SHARON, Conn.—“Breath of the Spirit, Sacred Music Through the Ages” will be presented in a benefit concert Sunday, Nov. 8, at 3 p.m. at Christ Church Episcopal.
The concert will feature Kent’s Jon LaFleur as organist, guest baritone Jermaine Woodard Jr. and local mezzo soprano Donna Marie Castaner performing sacred music ranging from the 4th century through to the present.
Virginia-born Woodard is an international soloist who has performed with the Berkshire Opera Festival, the Hartford Chorale and Salisbury-based Crescendo Inc., as well as other groups. Woodard has recently been featured as a soloist with CONCORA (regional and world premieres), the Farmington Valley Chorale, Music Worcester @ Mechanics Hall and The Red Door Series @ Saint John’s Episcopal Church in West Hartford
LaFleur promises “a historic and spiritual journey through time, exploring how human faith, struggle and hope have been expressed through sacred music over the last 1,600 years.”
He said the journey begins in antiquity when sacred music was stripped of complex harmonies, relying entirely on the purity of a single melodic line to carry prayers upward, continues through the Baroque era that brought “structure, drama, and ornate beauty to sacred spaces” in the 17th and 18th centuries.
“In the 19th century, the Romantic era expanded the emotional palette of sacred music, focusing deeply on intense personal devotion and lyricism,” he said. The program then crosses the Atlantic to the American South where the African American spiritual held sway in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Finally, the concert will visit “modern, message-driven music” of the 20th and 21st centuries, he said.
Funds raised will be used to support local community organizations, the church’s musical ministry, international organizations such as Church World Services, and other outreach missions such as the Blessing of the Animals Service and Dog Show that took place recently.
Tickets are $25 per family. Christ Church Episcopal is located at 9 South Main Street in Sharon; 860-364-5260.
