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St. Charles Singers continue 'Mozart Journey' Sept. 30-Oct. 1

The St. Charles Singers will launch its 34th concert season this fall with a new installment of the professional chamber choir's "Mozart Journey," its multiyear project to perform Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's complete sacred choral music.

The concerts will be at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30, at Baker Memorial United Methodist Church, 307 Cedar Ave. in St. Charles; and 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 1, at St. Mary Catholic Church, 397 Fulton St. in Elgin.

The mixed-voice ensemble, conducted by founder and music director Jeffrey Hunt, and the Metropolis Chamber Orchestra will present "Mozart Journey XII."

"Audiences will hear some of Mozart's lesser-known but most transcendent choral works," Hunt says.

Featuring a choir of 32 voices, the 12th installment in the Mozart Journey series offers music that will appeal to those who enjoy Mozart's symphonies and operas, Hunt says.

The "Litaniae de venerabili altaris sacramento" (Litany in Honor of the Blessed Sacrament) in B-flat Major, K. 125, enlists soprano, alto, tenor, and bass soloists; four-part chorus; and an orchestra of woodwinds, brass, and strings, with organ accompaniment.

A highlight of Mozart's festive "Regina coeli" (Queen of Heaven) in C Major, K. 108, is a delicate, demanding operatic soprano solo with florid passages and wide vocal leaps. The uplifting final movement has been compared to a miniature symphony finale.

Mozart's "Misericordias Domini" (Mercies of the Lord) in D-minor, K.222, has been described as a "masterpiece of counterpoint." Mozart wrote it to demonstrate his skill at writing multiple melody lines that work perfectly together.

The chamber orchestra will perform Mozart's high-spirited Symphony No. 12 in G Major, K. 110. Mozart, then 15 years old, wrote this charming short symphony in 1771, the same year as the "Regina coeli," K. 108, to be heard in the program. The symphony's exuberant finale includes an exotic, Near Eastern touch derived from the Hungarian and gypsy musical influences that found their way to Mozart's Austria from the frontiers of the Turkish Empire.

A preconcert lecture by Wheaton College Professor of Music Jonathan Saylor will begin an hour before each Mozart Journey performance.

Tickets are $35, $30 for seniors or $10 for students.

Purchase your season subscription by Sept. 30 and receive a 20-percent discount. Visit stcharlessingers.com.

Tickets may be purchased online up to two hours before each concert. Tickets purchased within 6 days of the concert will be retained for pickup as "will call" at the door.

Tickets also may be purchased at TownHouse Books and Cafe, 105 N. Second Ave., St. Charles. Cash and checks only for TownHouse ticket purchases.

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