Canticus Vocal Ensemble will present \u201cAMERICANA,\u201d its final concert of the 2025-2026 season, at 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 3, 2026,<\/span> at Englewood Christian Church. It will be a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence that led to the creation of the United States of America.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Canticus Vocal Ensemble will present its \u201cAMERICANA\u201d concert on May 3, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The concert features music and texts highlighting the American Spirit of 1776.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd what better writings represent that time than those of the author of the Declaration, Thomas Jefferson,\u201d said Dr. Scott Peterson, creator and artistic director of the Canticus Vocal Ensemble.<\/p>\n The talented chamber choir will perform Randall Thompson\u2019s \u201cTestament of Freedom,\u201d a four-movement setting of the words of Jefferson composed just before the American Revolution.<\/p>\n \u201cThe flames kindled on the 4th of July, 1776, have spread over too much of the globe to be extinguished by the feeble engines of despotism; on the contrary, they will consume these engines and all who work them,\u201d Jefferson wrote in a letter to John Adams from September 12, 1821.<\/p>\n Originally written piece for the Virginia Glee Club while Thompson was teaching at the University of Virginia, it was meant to celebrate the bicentennial of the birth of Thomas Jefferson. That\u2019s why the text for \u201cTestament of Freedom\u201d was taken from Jefferson’s writings.<\/p>\n Thompson\u2019s \u201cTestament of Freedom\u201d was first performed in April of 1943 when the United States was mired in World War II. Its premiere was recorded by CBS and broadcast nationwide. It was also transmitted by shortwave radio over the United States Office of War Information network to Allied servicemen stationed in Europe.<\/p>\n Several years later, on April 14, 1945, the four-movement piece was performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, a concert in memory of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had died two days earlier.<\/p>\n The words from \u201cTestament of Freedom\u201d are as fitting today as they were in the late 1770s and the 1940s.<\/p>\n A contemporary of Thomas Jefferson, William Billings is considered the first important American composer, Peterson said. He wrote collections of anthems and hymns that reflect the American Spirit of the time. Canticus will perform \u201cBe Glad Then America,\u201d which uses Biblical texts to form stirring harmonies.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile the structure seems a bit disjointed,\u201d notes Peterson, \u201ceach section reflects the text being sung in word painting or music literally portraying what is being said in the text.\u201d<\/p>\n Billings certainly stood out in a crowd. Here\u2019s how one of his contemporaries described him: \u201cBillings was a singular man, of moderate size, short of one leg, with one eye, without any address and with an uncommon negligence of person. Still, he spake and sung and thought as a man above the common abilities.\u201d<\/p>\n Canticus will also perform \u201cOh, America,\u201d a contemporary song about immigrants by Brendan Graham and William Joseph. Here are the opening lines to the composition:<\/p>\n (Chorus)<\/p>\n O, America, you’re callin’<\/em><\/p>\n \n Sign up for our Daily Headlines<\/strong> newsletter \u2014 delivered to your inbox every morning at 7 a.m.\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n <\/p>\n Thanks!<\/strong> You\u2019re all set.<\/p>\n Watch your inbox for Daily Headlines.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n I can hear you calling me<\/em><\/p>\n You are calling me to be true to thee<\/em><\/p>\n True to thee, I will be<\/em><\/p>\n (Verse 1)<\/p>\n O, America, no weeping<\/em><\/p>\n Let me heal your wounded heart<\/em><\/p>\n I will keep you in my keeping<\/em><\/p>\n Till there be a new start<\/em><\/p>\n Peterson has also selected a piece from Aaron Copland\u2019s opera, \u201cThe Tender Land,\u201d a tribute to the settlement and building of the American heartland. The choir will perform one movement from that opera titled \u201cThe Promise of Living,\u201d a moving work that looks to the future rise of a great nation.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Canticus Vocal Ensemble will present its \u201cAMERICANA\u201d concert on May 3, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n
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\n Photo courtesy of Canticus Vocal Ensemble<\/span>
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