Have you ever experienced a major choral work performed by more than 200 voices?

You will have that opportunity right here in Asheville—something you might not find in major cultural centers in the USA.

In a spectacular, first-ever collaboration, the Asheville Choral Society and the Asheville Symphony Chorus will join forces to present Brahms’ German Requiem in two performances, November 8 and 9. The 200+ chorale will sing under the direction of Dr. Melodie Galloway on Friday evening, 7:30 p.m., and under Dr. Michael Lancaster on Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m., both at Arden Presbyterian Church, 2215 Hendersonville Rd., Arden.

The two choruses have graced Asheville’s music scene for decades. The Asheville Choral Society, one of the first chorales in the community (1977), is known for its excellence in performing an eclectic repertoire of music from classical to pop. They give three performances a year to appreciative audiences.

The Asheville Symphony Chorus, formed in 1991 for the purpose of complementing the Asheville Symphony Orchestra, performs large classical works with ASO twice a year. In addition, ASC gives one independent concert each year, focusing on classics both traditional and contemporary.

Both choruses have new and exciting directors who teach in the local academic community: Dr. Galloway, Director of Choral and Vocal Studies at UNCA; and Dr. Lancaster, Director of Choral Activities at WCU. The two conductors agreed that joining 200+ voices for the Brahms Requiem would be a monumental experience for singers and audience alike.

Listen to the Asheville Choral Society

Truly the Brahms Requiem requires a substantial body of voices. The sonorous opening that explodes into soaring passages of joy escorts music lovers into both the emotional and intellectual life of the composer. Brahms wrote this work in the midst of personal chaos. Kurt Palen writes in World of the Oratorio (Amadeus Press, 1990): “The horrible death of Schumann, the rejection of his application for a position in his native city of Hamburg, and the death of his mother all contributed with mounting intensity to the emotional prerequisites for such a work.”

But according to Palen, “His work was not a Mass for the Dead in the Catholic sense. He felt as Bach did that death had no sting, and was more like an older brother, a great peacemaker who opened his arms with love to receive the tired and heavy laden to lead them home to eternal rest.”

The German Requiem is not a typical liturgical work, but rather a freely formed work of seven movements, each expressing a truth about life and death. But it is interesting to note that closing each movement, the common theme is that of joy.

If You Go: The Asheville Choral Society and the Asheville Symphony Chorus present Brahms’ German Requiem, Friday, November 8 at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, November 9 at 3:30 p.m. at Arden Presbyterian Church, 2215 Hendersonville Rd., Arden.

Tickets available from the Symphony Office (828) 254-7046), at the door, or from choristers. $25 per person, $15 per student or groups over 10. For more information visit www.ashevillesymphonychorus.com, and www.ashevillechoralsociety.com