Redwood City celebrates "The Joy of Song"

Ragazzi Continuo, the men’s a cappella chorus composed of alumni from the critically-acclaimed Ragazzi Boys Chorus, presents “The Joy of Song,” a concert featuring some of the group’s favorite pieces. Prompted by a simple query about what draws them back to singing, year after year, each member of Ragazzi Continuo contributed songs that were meaningful to them, and the resulting program is a joyful collection of music from different countries and time periods. The concerts will be presented 1pm, Saturday May 30 at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 1111 O’Farrell St., San Francisco and 7:30pm, Sunday, May 31 at St. Peters Episcopal Church, 178 Clinton St., Redwood City. Tickets ($15-$18), are available at www.RagazziContinuo.org or by phone at (650) 342-8785.

“The Joy of Song” will feature an array of chorister favorites, and Music Director Ravi Raval noted that one request in particular, “I Have Had Singing,” by Steven Sametz, encapsulates the theme of the evening. This piece derives its title from an interview with an 80-year-old horseman (collected in Ronald Blythe’s Akenfield: Portrait of an English Village), who said of his bleak life story, “But there was always singing; the boys in the field, the chapels were full of singing. I have had pleasure enough; I have had singing.”

Great Russian works will be well represented in this tour of awe-inspiring melodies, including Sergei Rachmaninoff’s majestic “Bogoroditse Devo” and the playful “Kalinka,” by Ivan Larionov. The concerts will also feature Renaissance fare classic to Continuo, such as Jacques Arcadelt’s “Il bianco e dolce cigno” and King Henry VIII’s “Pastime with Good Company.”

Other works presented in “The Joy of Song” include the pastoral pieces “August,” by Michael McGlynn, and “Goin’ Home,” adapted from Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9, and contemporary pieces, such as an arrangement of “Down in the River to Pray” by Continuo’s very own Jansen Verplank, and Bob Chilcott’s arrangement of “And So it Goes.”

Ragazzi Continuo was formed in September 2010 and now consists of sixteen choristers, all of whom sang in Ragazzi Boys Chorus during their formative years. All of the members participated in their college choirs, but finding a post-college men’s chorus that achieved the level they thrived under as Ragazzi boys proved challenging. Thus Ragazzi Continuo was born, and is currently comprised of members whose work finds them practicing law, teaching voice, working in the tech industry, and more. Their love of music and years of training are evident in their stellar performances.

Tickets ($15-$18), are available at www.RagazziContinuo.org or by phone at (650) 342-8785.