Spring Oratorio: Light from Light

On the eve of Holy Week, the Duke Chapel Choir joins forces with Mallarmé Music to perform two stunning expressions of faith.

Arvo Pärt's Berliner Messe was written in 1990 for a German religious festival following the fall of the Berlin Wall. Yet its origins lie in an earlier work, the 1977 Summa, a setting of the Creed written in Estonia during an era in which Pärt could not openly express his faith. The mass moves between ethereal serenity and joyous exuberance, woven together by Pärt's signature tintinnabuli technique.

John Rutter's beloved Requiem premiered in 1985 and was dedicated to the memory of his father. It combines portions of the traditional Latin Requiem with English-language scriptures-Psalm 130, Psalm 23, and verses from Job and John-in a musical tapestry of solace and reassurance.