feel like we have contributed something, like we're not just sitting back and folding our hands."
Musicians from the symphony, Interlochen and local schools are donating their time to accompany the singers.
"We'll have some of the very best players in the area, for sure," Larimer noted.
The Rutter "Requiem" will be presented on Sunday, January 30, at 4 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, 6105 Center Road. A free will offering will be accepted and all proceeds will benefit the victims of the tsunami. For more information, call the church at 947-6698.