The centerpiece of this concert, Dr. Jerome Wright notes, is beautifully brooding, with its deep strings and somber tone.
And yet, the octogenarian can’t stop smiling.
“We were just delighted; we’re so happy to have choral music on the scene [again],” said Wright, as he and the Peninsula Singers prepare for their upcoming concerts. They’ll fill the sanctuary at Trinity Untied Methodist Church (100 S. Blake Ave.) over two days, at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, April 29 and 30.
The group also offers a dress rehearsal open to the public at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 27.
Admission is by donation.
“We’re just relying on the generosity of the community,” Wright said.
The Peninsula Singers held their two post-pandemic concerts at Dungeness Valley Lutheran Church — “The Lutheran church was wonderful to us,” Wright noted last week — but are back where they had performed prior to the COVID outbreak at Trinity United.
Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen / Dr. Jerome Wright leads a Peninsula Singers rehearsal at Trinity United Methodist Church last week. It’s Wright’s ninth season with the Sequim-based choral group.
Anchoring the Singers’ late April concerts is Gabriel Fauré’s “Requiem.” Composed sometime between 1887-1890, the setting of the shortened Catholic Mass for the Dead in Latin is the best-known of Fauré’s large works.
“It’s a fantastic piece,” Wright said. “I’ve done a lot of masses, but I believe this is the best of the lot.
“[There’s this] deep sense of the mourning; truly a beautiful piece all the way through.”
The Singers will do the John Rutter edited version of “Requiem,” a piece that’s 30-35 minutes long, Wright said.
Joining the Peninsula Singers is a full orchestra, many of them, such as violist Tyrone Beatty, who are Port Angeles Symphony regulars.
The two soloists are a husband-and-wife duo, Sarah Moran (soprano) and Gregory Lewis (baritone).
To balance the rather somber mood of “Requiem,” Wright said the Singers will offer “Songs of Spring,” — madrigals, more upbeat “nymph- and shepherd-style songs.”
Among those, he said, are Claudio Monteverdi’s “Sfogava con le Stelle,” a piece that translates into something akin to “raving aloud at the stars.” It describes a love-sick man in his grief asking the heavens for assistance in inspiring his beloved to return his affections.
The Singers will also do a piece in French, Wright said, with some assistance from member Bonnie Christianson, who speaks French.
Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen / Dr. Jerome Wright leads a Peninsula Singers rehearsal at Trinity United Methodist Church. The group’s spring concerts are April 28 and 29.
“She pronounces the French and we parrot it until we get it right,” Wright said. “It’s going to be a really interesting piece.”
The Singers will do several works in English, including Thomas Morley’s “Sing We and Chant It,” and “I Dream of Jeannie With the Light Brown Hair.”
Wright said the group is also planning to perform the “Messiah” on Dec. 30, with funds raised going to the Sequim and Port Angeles food banks.
While concerts such as the upcoming spring production are challenging, Wright said the Peninsula Singers are doing quite well with the songs.
“I’m really enjoying this group,” he said.
Peninsula Singers’ spring concert
When: 2 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, April 29-30
Where: Trinity United Methodist Church, 100 S. Blake Ave.
Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen / Dr. Jerome Wright leads a Peninsula Singers rehearsal at Trinity United Methodist Church. The group’s spring concerts are April 28 and 29.
Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen
