Margins

The Silent Voices: From the Margins 

David Lang: the little match girl passion
Caroline Shaw: To the Hands

 

Watch the concert.
 

Bechtler Ensemble
Northwest School of the Arts
Charlotte Master Chorale Chamber Singers
Kenney Potter, conducting

Caroline Shaw 02.jpgDavid Lang 02.jpgMargins features our Chamber Singers performing two important contemporary works: Pulitzer Prize® winner Caroline Shaw’s To the Hands, and David Lang’s Pulitzer Prize®-winning the little match girl passion.

To the Hands  highlights texts from immigrants and refugees coming to the United States. According to the composer, "To the Hands begins inside the 17th century sound of Dieterich Buxtehude. It expands and colors and breaks this language, as the piece’s core considerations, of the suffering of those around the world seeking refuge, and of our role and responsibility in these global and local crises, gradually come into focus."

Lang's the little match girl passion  is a setting of Hans Christian Andersen’s fable of a girl and the choices she faces due to extreme poverty. As  Reed Johnson of the Los Angeles Times  put it, "Equally inspired by Bach’s St. Matthew Passion  and Hans Christian Andersen’s story “The Little Match Girl,” Lang’s piece is a rare bird in contemporary classical music: a broadly accessible work on which critics as well as the public bestow their blessings."

The concert will be recorded at the  Bechtler Museum of Modern Art  and feature the Bechtler Ensemble, as well as artists' renderings of the texts from students at the Northwest School of the Arts. It will be an aurally and visually engaging performance of works from two Pulitzer Prize-winning composers.

This project was made possible thanks to the generous financial support of the Bechtler Ensemble.


PROJECT PARTNERS


Bechtler Ensemble logo.jpg Bechtler Museum logo.jpg Northwest logo.jpg


RESOURCES


Musical


To the Hands 

Caroline Shaw has made the score available to the public.

Download the Text

Download the Score

Download Caroline Shaw's Note

Visit Caroline Shaw's web site

the little match girl passion


Visit David Lang's web site

Community Partners


Our performances—and music we select—are intended to do more than provide entertainment. With this concert, we hope to boost awareness of our neighbors who need assistance and to spur action. This is part of our long-term goal to continue to build bridges in our community, and to broaden access to the power, beauty, solace, and joy that choral music provides.

Our community partners for this event provide much-needed services to residents of greater Charlotte throughout the year. Click on their logos to visit their sites.

Charlotte Family Housing  The Center for Community Transitions  Freedom School Partners  Loaves and Fishes rain logo.jpg Refugee Support Services Samaritan House  Supportive Housing Communities


PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
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To protect our performers and our audience during the pandemic, Charlotte Master Chorale is presenting its fall lineup through free virtual concerts. If you would like to help offset the loss of ticket revenue and support the efforts of the Charlotte Master Chorale, you can make a secure online gift by clicking "GIVE NOW" on our  Support  page.

Fall 2020 Events

Unity Concert: Stand Together

Unity Concert: Stand Together

Premiering online on May 1, 2021, "Unity Concert: Stand Together" features the Charlotte Master Chorale and members of Charlotte Contemporary Ensemble. We will feature Robert Ray’s Gospel Mass, as well as other works that encourage peace, joy, and unity.
Christmas with the Charlotte Master Chorale

Christmas with the Charlotte Master Chorale

Premiering Saturday, December 19, 2020, "Christmas with the Charlotte Master Chorale: A Quarantine Christmas" will some of the great carols of the season to promotes hope, love, joy, and peace. We hope this annual event will serve as a pillar in the December concert season.
Margins

Margins

October 3 launches our 2020-21 season with the online premiere of "Margins", featuring Pulitzer-prize winning composers Caroline Shaw and David Lang. This is a unique collaboration between the Bechtler Museum, Bechtler Ensemble, Northwest School of the Arts, and the Chamber Singers of the Charlotte Master Chorale.