What many students tend to forget about music, is that it has been around for a very long time. An exact day is still unclear, so most musicians rely on estimates.
Vivaldis Gloria is a twelve-movement Latin chorale piece, in a cantata-mass genre, meant to be performed with an orchestra. This piece is assumed to have been written around 1713 and was only discovered in the 1920s. This piece had been written for the residents of the Ospedale della Pieta, one of four institutions for orphaned girls in Venice.
Vivaldi taught these girls, creating music specifically for them to perform.
The 12 movements tell a story that passes dissonances of its chorale parts suggesting that earth’s peace is weak at best and needs work.
It is hypnotic, tear-jerking, and breathtaking to listen to.
Nineteen Kearsley students were given the opportunity to perform this beautiful piece.
Kearsley’s acapella was asked by Flushing’s choir director, Mr. Deggner, to accompany them on November 14th for a once-in-a-high-school lifetime performance.
The preparation for this was rough. Due to timing issues, some students felt extremely rushed. Senior, Alayna Campbell, put into words how she felt while preparing.
“A lot of water and pre-concert stretches were involved, but being able to rely on the ACAP family support and laughs eased any fears I had. Even seconds before entering the stage, we were still smiling and making our usual jokes.”
Throughout the warmups, students were seen laughing and reassuring one another. No one went onto that stage without having some confidence in what they were about to do.
The students performed two of their fall concert pieces, “Red, Red Rose,” and “Bridge over Troubled Water,” which were huge hits. The crowd exploded in applause and all across the stage were happy faces.
“For Vivaldi I wasn’t nervous, but definitely during the time Kearsley sang their song,” Kearlsey Vocal music’s president, senior Madalyn Reif, explained, “I was very nervous for my solo, I usually don’t get that nervous.”
It is to be expected that anyone would be nervous performing a solo in front of many people, however, Reif mesmerized the crowd with her voice and the nerves ended up being for nothing.
Reif has made it to our district’s State choir, and being able to perform such a long and complicated piece solidified just how much she loves singing in these mass groups.
Students went backstage to get water and breathe as the Flushing choirs sang their songs, and U of M Flint’s orchestra played their songs. Shaking off their jitters, everyone took to the stage and began the thirty-minute piece.
The sound swept the crowd in a trance following each movement. Each piece builds a larger story and gives each section a chance to shine. Campbell proclaimed that her favorite movement was, “Cum sancto spiritu.”
A song that entails bringing together the holy trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit with the idea of God’s holiness.
“I think the best movement was definitely saved for last, and I love that all the sections take turns sharing the melody,” Campbell added, remarking this as the rightful grand finale of Vivaldi.
Many of the acapella group agreed with this statement.
Ask anyone in the group, they would all love to do something like this again. Emily Callahan, a junior, explained why.
“I think it would definitely be fun to do again, especially since we’ve done it once before. Usually, when doing this stuff after you’ve done it, it’s a lot less nerve-racking.”
When asked to elaborate on her feelings, especially when having to work with an adult choir, Callahan recalled feeling intimidated at first. However, after some consideration and getting to meet some of these adults during rehearsal she explained, “I eventually realized that it’s just an opportunity to learn and grow. It allowed me to see how other choirs work and what they do to get at the level they are.”
Callahan has been performing most of her life and a performance like this truly put everything into perspective for her.
All three girls were asked, “what did Vivaldi mean to you?” and each one remarked how important and wonderful it was to have been given this opportunity.
Reif told us some backstory as to why she was so excited to perform, not only a beautiful piece, with Flushings choir.
Finding out I was singing with my cousin (Keirdwen Mcclain) who goes to Flushing was a huge excitement for me. We’ve been very close for our whole lives and being able to sing together for our senior year was a very bittersweet moment.”
To Reif it felt unifying to sing with her cousin, introducing her (the cousin) to the choir she is in charge of. Vivaldi was a moment that each student in ACAP will remember forever.
To the average person, it seems scary, but Reif explained why she would recommend this style of performance to future performers.
“Singing is a very big passion of mine, and I believe everyone who has a small inkling of wanting to be in a choir should have an experience like this. Performing such a large piece with such a large group is very inspiring and what I love to do.”
ACAP is like one big family to the twenty girls in it. This performance was an opportunity to bring their family together and make a name for themselves with other people who are just as passionate as they are about music. There was an abundance of pride after this performance, and everyone felt a rush of satisfaction as they ran off stage with their friends.
Mr. Zachary Smith, ACAPS director, and the students of ACAP want to formally thank Mr Deggner for this unbelievable opportunity and performance. It truly was a phenomenal experience for everyone involved.
