DaCapo Choir’s “The Colour of Freedom”
I went to DaCapo Chamber Choir’s concert titled “The Colour of Freedom.”
This concert is the start of DaCapo’s “three-year series inspired by the global refugee situation. The series is organized around general themes of Displacement (this season), Resettlement (18/19), and Renewal (19/20). Motivating the plan is the conviction that art is necessary and possibly central to the development and maintenance of civil society, and that it can serve as leaven for peace-making.”
Here’s the program:
- Horizons — Peter van Dijk
- Psalm 137 — J. Scott Brubacher
- Colour of Freedom — Iman Habibi
- with Amir Haghighi, soloist
- Song of Invocation — Sheldon Rose
- Candles — Christine Donkin
- Tal vez tenemos tiempo — Tarik O’Regan
- To You before the close of day — Jeff Enns
- This still room — Jonathan Adams
The “big” piece of the night was “Colour of Freedom.” The soloist sings in a traditional Persian style, very different from what I’m used to hearing. The piece was written in response to the election protests and crackdown on them that took place in Iran in 2009.
The audience was very enthusiastic about Haghighi, giving him a standing ovation — he came back to do an encore at the end. They were also enthusiastic about the choir, giving them a standing ovation after the 2nd half.
In terms of harmonies, my favourite piece was the O’Regan.
As usual, it was a glorious concert. Leonard Enns directs the choir.
I previously discussed their concert “O, Canada!“
November 6th, 2022 at 8:36 pm
You can hear this performance of “Colour of Freedom” here…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMoCTeRU6ys