While live music of all genres was put on hold during the pandemic, choral groups were hit particularly hard due to fears of spreading the virus. As the Fox Valley Orchestra finishes its 2021-2022 season, it offers a performance entitled “Remember” to reflect upon the last two years with help from the Fox Valley Orchestra Chorus.
“In the face of all we’ve gone through, there seems to be a need to recognize the difficulty we’ve been through and try to give comfort to people,” said Fox Valley Orchestra Chorus Master Lisa Fredenburgh.
The performance, which takes place May 1 at the Marmion Abbey, highlights two works that offer a different perspective on that reflection.
The first is a “Requiem” by French composer Maurice Duruflé, who published the piece in 1947. It’s written for a solo voice, mixed choir, organ and an orchestra, featuring themes from the Gregorian “Mass for the Dead.”
“I have long wanted to do this piece, probably, as long as I’ve known about it,” Fredenburgh said. “It is sublimely beautiful and comforting.”
Unlike many traditional Catholic requiems, Duruflé’s tends to minimize the dies irea, or the day of reckoning. Instead of the more fire-and-brimstone-themed movements, it offers a message of hope and charitable humanity, Fredenbugh said.
“It’s a good way to honor those that we lost but also look forward,” she says.
The second piece is Mozart’s popular Eine kleine Nachtmusik, a 1787 composition for a chamber ensemble. “We balance the Requiem with a little bit of fun,” Fredenburgh said.
The Fox Valley Orchestra Chorus will be joined by about 10 students from Aurora University, where Fredenburgh is a professor, and the newly formed Fox Valley Chamber Singers, which Fredenburgh helped create this year.
“Those singers come from all over the area,” she said. “We had our inaugural concert in March, and now that we’ve formed, we’re really excited to be moving forward with our vision.”
Soloists at the performance include mezzo-soprano Eunice Ayodele, baritone Aaron Wardell and David Jonies on the organ.
“There’s always a need for great ensembles, for people to make music at a high level,” Fredenburgh said. “This has been a dream of ours for quite a long time, and we’re excited to make it happen.”
The performance also gives both the chorus and the orchestra the opportunity to perform at the Marmion Abbey.
“The brothers at the abbey are just marvelous and supportive,” Fredenburgh said. “They are so supportive of having music in this space. The visual setting is gorgeous, and the acoustics are beautiful. It is a lovely place for us to be able to perform.
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While it’s exciting to perform again, Fredenburgh also emphasizes that the concert is a tribute to those we’ve lost over the last two years.
“Everyone has lost some,” she said. “In the chorus, one of the great members of our bass section, Ed Arnold, passed away due to COVID. It touches us deeply.”
Fox Valley Orchestra ‘Remember’
When: 2 p.m. May 1
Where: Marmion Abbey, 850 Butterfield Road, Aurora
Tickets: $16-$24
Information: 630-891-2526; foxvalleyorchestra.org
Jeff Banowetz is a freelance reporter for the Beacon-News.