Ragazzi Boys Chorus – Sunday, December 10, 2017 at 4 pm

Ragazzi Boys Chorus
Ubi Caritas: Where There is Love

Joyce Keil, Artistic Director; Jesse Buddington, Young Men’s Ensemble Associate Director; Ihang Lin, accompanist; Othello Jefferson, accompanist 

Ragazzi Boys Chorus’ Ubi Caritas: Where There is Love, presents music exploring the idea that love marks God’s presence throughout our world. Choral works from the Hindu tradition as well as the Jewish and Christian faiths will be featured. Among the pieces will be four settings of the Ubi Caritas text, based on the Gregorian chant. Paul Halley’s Ubi Caritas combines the Gregorian chant line with a climactic African song—accompanied by exciting percussion, while Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo’s Ubi Caritas is a mesmerizing and contemplative acapella version. Other expressions of love as a universal truth include a Hindu devotional song with the refrain Dear God, be your name Eshwar or Allah, give everyone wisdom, and A. R. Rahman’s Zikr, a Muslim chant that begins as a meditation and ends as an energetic proclamation. Explorations of other Gregorian chants include a rhythmic and exhilarating version of Veni, Veni Emmanuel by modern composer Michael John Trotta. The gorgeous Duo Seraphim by Tomás Luis de Victoria shows how chant evolved into counterpoint during the Renaissance, where the original one-voice chant line becomes the basis for overlapping melodies throughout the voices. The concert will conclude with Christmas carols—and an invitation for the audience to join the boys in song.