Sunday morning in Charlotte means church for many, but this Sunday evening, March 10, at Covenant Presbyterian Church, there is a great incentive for classical music lovers to return for an all Brahms chamber music concert at 5 p.m. Located at 1000 E. Morehead Street, Covenant PC has a history of presenting music concerts of sacred and secular music with free admission to whosoever will come.
“Nothing but Brahms" features the “Liebeslieder Waltzes”, waltzes set to love poems, with Jamelia Davis, soprano; Lorna Graves, alto; Christopher Cameron, tenor; and John Fulton III, baritone. Susan and Stephen Talley provide 4 hands piano accompaniment.
The Carnegie Hall website provides the interesting back story about the inspiration for Brahms’ composition, who was the daughter of his mentor, Clara Schumann, named Julie:
His infatuation, which began seven years earlier when Julie was only 16, drove him as he sought to pen another hit—something as popular as his four-hand piano waltzes—for his publisher in the summer of 1868.
What he came up with was his "Liebeslieder waltzes", a collection of 18 songs for four singers . . . that begins with an amorous request to a young maiden and ends with these words: 'My soul trembles with love, desire and grief, when it thinks of you.'
The songs were a great success in terms of the public, as these works could easily be performed at home. Unfortunately for the composer, Julie ended up marrying another, to Brahms’ great dismay.
For the Easter season, Covenant PC will present "The Seven Last Words of Christ" on Good Friday, March 29, at 7 p.m. Easter Services will be held at 8:15 a.m. and 11 a.m. on March 31.
Call (704) 333-9071 or visit the Covenant PC website for details.
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