Cor Cantiamo in concert: Premiere of new choral Psalm

Chamber choir Cor Cantiamo, conducted by Eric A. Johnson, will perform the U.S. premiere of English composer Gavin Bryars’ “Psalm 141” in a centuries-spanning concert at 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 1, at St. Raphael Catholic Church, 1215 Modaff Road, Naperville, Ill. Admission is free, but donations are welcome.

Written in 2012, Bryars’ “Psalm 141” was commissioned by nonprofit, classical sacred music foundation Soli Deo Gloria, Inc., of Glen Ellyn, for its Psalms Project, a collection of contemporary choral works based on biblical verse. British music critics have called Bryars’ “Psalm 141” “a fascinatingly emotion-filled piece” and a work of “integrity and lucidity.” The Psalm opens with the words “I call upon thee, O Lord; make haste to me!”

Four other Soli Deo Gloria Psalms Project works are on the program: Latvian Ēriks Ešenvalds’ “Psalm 67” (“May God be gracious to us”), English composer Peter Bannister’s “Psalm 96” (“O sing to the Lord a new song”), Estonian-based Galina Grigorjeva’s “Bless the Lord, o my soul” (Psalm 103), and American Daniel Kellogg’s “Preserve Me, O God” (Psalm 16).

Ešenvalds’ work for a cappella mixed chorus and tenor soloist is “powerful, with moments of hushed intimacy,” SDG says. Bannister’s “Psalm 96”, commissioned in honor of Elsbeth Shannon, “incorporates African rhythms and tonality with percussion.”

Grigorjeva’s work for cappella mixed chorus is described a as “a soulful work rooted in the Byzantine tradition.” The Washington Post hails Kellogg’s music “as unfailingly easy to listen to, yet far from simplistic.”

Other works on the program span from the Renaissance and Baroque eras to the present day, written by composers from Europe, the U.S., and the Philippines.

Early music will include Dutch composer Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck’s “Chantez à Dieu,” Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina’s “Exultate Deo,” J. S. Bach’s “Singet Dem Herrn,” and Heinrich Schütz’s “Selig Sind die Toten.”

Contemporary and late-20th-century songs will include Ily Matthew Maniano’s “Doxologia,” Craig Hella Johnson’s “Hard Times,” Moses Hogan’s “Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel,” Carol Barnett’s “Bye and Bye,” and William Appeling’s “We Shall Walk Through the Valley.”

For concert information, contact St. Raphael Church at (630) 355-4545. Website is www.st-raphael.com.

Cor Cantiamo

Cor Cantiamo is an ensemble in residence at Northern Illinois University. The accomplished, professional vocal ensemble is led by Eric A. Johnson, its founding artistic director. Cor Cantiamo was formed in 2009 with the mission of performing contemporary choral music and fostering new composers for the art form. Its members are professional musicians from the greater Chicago area.

Psalms Project

Soli Deo Gloria’s Psalms Project is intended to “to encourage the creation of smaller musical compositions that can enrich liturgy and can also function as independent concert works,” the organization says. When completed, the project, made possible by a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., will comprise 15 new works in the Western art-music tradition written by some of the world’s foremost composers.

Soli Deo Gloria: 20th Season of Sacred Music

Now concluding its 20th season, 2013–14, Soli Deo Gloria is dedicated to enhancing, promoting, and preserving classical sacred music in the biblical tradition at the highest level by sponsoring recordings and concerts and commissioning new works.

During its two decades, Soli Deo Gloria has commissioned nearly 40 works of classical sacred music ranging in scale from Psalm settings for a cappella mixed chorus to oratorios. Among composers who have received Soli Deo Gloria commissions are Aaron Jay Kernis, James MacMillan, Christopher Rouse, and Augusta Read Thomas, to name a few.

Founded in 1993, Soli Deo Gloria takes its name from the Latin phrase that Bach inscribed on many of his composition, meaning “to God alone be the Glory.”

The organization’s world headquarters is at 800 Roosevelt Road, Suite A100, Glen Ellyn, Ill. Phone (630) 984-4300. Website: www.sdgmusic.org.