Masterworks on tap: Griffin Choral Arts to perform

Griffin Choral Arts ‘“ which has a number of local members ‘“ will perform its second annual spring concert at the Gordon fine arts auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 5. (video after the jump)”It’s a great group from Barnesville,” said director Steve Mulder, from Lamar County himself. “There will be a lot of familiar faces.”New to the GCA board are Barnesville residents Charles and Jean Dukes, who signed on this season.Masterworks: World Music will focus on folk music from different cultures, ranging from Argentina to Africa, complete with drumming and dancing. ”The music is very colorful,” Mulder said. “It’s unavoidable to involve the body. It’s probably one of the more accessible programs we’ve done. It’s full of energy.”Choristers will sing in the foreign languages in which the songs were written. The main piece, Misa Criola, is sung in Spanish. Others are sung in Shona, Korean and Japanese. The encore is an American folk song.Misa Criola, a piece of about 20 minutes, will include three percussionists, guitar, string bass and, hopefully, a harpsichord. It will feature guest soloist Adam Kirkpatrick, a tenor from Kennesaw State University.Written in the mid-1960s, it is one of the first pieces created after the Catholic church began to allow masses written in the vernacular rather than Latin and set to indigenous music.”There was a new liberation of expression with folk songs and dance styles,” said Mulder.Three African pieces include Horizon, which tells the story of the native peoples victimized by colonization.”The chorus does its own percussion,” he said. “The chorus really embraced this. They had to memorize the piece because they can’t hold a folder.”Mulder notes the concert is set for the same night as the chamber’s community awards banquet, which happened when they moved it from a date that fell during Gordon’s spring break.”We’re a week earlier and hoping to see more of Gordon’s students, faculty and staff,” he said. “Griffin and Barnesville are the only places we’re performing right now, so we’re hoping for a big audience.”Tickets are $10 for general admission. They are available locally from Goggans Florist on Market Street.”Mind, body, spirit, voice ‘“  it takes the whole person to sing and rejoice,” said Mulder, quoting Helen Kemp. “I’ve adopted that as a motto for what Griffin Choral Arts is all about.”For information visit www.griffinchoralarts.org, e-mail info@griffinchoralarts.org or call Mulder at 770-468-3072.http://www.youtube.com/v/d3BUraXqbTg&hl=en&fs=1