San Luis Obispo Master Chorale's 2023/2024 season begins with “Chants Encounter.” This performance features Estonian-born composer Arvo Pärt’s Te Deum and W. A. Mozart's Mass in C-minor. Pärt utilizes the beauty of chant mixed with bell-like chords (tintinnabulation) to create a dramatic rendering of the fourth-century prayer.
Mozart’s Mass, a wedding gift for his wife, Constanza, is influenced by the choral works of Bach and Handel, as well as eighteenth-century opera. This work has all the best of Mozart: beautiful melodies, brilliantly written counterpoint, and large choral sound with intimate chamber music. “Chants Encounter” will also include Mozart’s concert aria, Per questa bella mano, for baritone and double bass.
Concert soloists include sopranos Alba Franco-Cancél and Amy Goymerac, tenor Jon Lee Keenan, baritone Joel Balzun, and Ken Hustad, double-bass.
Composer Steve Reich offers a rich description of Pärt's music:
"He's completely out of step with the zeitgeist and yet he's enormously popular, which is so inspiring. His music fulfills a deep human need that has nothing to do with fashion."
Tickets are available at www.slomasterchorale.org or by calling the PAC box office at 805-756-4849.