The gap between being a saint or a sinner is arbitrary and extreme, don’t you think? To be a saint one must bear a holiness, purity, or likeness to a deity. To be a sinner -- well, if you’re human, that is pretty easy to accomplish. How one becomes a saint or a sinner has been discussed in works of art spanning thousands of years. The conclusion always comes down to how impossible it is to reach sainthood and how easy it is to commit a sin. Yet, the two constantly remain for balance since saints cannot exist unless sinners are around.
Philadelphia Voices of Pride, Philadelphia’s only mixed-voice LGBTQ and Ally choir, welcomes you to join them for an evening appropriately titled Saints and Sinners. This will be a performance that focuses on the title theme as well as heaven and hell, light and darkness, and good and evil. The concert will be split into two sections and will feature some incredibly complex music both in musical execution and subject matter.
PVOP is very excited to be performing music with a chamber orchestra again! Most notably, listeners can expect to hear the accompaniment of lovely strings for Leonard Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms,” an 18 and ½ minute piece sung in Hebrew. “Chichester Psalms” debuted in 1965 and has continued to be praised as a complex and beautiful choral work.
Carl Orff’s epic “O Fortuna” of Carmina Burana fame is another highlight of the concert. “O Fortuna” has been featured in many films, television programs, and commercials to set the mood for something big and dramatic. If you pay any attention to popular culture, you have unquestionably heard and felt this thunderous work.
Other highlights include György Orbán's "Daemon Irrepit Callidus," a rhythmic, a cappella piece that delves into the subject matter of temptation and how easy it is for one to succumb to its wiles. On the saintly side of the concert, Benjamin Britten’s beautiful work “A Hymn to the Virgin” will be performed.
From the pop spectrum, of Chicago fame, "All That Jazz" will get the audience singing and tapping their feet. John Williams’ “Double Trouble” from the film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban should be a crowd favorite. A choral rendition of Stevie Wonder's chart topping hit "Superstition" will be another highlight of the evening. Our audience can expect to enjoy the traditional spiritual "Sinner Man". Nina Simone’s version of this song is one of the most well known, but it has been performed by many artists throughout the years.
A truly fabulous, big performance from PVOP and its guests musicians will take place on Saturday, June 2, 2018, at 8pm at Trinity Center for Urban Life (2212 Spruce St, Philadelphia, PA 19103). Tickets for Saints and Sinners may be purchased here.