The Dessoff Choirs, under the baton of music director, Malcolm J. Merriweather, presents Requiem for Whitman, featuring the opulent a cappella Messa di Requiemby Ildebrando Pizzetti. Pizzetti’s Requiem offers the full range of emotion, with lush harmonies and an evocative Gregorian chant setting of the “Dies irae.” Works that set Whitman’s poetry include Carols of Deathby William Schuman, and a newly commissioned work by Douglas Geers. J.S. Bach’s funeral motet Fürchte dich night, BWV 228 rounds out Dessoff’s season-opening concert.

3:15 pm pre-concert talk by Dr. Karen Karbiener – Walt Whitman and the Sound of Touch

4:00 pm concert

Carols of Death                                                                       William Schuman (1910-1992)
Fürchte dich nicht,BWV 228                                                  J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
As Adam, Early in the Morning                                              Douglas Geers (b. 1968)
Messa di Requiem                                                                 Ildebrando Pizzetti (1880-1968)

Tickets: $20-40 in advance; $25-45 at door.
Purchase at dessoff.org in advance.