In View of Eternity: Cantate Chicago Presents Musical Reflections on the Everlasting

Cantate Chicago, a mixed chamber choir conducted by Benjamin Rivera, will present “In View of Eternity,” a concert featuring choral works around the themes of eternal light and infinite peace. The choir, along with a chamber orchestra, will perform French composer Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem, a beautiful, melodious work written in the 1890’s based on the Catholic Mass for the Dead. Unlike other requiems, Fauré’s is noted for its calm and peaceful outlook on the nature of eternal rest. John Tavener’s Svyati (1995), featuring cellist Daniel Katz of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, will offer the audience a musical journey into the afterlife through the text of the Russian Orthodox service. The program is rounded out by Edwin Fissinger’s Lux Aeterna (1982), Norman Luboff’s arrangement of the spiritual, Deep River (1962), Stephen Paulus’ Hymn to the Eternal Flame (2005), and David White’s Enosh kechatzir (1988).

There will be two opportunities to see the ensemble: Friday, May 29 at 8 PM at St. Josaphat Parish, 2311 N. Southport, Chicago; or on Sunday, May 31 at 4 PM at First United Methodist Church, 516 Church St., Evanston. Tickets are $20 ($10 for students at the door) and are available at www.cantatechicago.org, on Facebook at Cantate Chicago, or at the door.