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RE-IMAGINING THE CHORAL ART

​Skylark strives to set the standard for innovative and engaging programs that re-define the choral experience for audiences and singers alike. Artistic Director Matthew Guard’s well-researched and creative programs have been described as “engrossing” (WQXR New York) and “original, stimulating, and beautiful” (BBC Radio 3). Often incorporating extensive research to explore connections to history, literature, art, and other disciplines, Skylark's programs engage the audience in new ways, always trying to provide the appropriate context for pieces to have an authentic emotional impact. The sampling of past programs below, including links to full-color program booklets, gives you a window into the unique experience of attending a Skylark concert. 
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"Thematic programming is my passion. I truly believe in the power of the unaccompanied human voice to communicate at a visceral level. Yet, I do think it is a peculiar challenge to weave together a program that can keep someone riveted (or, let’s be honest, even actively listening!) for 60-odd minutes. While there are some true masterworks of the a cappella repertoire that Skylark has joyfully tackled (like the All-Night Vigil of Rachmaninoff and Poulenc’s Figure Humaine), the substantial body of unaccompanied choral literature consists of small gems — pieces that last between two and six minutes. It can be hard to find a home for these pieces. What is the right context that can bring a piece to life? How can we provide the emotional impetus to allow a piece to be truly understood? How can we get our singers and our audience to engage fully in a piece in a language that they do not understand?"  -Matthew Guard, Skylark Artistic Director

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Clear Voices in the Dark
Francis Poulenc’s Figure Humaine is one of the greatest works ever composed for unaccompanied choir – composed in 1943 in occupied France based on resistance-inspired poems by Paul Eluard, it is a stunning exploration of the grim realities of war, culminating in an optimistic and embattled cry for liberty in the face of oppression. Interspersed between Poulenc’s stirring and complex settings, Skylark offers far simpler (but no less beautiful) musical images from the American Civil War era. We share some well-known pieces that have remained in the popular consciousness, as well as beautiful war-inspired songs that have been long since forgotten (and only found thanks to the Duke University Historical Archives). 

“…awe-inspiring, spot-on performance which gave these songs renewed meaning and life… I was held absolutely spellbound"  -Susan Miron, Boston Music Intelligencer

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Once Upon a Time
A whimsical and inspiring evening of music inspired by classic fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen. Storyteller Sarah Walker and the artists of Skylark present the fantastical stories of Snow White and The Little Mermaid in impressionistic musical form, aided by music from a diverse and eclectic mix of composers, including Vaughan Williams, Poulenc, Tallis, Hildegard von Bingen, Tormis, Bernstein, and Lauridsen. Once Upon a Time is a memorable evening that brings music and fantasy to life in a whole new way!

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Seven Words from the Cross
Conceived for Skylark's international at Tenebrae's prestigious Holy Week Festival in London, this highly original program progresses through the scriptural seven last words of Christ on the Cross, pairing uniquely American choral works with music from other parts of the world. ​

​"On paper it appeared to be a highly ambitious salmagundi of styles, both textual and musical; in performance it proved to be a very compelling mix of naked emotions and inward reflection, the tender and the searing, the old and the new."  -​Geoffrey Wieting, Boston Music Intelligencer

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Theorem
Mathematics and music are intimately connected. All of the pieces in this program explore music's close connections to mathematical form and beauty, bringing to life musical illustrations of repeating patterns, multiplication, transformation, reflection, symmetry, chaos, fractals, and infinity. Theorem features compositions spanning 800 years of composers, including works by Tallis, Ockeghem, Byrd, Dufay, Britten, Chilcott, Nørgård, and Bach. As the conclusion to the program, Skylark performs Jesu, meine Freude, a profoundly symmetrical composition that is a masterful example of J.S. Bach's mathematical compositional language.

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Winter's Night
Released in album form to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the death of composer Hugo Distler, this concert features all seven of Distler’s variations on the timeless Christmas hymn “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming,” interwoven with works that share a historical or compositional connection to Distler’s. 

​"Imaginative and Deep"  -Clive Paget, Limelight Magazine (Australia)



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Email: info@skylarkensemble.org
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Phone (voicemail): 617.245.4958
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©2022, Skylark Vocal Ensemble Inc.
300 Colonial Center Parkway, STE 100N, Roswell GA 30076
617-245-4958
  • Home
  • UPCOMING EVENTS
    • Sauntering Songs
    • Clear Voices in the Dark
  • Donate
  • Video
  • Albums
  • About
  • Education
    • Il bianco e dolce cigno
    • Abendfeier in Venedig
    • If Ye Love Me
    • Mon Coeur
    • Otche Nash
    • Summer is Gone
    • I Conquer the World with Words
    • It's a Long Way
    • Exploring the Rachmaninoff Vespers
  • Press