St. Matthew’s Music Guild to Host Annual Holiday Concert

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

St. Matthew’s Music Guild will host its annual Holiday Concert on the evening of Friday, December 6, with a program that features the music of Henry Purcell, Arcangelo Corelli and more.

The 40th anniversary season will continue with a “lively program of music for the holidays.”

“The concert—featuring The Chamber Orchestra at St. Matthew’s and Choir of St. Matthew’s Parish, conducted by Dwayne S. Milburn—kicks off with Baroque masterpieces by Henry Purcell and Arcangelo Corelli,” read a statement. “The Chamber Orchestra will be joined by choir and soloists in [Antonio] Vivaldi’s effervescent ‘Gloria’ in D major. A traditional sing-along of [George Frideric] Handel’s ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ will round out the program.”

Vivaldi composed the majority of his major works, including “Gloria,” while working as master of violin at the Ospedale della Pietà, which was an orphanage for girls in Venice, according to Music Guild.

“The ‘Gloria,’ in the festive key of D major, is beloved for its charming melodies and driving rhythms, and features operatic arias and duets for soprano and alto—solos that would have originally been sung by the girls in Vivaldi’s charge,” the statement continued.

Together with Vivaldi, Corelli is credited with establishing the “language of Baroque instrumental music in Italy.” Corelli wrote “Concerto Grosso Op. 6, no. 8,” which is known as the “Christmas Concerto” for his hometown, Rome. It is written to evoke “the sense of calm and quiet on Christmas night,” with “a pastorale in a lilting ‘Sicilian’ rhythm.”

Purcell composed “The Gordian Knot Untied”—“incidental music for a theatrical production of the same name.” Though “little is known about the play,” it is “presumed to have been based on the legend of the Gordian knot.” The legend states that whoever untied the “complex knot tied to an oxcart” would become the ruler of all of Asia.

“No holiday concert is complete without a rousing rendition of Handel’s ‘Hallelujah Chorus,’” the statement read. “The choir and orchestra will lead the audience in a sing-along of the holiday favorite.”

The concert will begin at 8 p.m. at St. Matthew’s Parish, located at 1031 Bienveneda Avenue. Tickets are available for $45 or as part of a season pack.

A free, pre-concert conversation will be offered by Milburn starting at 7:10 p.m. in the church.

For more information, including a link to purchase tickets, visit musicguildonline.org.