Special Music
Each Sunday service includes some special music, either instrumental or vocal. Frequently the Prelude and Offertory are instrumental and then the choir, a soloist or a special ensemble will provide some additional music. The music comes from a wide variety of sources and styles that will touch or move the listener in some unique way.
Choir Concert: Requiem by Clif Hardin
Requiem, by composer Clif Hardin, will be the principal work performed in a Concert of Celebration and Remembrance at the The Unitarian Church of Baton Rouge on Sunday, November 6 at 6:00 p.m. The performance is part of the year-long celebration of the Church’s 60th Anniversary, and will honor its Founders and those who have sustained the church through its long history. Director Marie Flowers will direct the Youth Choir, and the Adult Choir will be directed by Music Director Ila Stoltzfus.
Although it will be the first performance for Baton Rouge audiences, Clif Hardin’s Requiem was first commissioned and performed in the Washington, DC area in 1993, and has been heard in performances on the East Coast. The work is a profoundly moving musical portrayal of the experiences surrounding death and dying, and evokes the complex themes of anger, grief, remembrance, and gratitude that are common to our experience of losing loved ones. Texts for the work come from the timeless words of Ecclesiastes and 19th and 20th century poets, all supporting the work’s theme: that love is as strong as death. The work includes soloists, narrator, and a small instrumental ensemble. The concert is free and open to the public.
Past Special Events
In the spring of 2009, the Adult Choir was invited to premiere selected works from the Missa Vitae, text by Rev. Mark Belletini and music by Wally Kleucker. We performed the Credo on March 29 with soloist Helen Hoffpauir and our Hand Bell ensemble directed by Sally Wood. On Easter Sunday the acapella choir sang the Gloria and the Sanctus. These three anthems, directed by Ila Stoltzfus can be heard on the audio page of this website.
