On June 7 and 8, 2008, the Capitol Hill Chorale closed its fifteenth season on Capitol Hill with a concert titled Back to Basics, performed at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation. The program was dedicated to the memory of Dr. R. Paul Drummond, a mentor to Artistic Director Frederick Binkholder who had died the previous September.
The evening ranged widely, opening with Benjamin Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb and continuing through choral miniatures by Charles Ives and Francis Poulenc and Samuel Barber’s Reincarnations before intermission. The second half turned to sacred and folk repertoire, including spirituals arranged by William L. Dawson and Jester Hairston, Irish ballads arranged by Alice Parker, and Rossini’s I Gondolieri.
Program
- Rejoice in the Lamb, Op. 30 — Benjamin Britten
- Jefferson — arr. Luther Noss
- Serenity — Charles Ives
- Ave Verum Corpus — Francis Poulenc
- Reincarnations, Op. 16 — Samuel Barber
- A Red, Red, Rose — James Mulholland
- Alone! — R. Paul Drummond
- Timor et Tremor — Francis Poulenc
- Eli, Eli! — Gyorgy Deak-Bárdos
- Soon Ah Will Be Done — arr. William L. Dawson
- There is a Balm in Gilead — arr. William L. Dawson
- Our Troubles Was Hard — arr. Jester Hairston
- Come to Me, My Love — Norman Dello Joio
- Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye — arr. Alice Parker
- My Gentle Harp — arr. Alice Parker
- I Gondolieri — Gioacchino Rossini
Frederick Binkholder conducted, with Jinsun Cho as accompanist. Chorale members Beth Hague, Leanne Repko, Carl Ford, and J.R. Windsor (Saturday) or Chris McGahey (Sunday) sang the solo parts in Rejoice in the Lamb, and Sharon Thompson soloed in There is a Balm in Gilead.
