Music of Hope in Uncertain Times
The Spring 2025 concert from Bloomington Chamber Singers, Music of Hope in Uncertain Times, is a captivating offering, juxtaposing Haydn’s Missa in Angustiis (Mass in Troubled Times), also known as The Lord Nelson Mass, with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw’s To the Hands.
Though written over 200 years apart, both works vividly bring to life the uncertainty, fear, and loss of timeless challenges—the threat of war in Haydn’s case, and the plight of refugees in Shaw’s—revealing a commonality of the human condition through the centuries. Despite the harrowing opening and recurrent war-like trumpet fanfares Haydn composes throughout work, he always responds with optimism, ending with a confident “Dona nobis pacem.” Shaw sets a text she assembled, which ranges from Latin set by 18th century composer Dietrich Buxtehude to lines by Emma Lazarus, evoking the 18th century and the immigration of the mid-20th century. Her music ultimately responds to the plight of the refugee with compassion— “we will be your refuge” and “ever will I hold you.”
BCS will be partnering with the local office of Exodus Refugee Immigration, and at the concert, we will be collecting donations of new personal items such as shampoo, hand soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste, deodorant, razors, toilet tissue, and sanitary napkins. Exodus arranges for housing, food and clothing, and case management, as well as education, employment training, health services, and more. Their primary goal is to provide clients with the tools and information they need to be successful in their new lives.
This Spring’s performance is under the direction of guest conductor Dr. Betsy Burleigh.
