St. Charles Singers to bring 'Candlelight Carols' December 5-7

The St. Charles Singers will present the 31st annual edition of its “Candlelight Carols” Christmas program December 5–7 in Chicago and St. Charles, Ill.

The highly regarded professional chamber choir will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, December 5, at Fourth Presbyterian Church, North Michigan Avenue at East Delaware Place, Chicago; 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 6, at Baker Memorial United Methodist Church, 307 Cedar Ave., St. Charles; and 3 p.m., Sunday, December 7, at Baker church in St. Charles.

The concerts in St. Charles typically sell in advance.

The mixed-voice choir’s founder and music director Jeffrey Hunt will conduct a program of 18 songs spanning from the Renaissance to the present day, many of which the choir has never performed before and some offering unusual soundscapes.

One of those is Latvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds’ “Stars” for mixed choir and water-tuned glasses. The carol, composed in 2011, calls for some singers to play stemmed drinking glasses, also known as glass harps.

Guest artist Matthew Agnew, cellist with the Chicago Philharmonic and Elgin Symphony Orchestra, will accompany the choir in Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo’s recent “Serenity (O Magnum Mysterium)” for chorus with violin or cello, an evocative, cinematic-sounding work.

Agnew will also perform Gjeilo’s “The Hudson,” an instrumental lullaby for cello and piano.

Hunt promises some familiar Christmas music in unfamiliar arrangements. “These won’t be your garden variety, four-part carols,” Hunt says, citing, as an example, Jeremy Landig’s swinging a cappella jazz arrangement of “Lo, How a Rose/In the Bleak Midwinter.”

Another is Minnesota-based conductor-composer Matthew Culloton’s updating of the traditional German carol “In dulci Jubilio” (In sweet joy) with multilayered textures and unique choral accompaniment.

The St. Charles Singers will perform three new works by the popular and prolific Welshman Karl Jenkins, including the motets “Lullay,” “The Shepherd,” and “Exsultate jubilate,” all composed or arranged in 2014.

The complete “Candlelight Carols” program will include the following:

“Exultate Deo” by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
“Stars” by Ēriks Ešenvalds
“I wonder as I wander” arranged by Robert A. Boyd
“Et Natus Est Emanuel” by Michael Praetorius
“Convidando esta la noche” by Juan Garcia de Zéspedes, edited by Robert A. Boyd
“The Hudson” (instrumental lullaby) by Ola Gjeilo
“Serenity (O Magnum Mysterium)” by Ola Gjeilo
“Ave, Regina Caelorum” by Philip Stopford
“Lullay” by Karl Jenkins
“The Shepherd” by Karl Jenkins
“Exsultate, jubilate” by Karl Jenkins
“Go Tell It on the Mountain” arranged by Carolyn Jennings
“In dulci Jubilo” arranged by Matthew Culloton
“The World for Christmas” by Anders Edenroth
“Climb to the Top of the Highest Mountain” by Carolyn Jennings
“Lo, How a Rose/In the Bleak Midwinter” arranged by Jeremy Landig
“Noël Nouvelet” arranged by Philip Lawson
“Who is the Baby?” by Rosephanye Powell
“Silent Night” by David Willcocks, with a verse arranged by Robert A. Boyd

Candlelight Choristers

St. Charles Singers ensemble members performing in the 2014 edition of Candlelight Carols include sopranos Jeanne Fornari, of Batavia; Mary Kunstman, of DeKalb, Jennifer Mamminga, of Geneva; Laura Johnson, of Hanover Park; Cynthia Spiegel, of La Fox; Olivia Flanigan, Jennifer Hazeltine, and AnDrea James, of St. Charles; Suzanna Matthews, of Wheaton; and Karen Lukose, of Winfield.

Altos are Sarah Underhill, of Aurora; Margaret Fox and Valerie Heinkel-Bollero, of Batavia; Amanda Brex-Castillo, of Cary; Julie Popplewell, of North Aurora; Bridget Kancler, of Oak Park; Jennifer Hunt, of St. Charles; and Debra Wilder, of Wheeling.

The tenor section includes Rob Campbell, of DeKalb; Bradley Staker, of Elburn; Andy Jeffrey, of Geneva; Gregor King, of Schaumburg; David Hunt, of Wayne; Joel Visker and Steve Williamson, of West Chicago; and Bob Boyd, of Westmont.

Bass singers are Phil Nohl, of Aurora; Douglas Peters, of Batavia; Anthony Quaranta, of Carol Stream; Nate Coon, of Crystal Lake; David Hartley, of Lake in the Hills; Ernie Klapmeier and Mike Popplewell, of North Aurora; and Michael Thoms, of Warrenville.

Tickets and Information

Single tickets for “Candlelight Carols” are $30 general adult admission, $25 for seniors 65 and older, and $10 for students.

Tickets and general information about the St. Charles Singers are available at www.stcharlessingers.com or by calling (630) 513-5272. Tickets are also available at Townhouse Books, 105 N. Second Ave., St. Charles (checks or cash only at this ticket venue). Tickets may also be purchased at the door on the day of the concert, depending on availability. Group discounts are available.