This weekend, the Dartmouth Glee Club will bring back two relics from the past: Laura Choi Stuart '01 and replicas and restorations of 18th-century musical instruments. By calling on the past, "Titans of the 18th Century in Praise and Contemplation" promises to continue the Club's tradition of excellence.
"Titans" will include a rendition of Joseph Hayden's "Missa in Angustiis," also known as "Lord Nelson's Mass." The performance will also feature presentations of three other smaller pieces by Mozart: "Alma Dei Creatoris," "Laudate Dominum" and "Laudate Pueri."
One of the high points of the show is the return of soprano Stuart, a Dartmouth graduate and former Glee Club member. Noted by the Boston Globe as a "lyrical soprano of ravishing quality," Stuart made her professional opera debut in 2004 with the Boston Lyrical Opera as Elvira in "L'Italiana in Algeri" and has since been seen in a variety of other opera performances.
Stuart and Glee Club Director Louis Burkot have worked together on a variety of performances since her graduation. This will be her second return performance to Dartmouth.
This Saturday's performance is unique, according to Burkot, for its use of period Baroque instruments, which have been restored or are replicas. Burkot noted that the use of period instruments allows the singers to perform "exactly how the music is supposed to go."
The Glee Club performed Lord Nelson's Mass several years ago, but without the benefit of a period instrumental accompaniment.
This time, however, the Arcadia Players, a professional ensemble of musicians based in Massachusetts, will provide the instrumental accompaniment.
Specializing in 17th- and 18th-century music, the Arcadia Players have been featured in several other Dartmouth musical performances and feature two Dartmouth faculty members.
The more than 60 members of the Glee Club have been practicing these pieces and preparing for their performance for only three and a half weeks. In order to prepare the performance in so little time, the singers have been practicing with few breaks. Despite the pressure, Burkot has been very pleased with the group's progress.
"Titans of the 18th Century" will be performed this Saturday, Feb. 2, in Spaulding Auditorium at 8 p.m.
