Associate Conductor and Choral Director Edward Polochick hits the musical trifecta Wednesday as he leads three groups — his Peabody Concert Orchestra, the Peabody Singers and the Peabody-Hopkins Chorus — in a holiday concert showcasing the works of three geniuses of classical composition: Handel, Beethoven and Bernstein.
“The [program] covers beautifully everything that needs to be fulfilled by the students on a conservatory level,” said Polochick. “They get three different periods of music to work on: Baroque, classical and 20th century.”
All three forces (choruses and orchestra) combine in the festive opening that features Handel’s “Coronation Anthem No.1, ‘Zadok the Priest’ ” and “Coronation Anthem No.3, ‘My Heart is Inditing.’ ”
The anthems use texts from the King James Bible: The first chapter of 1 Kings and Psalm 45, respectively. Composed for the coronation of George II in 1727, “Zadok the Priest” has been performed at every British coronation since then.
The next work on the program, Leonard Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms,” was written to commemorate the rebuilding of Chichester Cathedral after it was bombed during World War II.
Bernstein himself described the “Psalms,” which he set Hebrew texts, as “the most B-flat major-ish, tonal piece I’ve ever written.”
Incorporating the text from the 23rd Psalm (“The Lord is my Shepherd”), Bernstein intended for the solo part to be sung specifically by a young boy to sound as the young David, future king of Israel.
“We are particularly pleased to be joined by our guest, boy alto soloist Joshua Lucker,” commented Paul Faatz, administrator of Choral Ensembles at Peabody.
Lucker is a seventh-grader from Silver Spring and a student at the Preparatory’s Columbia location. He recently performed in Bernstein’s “Mass” with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
“This piece is so beautiful,” Polochick continued. “The boy alto is surrounded with the sound of the sopranos and altos in the chorus.”
The orchestra performs solo in the concert’s second half, presenting Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 5 in C-minor, Op.67.”
“Our approach to this piece is “classical” as we try to hold true to [the composer’s] original time markings,” Polochick said. “It will be lighter, faster and more brilliant than people are used to hearing.”
IF YOU GO
Beethoven and Bible Verses
» Venue: Peabody Conservatory, Miriam A. Friedberg Concert Hall
17 E. Mount Vernon Place, Baltimore
» When: 8 p.m. Wednesday
» Admission: $15
» Info.: 410-659-8100 ext. 2; www.peabody.jhu.edu
