Master Singers sing Bernstein

The beautiful choral classic Chichester Psalms by Leonard Bernstein will be the featured piece at the Master Singers of Milwaukee concert on Saturday, March 9, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. The concert will be at Wauwatosa Presbyterian Church, 2366 N. 80th St, Wauwatosa. Tickets can be purchased at website www.mastersingersofmilwaukee.org. Ticket prices are Adult $18, Senior $15, Student $10.

Chichester Psalms was commissioned in 1966 to be sung at Chichester Cathedral. The text was arranged by the composer from the Book of Psalms in the original Hebrew. The Psalms is an affirmative and, at times, peaceful composition. Master Singers will be using the accompaniment Bernstein arranged for organ, harp and percussion.

In the instructions for the performance of the piece, Bernstein recommended that the central solo should never be sung by a woman, only by a boy treble or a countertenor. Paul Fowler will be the featured soloist for the countertenor solo. Fowler is a graduate of the Milwaukee High School of the Arts, Ithaca College and University of Michigan. Presently he lives in Boulder, CO, where he’s a composer and teacher.

MSM will also be singing the Chandos Anthem No. 9, O Praise the Lord with One Consent, by George Frederick Handel. The work was commissioned in 1718 by the Earl of Carnarvon, who later became the Earl of Chandos. The texts from Psalms 119, 135 and 148 are in eight movements, sung by the choir and soloists.