On April 18 and 19, at Calvary Presbyterian Church in San Francisco, San Francisco Choral Society will be presenting a luminous program of choral favorites.

Headlining the concerts will be Morten Lauridsen’s beloved Lux Aeterna. Lauridsen composed the work in 1997, the year his mother died. The consolation for grief offered by Lauridsen’s work is often compared to that of Fauré’s Requiem and Brahms’s Ein Deutsches Requiem, both works inspired by the deaths of the composers’ mothers. “It is a meditation on light, a universal symbol of illumination at all levels – the spiritual, the religious, beauty, understanding, goodness – all that elevates us as human beings,” Lauridsen has said.

Benjamin Britten composed Rejoice in the Lamb in 1943, basing the work on the poem “Jubilate Agno” by Christopher Smart. The poem, written while Smart was in an asylum, depicts joyous, delightfully idiosyncratic praise and worship of God by all created beings and things, each in its own way.

Also on the program, Maurice Duruflé’s Quatre Motets sur des thèmes grégoriens and motets by Anton Bruckner.

Stay tuned – our celebrated guest artists will soon be announced.

About San Francisco Choral Society

Inspired by the joy of singing and hearing choral music, the San Francisco Choral Society is a premier symphonic chorus, presenting outstanding performances of choral masterpieces and new commissioned works. Infused with a commitment to excellence and education, our professional artistic and administrative staff, soloists, and orchestras work collaboratively with our all-volunteer auditioned singers to foster a vibrant, diverse, and interactive choral community, educate our singers and audiences, and extend our reach to youth.

For more information, visit sfchoral.org