little match girl passion

Two years ago, Chorus pro Musica was eagerly about to perform the Boston premiere of Julia Wolfe’s Anthracite Fields with Bang On a Can All-Stars. This uniquely rhythmic, thrilling piece won a Pulitzer Prize in 2015 and a place in Chorus pro Musica’s heart and history books. Alas, the concert was just one more casualty of the onset of COVID-19.

But our attachment to this style of music has stayed strong, and this weekend we are proud to present—live and in person—David Lang’s the little match girl passion and other pieces. Along with Julia Wolfe and Michael Gordon, Lang was an original member of Bang on a Can, and the similarities between the two works are striking. With repeated phrases, unpredictable rhythms, and percussive vocals and accompaniment, Lang’s own Pulitzer Prize winner (2007) tells another poignant story.

the little match girl passion retells Hans Christian Andersen’s tale about an impoverished child selling matches on the street one cold winter night who is brought to heaven by her beloved grandmother. Its form mirrors that of Bach’s Saint Matthew Passion, setting a simplistic storyline and text in a complex choral work. These components, under the influence of Lang’s eclectic and spooky music, are transformed into something completely new and riveting.

To complement the wintry atmospherics of the little match girl passion, our other pieces allude to the sky and the elements. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s eerie Sea Drift takes place in the “night and wind and thunder”; with autumn rains Caroline Shaw’s and the swallow, Psalm 84, intones the yearning of the homeless and refugees; and, in a sunny reprise from our June 2021 Driveway Choir concert, Shawn Kirchner’s incomparable Unclouded Day sees “far beyond the skies.” These works all center on a common theme of home. As Chorus pro Musica sings of “dwelling places”—whether occupied, dispossessed, or longed for–we hold in our hearts everyone whose home is not available or safe, all those who face dark skies and storms.

This concert will be FREE with a suggested donation of $25. A portion of proceeds will go to Partners in Health to honor the late Dr. Paul Farmer's work with refugees and members of underserved populations.

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