Choral groups don’t usually commission musical compositions, but that is exactly what Schola Cantorum on the Hudson has done. Based at St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church on Ninth Avenue near Hamilton Park, the 30-member choral group will present a concert featuring "Litany of the Sun" created by Texas-based composer Jeffery Nytch.
"Some choral groups are hesitant to commission a work because it might be too complex for them," said Deborah King, the group’s artistic director. "But our group is strong enough to do it."
Now in its eighth season of performing, Schola Cantorum was started by King in 1995 when King was a professor at what is now New Jersey City University.
"We decided to go on our own when I left the university," explained King. "St. Michael’s has provided us with a home ever since."
King credited the late Father Hugh Fitzgerald for bringing the choir group to St. Michael’s.
"He invited us to be choir in residence at the church and we’ve been here ever since," King added.
"Litany of the Sun," which will have its premiere 4 p.m. Sunday, June 8 at the church, has been three years in the making. The work, which sets to music six poems by Indian Nobel Prize winner Rabindranath Tagore, had its genesis in a conversation between composer Nytch and Cantorum member Roger West.
"Roger was in New York state where another composition of mine called ‘Soul of Silence’ was being performed," explained Nytch during a phone interview from his residence in Austin, Texas. "This work was also based on poems by Tagore, and Roger told me his wife was a fan of Tagore and liked one of his poems called ‘The Astronomer’s Song.’ "
The two decided the Tagore poem, only a few lines long, would make an excellent song. However, Nytch saw the composition as a longer piece, and the poem that inspired it hardly provided enough material. Nytch then looked at other Tagore poems. He incorporated them into a composition that be the center piece of the June 8 performance entitled "War and Peace."
"I like to work with Tagore’s poetry because he was a very spare writer," said Nytch. "If a poet’s work is too ornate, the words get in the way of the music. With Tagore’s spare and evocative way of writing, the listener has a chance to be contemplative."
Inspiring poet won Nobel Prize
Tagore was the first non-Western writer to win the Nobel Prize for literature. He is best known for his poetry and novels, but was also a painter and composed the Indian national anthem "Jana Gana Mana."
Nytch added that he has used varied literary sources in his compositions, including the Psalms from the Old Testament.
"I’ve written a lot of sacred music," said Nytch. "I’ve drawn materials from a number of faiths."
Nytch began composing while in high school in his native upstate New York, and since then his works have been performed at Lincoln Center, the SoHo Arts Festival and the Marktoberdorf International Chamber Choir Competition. Nytch doesn’t put a label on the kind of music he creates.
"I say I’m a classical composer," said Nytch. "But when you say that, people think you
compose music like Mozart. My music is different."
Group stresses variety
Like the composer whose music they will be performing, Schola Cantorum on the Hudson performs a wide variety of music.
"We are fairly eclectic," said King. "We do classical, but in a very broad sense. Ethnic music is part of our repertoire."
Every year, the Cantorum gives a performance focusing on a particular nation’s musical heritage. Last March, the choir group did a festival of German music.
"We also do classical compositions like Handel’s Messiah at Christmastime," added King.
According to King, "schola cantorum" comes from the Latin and can be translated as "school of singers" or as "we sing."
"The idea of a schola cantorum goes back to eighth century A.D. Rome, where the Catholic Church established singing groups," explained King. "There are a lot of choir groups around right now using the title ‘schola cantorum,’ so we added ‘on the Hudson’ to set us apart."
Baritone Mark Davis has been a member of the choir group for the last year and half.
"In 1999, I came to a concert the choir was performing at the church," Davis stated. "One of my students from my Sunday school introduced me to the choir and I went for an audition."
Trying out for Schola Cantorum was the first singing Davis had done since his college days at Rutgers University.
"I belonged to the choir down there," said Davis, who lived in the Van Vorst Park section of downtown before recently moving to Bloomfield in Essex County. "I still miss Jersey City a lot."
Davis, like the rest of the choir, is excited to be participating in the debut of an original composition.
"I like different composers like Ives and Copeland," said Davis. "It is important to realize that we are going to be the first group to perform this work. This kind of thing is significant."