Farther Christmas: The English countryside serves as inspiration when The Oratorio Society of Virginia returns for its annual holiday concert. Christmas at the Paramount’s (below right) featured works, Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Christmas Carols and Gerald Finzi’s In Terra Pax, complement each other as the two British composers were colleagues and shared an affection for infusing their homeland’s pastoral magic into compositions that celebrate the holiday spirit. Music Director Michael Slon leads 80 community singers, along with an orchestra, soloists, and a children’s choir, through these passionate works plus seasonal favorites.
Related stories
Army of the ordinary
Director James Hawes’ One Life does justice to the moving, true story of modest World War II hero Nicholas Winton, a London stockbroker who rescued hundreds of children from the Nazis. Based on the book, If It’s Not Impossible… The Life of Sir Nicholas Winton, by his daughter Barbara, the film is deeply compelling, even […]
Timeless and seasoned
We first heard The Zombies in 1964 when the hit single “She’s Not There” crossed the pond from UK pop charts and gave the group some stateside bona fides. The band, featuring founding keyboardist Rod Argent and lead singer Colin Blunstone, is still delivering its hits on stage, including “Time of the Season” (What’s your […]
What love has to do with it
Directed by Ti Ames and set in 1963 at the beginning of the civil rights movement, Fireflies (above), the second part of Donja R. Love’s trilogy, delves into the lives of Reverend Charles Emmanuel Grace and his wife, Olivia. The couple, whose marriage is in trouble, wrangles with secret queer love, infidelity, and alcohol abuse […]
