An Invitation to the Voyage

Striking settings of French and Spanish poetry

The centerpiece of this concert is the world premiere of a newly commissioned work by composer Philip Lasser. His La Signification des Lettres sets a series of 13th century French poems that follow the letters of the alphabet. Continuing with works in French, the chorus will perform two pieces by Haitian American composer Sydney Guillaume that set poems by his father, Gabriel T. Guillaume: C’est Beau, La Vie and Le Dernier Voyage, both meditations on the joys and pains of life. Also on the program are Gabriel Fauré’s Cantique de Jean Racine and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Romancero Gitano, featuring poems by Federico Garcia Lorca and classical guitar.