The Delaware Choral Society has more than 50 years of rich history, which makes them the perfect choice to help celebrate early American choral music.
The group of approximately 65 volunteer singers will perform an “American Sacred Treasurers” concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 15, at Avenue United Methodist Church.
“I wanted to do a variety of music,” said Music Director Kevin Thomas. “There’s so much more out there with American choral music. You could have 10 concerts and still have some left.”
The concert begins with three songs by early American composer William Billings, who Thomas said is considered the father of American choral music. That will be followed by several African American spirituals, including “Deep River.” The pieces will have organ music in the interludes between each of the a cappella songs, he added.
After intermission, the group will sing “Melodious Accord” with a brass quintet and harp. Thomas said the many of the hymns, arranged by Alice Parker, come from the shape note tradition, which was a notation devised to teach people in churches how to sing by simplifying the reading of music.
The accord has four different parts with welcome songs, songs based on the Old and New Testaments, and farewell or promise songs, he said.
Alto Diana Farrell said the tunes are so catchy, they run over and over in her head and she finds herself humming them throughout the day at her job in Kent County Community School.
“I’m a teacher and my kids ask, ‘What are you doing?’” she said.
Thomas added that their catchiness was why these hymns were devised because at that point in history people were working to try to entice congregations to sing along.
The whole concert will be an uplifting program of wonderful sacred music, he said. Audience members may recognize the text of several of the “Melodious Accord” songs from church music sung today, but they will be sung to earlier tunes.
Although Thomas loves the whole program, he said the “Melodious Accord” is really special with the brass and harp accompaniment.
“It’s beautiful in it’s simplicity,” Thomas said.
The choral society also will hold its “American Sacred Treasurers” concert at 4 p.m. Sunday, May 17, at People’s Church, 46 S. Bradford St., Dover.
Milford, Del. —
