Singers remember one of their own

It’s all about a big cascade of sound that 120 voices create. Or at least that’s how the Richard Eaton Singers comes across to most music lovers.

For over 60 years it’s taken classical works, hymns and popular anthems, and unleashed golden voices on the material of every great composer we revere. Without a doubt, its sheer size makes a great impression.

Once again, the choir reboots another season with a Remembrance Day serenade at the Winspear Centre. While most Remembrance Day celebrations salute fallen soldiers, conductor Leonard Ratzlaff honours both fallen soldiers and civilians.

In fact, Always and Forever: Music for Remembrance is dedicated to Peg Matheson, an RES member who passed away in the summer. In addition to singing alto for 38 years, Matheson was also the program note taker.

“She researched and wrote about the pieces in our program and this was her way of contributing. Her service was invaluable to us,” Ratzlaff said.

Matheson’s husband was Judge Doug Matheson, an RCAF pilot during the Second World War. He was shot down and spent time as a prisoner at Stalag Luft III, the infamous Nazi prisoner of war camp immortalized in the movie The Great Escape.

In Canada, Judge Matheson continued piloting airplanes into his later years. However, he died in a plane crash in 2009 while piloting a light aircraft.

“We lost two very special people who died suddenly and we thought this was an appropriate way to memorialize them. It’s going to be a very emotional concert, not only because of Remembrance Day, but because of these two special people.”

The concert cornerstone is Gabriel FaurĂ©’s arresting Requiem, an indelible work that the choir has not performed in some time.

“It’s a piece I know well and have committed to memory. It’s beautifully written, very lyrical with long melodic phrases and some dramatic moments. For the most part it’s very tuneful in a romantic way and is very popular with audiences.”

The first half of the two-hour concert instead is a collection of short pieces. Perhaps the most poignant selection is composer Christine Donkin’s setting of John McCrae’s In Flanders Fields.

“It’s a beautiful simple setting and I was quite taken by it.”

In a modern take closer to home, Ratzlaff invited former St. Albert folk singer Roland Majeau to sing his Internet sensation Soldier’s Cry.

“He wrote it and did a performance on YouTube and it became an iconic piece. There’s another St. Albert resident, Trent Worthington, who arranged it. It’s a very effective piece. I wanted to choose a representative connected to the community and both Trent and Roland are part of our community.”

Ratzlaff also has included John Estacio’s branche, a composition inspired by former St. Albert resident Ted Blodgett’s poetry.

Remembrance Day is a day of powerful emotions and the Richard Eaton Singers are the go-to choir for a powerful performance.

The concert is on Monday, Nov. 11 at 2:30 p.m.