Morten lauridsen sure on this shining night

Like other vocal groups across North America, the Chamber Choir of Grand Rapids is getting ready for a concert in the spring. We’ll present it on April 28 at the First United Methodist Church in Grand Rapids. Among the lovely and challenging songs we rehearse each week is “Sure on This Shining Night” by Morten Lauridsen.

Along with “O Magnum Mysterium,” discussed in a previous post, Lauridsen’s setting of “Sure on This Shining Night” is one of my favorite choral pieces. I’m particularly fond of a recording by The Singers, conducted by Matthew Culloton, with the composer at the piano. Be sure to listen for the continual ebb and flow in Lauridsen’s piano accompaniment as he employs rubato to give expressive shape to the melodic line. This reflects his indebtedness to great American Broadway composers such as Jerome Kern and Richard Rogers, a link Lauridsen emphasizes in his video about this piece.

Starmade Shadows

Like memorable tunes