Collaborative Choral Concert Generates Educational Companion Activities

During the week prior to the March 19 “PsalmSensation” concert which unites the Falmouth and Zamir Chorales in singing works based on texts from the Hebrew Bible, the public is invited to learn more about this collaboration, the evolution of Psalms and the variety of compositions that will be performed at the joint concert.

For the month of March, library visitors can see a “PsalmSensation” display in the lower lobby of the Falmouth Public Library off Katherine Lee Bates Drive. The display includes photographs, books, music scores and a psaltery, plus information about the two Chorales, featured composers and the texts on which their choral works are based.

On Tuesday, March 14 at 10:30 AM, Falmouth Jewish Congregation is hosting “PsalmSensation: 3000 Years of Joyous Sacred Song,” an illustrated lecture by Dr. Joshua Jacobson, founder and artistic director of Zamir Chorale of Boston. Jacobson, an international authority on Jewish choral music, will explore the origins and performance of psalms in ancient Israel and provide insight into pieces included in the concert program. FJC’s Blanche & Joel F. Seifer Community Center is located at 7 Hatchville Road in East Falmouth. A $5 to $10 donation is suggested.

The two collaborating artistic directors, John Yankee and Joshua Jacobson, will be interviewed by Mindy Todd for “The Point” on the Cape & Islands’ NPR station. They are expected to discuss the nature and importance of their collaboration and comment on music clips that exemplify the diverse compositions that they will conduct on March 19. WCAI will air the interview on Thursday, March 16 at 9:00 AM and 7:00 PM, on 90.1 and 94.3 FM.

The week culminates in a single grand concert performance on Sunday, March 19, 7:00 PM at Lawrence School Auditorium, 113 Lakeview Avenue in Falmouth. “PsalmSensation” includes works by well-known composers George Frideric Handel, Felix Mendelsohn, Leonard Bernstein, Randall Thompson and John Rutter, as well as by Ernani Aguiar, Salamone Rossi, Julius Mombach, Jeremiah Klarman, Benjie Ellen Schiller and Emmett Price, III. A variety of genres are represented from classical to contemporary, including jazz, pop, and compositions in Brazilian and spiritual styles. The centerpiece of the concert, Bernstein’s magnificent Chichester Psalms, features the 120-voice combined chorus, percussion, piano and harp, with an extended solo performed by a boy soprano.

Concert tickets are $25 for adults in advance, $30 at the door; student tickets are $5. Tickets are available at the usual outlets, through members of the Falmouth Chorale or at www.falmouthchorale.org. For more information, visit the website or call 774-392-2383.