Locklair: A Choral Portrait

 

On March 4, Cantari Voices Ensemble presents a Dan Locklair portrait concert featuring two choral works: A DuBose Heyward Triptych and his recent Requiem. Conductor Dr. Sue Klausmeyer leads the ensemble’s program at The Chapel of the Cross in Chapel Hill, NC.

Cantori Voices

A DuBose Heyward Triptych is a three-movement, 16-minute a cappella work commissioned by The Carolina Chamber Chorale, who premiered it in 2001. Klausmeyer elaborates. “Dan Locklair creates a cappella settings of three poems which describe the coastal beauty and historical significance of the city of Charleston, SC. Heyward was a native son of Charleston and wrote the novel Porgy, and just a decade later collaborated with George Gershwin on the opera ‘Porgy and Bess.’ I’ve always loved Charleston and I liked the challenge of conducting these pieces with their rapidly changing meters and towering harmonies and the opportunity to learn something more about the poet.”

Dr. Sue Klausmeyer

Locklair’s Requiem premiered in fall 2015 in Winston-Salem, NC as part of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church’s All Saints Day celebration. Organist and choirmaster John Cummins led the performance of the nine-movement, 45-minute work for four soloists, SATB chorus, strings and organ. The Requiem is set in English and uses elements of the Latin Mass, along with non-traditional solo movements of additional Biblical texts of comfort and assurance. Klausmeyer continues. “Locklair’s Requiem was first recommended to me by an organist-colleague. It’s a beautiful work, which alternates choral and solo movements, and was conceived as a memorial tribute to the composer’s parents. [Although the world premiere featured strings], the original organ version is definitely a full partner with the vocalists, [and] provides a colorful and powerful backdrop to the texts.”