MARLBORO — It is probably safe to say that the Gabriel Fauré “Requiem” is one of the most popular and performed pieces of music in the choral literature. And for good reason: Fauré captured the essence of all that is beautiful and transporting in a format that is modest in size and huge in concept.
The Brattleboro Concert Choir, directed by Susan Dedell, will sing this most beloved of pieces on Saturday, June 22, at 8 p.m., at Persons Auditorium at Marlboro College. The concert also includes Fauré's “Cantique de Jean Racine” and “Messe Basse,” and French Baroque composer Marc Antoine Charpentier's “Te Deum.”
Soloists for the concert are Junko Watanabe, soprano; Geoffrey Williams, countertenor; Matthew Hensrud, tenor; and David McFerrin, baritone.
Watanabe is a frequent soloist with the Concert Choir, and a favorite of Brattleboro audiences. In demand as a soloist in both opera and oratorio, she has sung with Boston Lyric Opera, Chorus Pro Music, and the Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra. She was a participant in the Marlboro Music Festival and is on the faculty of Amherst College, the Rivers School Conservatory, and the Brattleboro Music Center.
The Chorus is joined this year by baritone David McFerrin. Praised by The New York Times for his “appealingly textured sound,” McFerrin is achieving critical acclaim in a wide variety of repertoire. This season, he's a featured Emerging Artist with Boston Lyric Opera, where he also performs with the Handel and Haydn society. A past participant of the Caramoor and Ravinia festivals, this year he will be at the Marlboro Festival for his second summer.
Also appearing in this concert for his first performance with the Brattleboro Concert Choir is Williams, who is in growing demand as an early music specialist throughout the United States. Williams performs regularly with Vox Vocal Ensemble, Early Music New York, and the Clarion Music Society. He is a founding member and artistic director of the acclaimed male classical quartet New York Polyphony, and is on the faculty of the Amherst (Mass.) Early Music Festival.
Hensrud captivated Brattleboro audiences in the première of Paul Dedell's “Divine Chemistry” in 2011. He lives in New York and is a full-time member of The Trinity Choir, and also sings with Early Music New York, the Clarion Music Society, and the Antioch Ensemble.