Vespers
March 2, 2024, 7:30 PM
Holy Trinity Anglican Church
10037 84 Avenue NW, Edmonton

Claudio Monteverdi’s Vespers is one of most important works of Western choral music of all time, marking the transition from the Renaissance to the Baroque. Hear one of history's great composers bring Renaissance traditions to life while breaking new ground in form and texture in this beautiful and atmospheric piece for choir and chamber orchestra.

Fall in love with choral music that celebrates the full richness of the human heart: friendship, parental love, divine love, romance, and heartache. Be in the audience for the world premiere of the winning entry in our 2023 Call for Commission Proposals: Stuart Beatch's setting of Jay Hulme's Jesus at the Gay Bar, written in the wake of the November 2022 shooting in Colorado Springs.

You may have heard music by Peter Warlock, poetry by Laurence Hope, or lyrics by Edward Esch, but did you know that they don't exist?

Come hear the stories behind these pen names as i Coristi presents music and texts by pseudonymous writers and composers, and explore the reasons why each took on their nom de plume.

When we hold up the Stabat Mater text—an 800-year-old poem picturing Mary weeping at the foot of Christ's cross—what do we see reflected back? Are there still people who die unjustly at the hands of those in power? Are there still mothers weeping at the death of their sons?

Join i Coristi to juxtapose Lenten texts and music, from Gesualdo to Poulenc, with Joel Thompson's Seven Last Words of the Unarmed. In this powerful piece, hear the last words of seven African-American men killed by police, and explore the invitation to take up the challenge posed by the ancient Stabat Mater text: Let me stand by the cross with you. Let me mourn with you.

Two i Coristi Chamber Choirs? Rest assured it’s not your eyes: the choir is dividing in two, to delight with two major works for double chorus. Jonathan Dove's The Passing of the Year and Frank Martin's intensely personal and beautiful Mass for Double Choir – two seminal works of 20th-century choral music and must-listens for any choral music fan.

Travel among distant stars and black holes, via the collaborative transports of scientific story and music. You may think that science and music are an odd pairing, but outer space has inspired scientists and artists alike for centuries. So come prepared to explore both perspectives in this Meeting Places concert, i Coristi’s concert series where choral music pairs with unexpected collaborators.

On this unique evening, appreciate the insights of our masterful tour guide Dr. Sharon Morsink, as she ushers us through her world of astrophysics in a series of captivating mini-lectures. 

Complement the experience with transcendently beautiful music selections that were inspired by the same awe-inspiring extra-terrestrial subjects. 

Get up close with the stars in our galaxy; contemplate the message recorded in The Golden Record, launched with the two Voyager probes in 1977; consider the big questions raised by Stephen Hawking’s insight into the universe; imagine the lonely vigil of Canada’s first satellite, still orbiting 60 years later; and land back home to wonder at the sheer beauty of the heavens above.

Bask in the hope of light staving off the darkness, which is the heart of Morten Lauridsen's Lux Aeterna, his transcendent five-movement work for choir and organ. Written in response to his mother's final illness, Lux Aeterna brings together five sacred texts that all incorporate images of light and draws its title from the well-known Requiem mass text ("May eternal light shine on them"). In bringing together these texts it weaves a transporting musical fabric of consolation and hope in difficult times.

Further witness the miracle of light emerging from the darkness in another musical incarnation of the Lux Aeterna text, set to the music of Elgar's Nimrod Variation by arranger John Cameron.

Also anticipate the long-awaited premiere live performance of Nicholas Kelly's The Blue and the Sun. This winning entry in our most recent Competition in Choral Composition was originally slated for performance in 2020, but had to be postponed along with our other concerts that year. We are delighted to finally share it for the first time with our audience!

An evening celebrating dance and movement in music. Let the music transport you to a country dance through Veljo Tormis’ Ingrian Evenings; and allow you to delve into the world of poet Virginia Hamilton Adair in Gwyneth Walker’s An Hour to Dance.

Join i Coristi for a mix of online and outdoor performances in our 2020-2021 Season

• Mark your Calendars to tune in for our free online concerts, available on i Coristi’s YouTube channel from the following dates and times onward:

  • A Christmas Visit, December 19, 2020 7:30 PM

  • Across Space and Time, April 3, 2020 7:30 PM

• Single tickets will be available for purchase for Al Fresco, presented on June 19, 2020 in an outdoor venue (location to be confirmed)

December 2019, i Coristi Chamber Choir with Da Camera Singers and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra performs George Friedrich Handel’s Messiah, under the direction of William Eddins.

Tickets are available for evening performances on December 6 & 7, and a for a “Favourite Highlights” matinee on December 8.

Subscribe to attend all 3 concerts in i Coristi’s Season for 2019-2020.

Subscribers receive:

• Reserved Seating in a Prime Location

• 33% discount on ticket prices

Season Subscriptions (all 3 concerts): $50

Single Tickets Advance: $20

Single Tickets Door: $25