On Sunday, March 22, The Reston Chorale will present Choral Splendor: Music of France, featuring Louis Vierne’s Messe Solennelle in its rarely heard original form: With mixed chorus and two organs. The performance — taking place at 4 p.m. in Saint Luke Catholic Church of McLean — will be accompanied by Saint Luke organist Paul Skevington and The Reston Chorale’s keyboard artist, Tordis Fahringer.
Just as Vierne intended, the mass will be performed with musical forces at opposite ends of the church. At the front, Skevington will be at the keyboard of Saint Luke’s 61-rank Steiner-Reck organ. With 3,169 pipes, it is one of the largest pipe organs in Northern Virginia. The Reston Chorale will sing from the rear, accompanied by Fahringer on a two-manual Roland choir organ.
“The audience will literally be surrounded by this grand musical dialogue between the pipe organ and the Chorale,” said Artistic Director David B. Lang. “It’s extremely rare for this composition – one of the most unique masses ever written – to be heard in its original form. We are very grateful to R.A. Daffer Church Organs, Inc., for providing the Roland organ, enabling us to present Vierne’s masterpiece as the composer intended: with two organs.”
Choral Splendor: Music of France will also feature Notre Père and Four Motets by Maurice Duruflé,Cantique de Jean Racine by Gabriel Fauré, Psalm 150 by César Franck and a choral arrangement of Charles-Marie Widor’s magnificent “Toccata” from Organ Symphony No. 5.
Concert tickets may be purchased online, in advance, at www.restonchorale.org, or at the door one hour before the performance at Saint Luke Catholic Church, 7001 Georgetown Pike, McLean, Virginia. Online tickets are $20/Seniors (62+) and $25/Adults (18-61); ticket prices at the door will be $25/Seniors and $30/Adults. Youth 17 and under will be admitted for free when accompanied by an adult or senior ticket holder. (Youth tickets are required.)
Established in 1967, The Reston Chorale is an auditioned, mixed-voice chorus with a full repertoire including choral masterworks, American classics, pops and new compositions. In March 2014, the Chorale presented the world premiere of Donald McCullough’s The Essential Life, which commemorated the 50th Anniversary of Reston and the 100th birthday of founder Robert E. Simon, Jr. The Chorale performs signature events throughout the year in Reston and at a variety of venues including the Kennedy Center, Wolf Trap, George Mason University Center for the Arts, and the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center. The Reston Chorale is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization and supported in cooperation with the Arts Council of Fairfax County, the Virginia Commission for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, corporate grants, and individual donors.
For more information about this performance or The Reston Chorale, visit www.restonchorale.org or call 703.834.0079.