Members of the Greenville Chorale have spent the last several weeks experiencing something most musicians won’t in their lifetimes: working with a living composer on a piece of music written specifically for them.
“I show up as a living composer and people are like, ‘You’re still alive!’” Greenville composer Dan Forrest jokes, acknowledging that most traditional choral music was written decades or centuries ago.
Forrest was commissioned by longtime local arts supporters Gordon and Sarah Herring in fall 2014 to compose a piece of music for the Chorale. The result is “LUX: the dawn from on high,” which the Greenville Chorale and Greenville Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Bingham Vick Jr., will perform on Oct. 28.
The Greenville Chorale’s Vick says it’s a “distinct honor and privilege to do the world premiere — the first performance — of any work.” He adds, “Those opportunities don’t come around very often.”
After the Chorale first performed Forrest’s “Requiem for the Living” in fall 2014, the Herrings were inspired to commission the composer for his “next great choral-orchestral masterwork.” The upcoming concert will also feature “Requiem for the Living.”
Rehearsals with the Chorale and Forrest at the piano began Sept. 4. Those initial sessions were the first time Forrest had heard his latest composition sung by live voices, and it became clear some changes were in order.
“That’s the beauty of it,” Forrest says. “If you’re working with a new piece and living composer, you can make those adjustments. The choir can observe music taking shape before their eyes.”
Vick says the rehearsals have been invaluable from his standpoint as conductor, working to communicate the composer’s ideas, and for Forrest, being able to fine-tune his composition.
“He had the advantage of having us as the laboratory,” Vick says. “Composers can’t put every thing on the printed page.”
Hearing breathing patterns, specific tempos, and volumes in person has allowed Forrest to rework certain passages and annotate the music appropriately for publication so his original intent is communicated.
“I can be fussy, and we can get it right,” Forrest says. “It’s good to help the choir realize music is not just these black notes that are sacrosanct.”
The first joint rehearsal with the orchestra will take place Friday night before the Saturday performance, which won’t allow for full-scale revisions as Forrest hears the orchestration in its complete form for the first time. He plans to work with Vick on the minor adjustments he can make.
Another unique opportunity represented by “LUX” is the rarity of a living composer working with a living lyricist. In this case, Forrest came across a poem, “The Gift,” by Daniel Ladinsky that was penned in 1999, and Forrest chose to use it for the third section of the choral work. It reads, “Even / After / All this time / The sun never says to the earth, / “You owe / Me.” / Look / What happens / With a love like that, / It lights the / Whole / Sky.”
“He modeled this poem after Hafiz, the ancient mystic Persian poet,” Forrest says. “It’s a stunning poem, in its simplicity, and really becomes the keystone of my whole work.”
Lyrics for the four other sections of “LUX” are drawn from biblical scripture, seventh-century chant, and liturgy.
Forrest will hold a pre-concert talk at 7 p.m. for those interested in learning more about the commissioned work, his creative process, and musical inspiration.
By the numbers:
8-10 months Dan Forrest has been actively composing “LUX”
164 Greenville Chorale members
3,608 collective rehearsal hours
$90,000–$100,000 the cost of “LUX” with commission, venue rental, orchestra, music production, and publicity
Greenville Chorale, with the Greenville Symphony Orchestra, presents “Celebrating the Music of Dan Forrest”
When: Oct. 28, 8 p.m.
Where: The Peace Center, 300 S. Main St.
Tickets: $40 adults, $20 students
Info: peacecenter.org
