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FREEPORT — The Greater Freeport Community Chorus will present “Un Natale Barocco (A Baroque Christmas)” in performances set for Saturday, Dec. 9, 7 p.m. at Sacred Heart Church, 326 Main St., Yarmouth, and Sunday, Dec. 10, at 2:30 p.m. at First Parish Church, 9 Cleaveland St., Brunswick.
The concert will feature a 60-voice chorus, accompanied by a 10-piece chamber orchestra, singing Antonio Vivaldi’s “Gloria” and Francesco Durante’s “Magnificat in B-flat Major.” The group is directed by Virgil Bozeman and accompanied by pianist Kellie Moody.
The setting of “Gloria” is Vivaldi’s most popular choral work. The Italian composer, also an ordained priest, wrote many of his sacred vocal works while employed at an orphanage for girls, so the pieces lack tenor and bass solos. Accordingly, “Gloria” has three soprano and two alto solo parts.
Each of the composition’s 12 movements is based on just one or two lines of text. Durante, who wrote the concert’s other featured work, the six-movement “Magnificat,” was a native of Naples, Italy. Interestingly, the “Magnificat,” like a number of other sacred and instrumental works of the period, was for years misattributed to one of Durante’s students, Giovanni Pergolesi. The performance will also include other works from the Baroque and pre-Classical periods, as well as Italian Christmas carols.
Residents of 15 Midcoast towns make up the Greater Freeport Community Chorus, and the orchestra of strings, trumpet and oboe accompanying these concerts will also consist of local musicians. Tickets may be purchased at the door. Visit the chorus on Facebook or at www.gfccsings.org.
PHOTO CAPTION: The Greater Freeport Community Chorus, led by Virgil Bozeman, will present “Un Natale Barocco (A Baroque Christmas)” in performances Dec. 9 and 10 in Yarmouth and Brunswick. (Submitted photo)
