The Howard Payne University Concert Choir will present its spring concert on Thursday, March 26, at 7:30 p.m. in HPU’s Grace Chapel. The concert is free and open to the public.

The concert is titled “Time Held Me…” and will feature the piece Fern Hill by composer John Corigliano. The poetry of the composition is by the famous Welsch poet Dylan Thomas, writer of “Do Not Go Gentle into That Dark Night” and “And Death Shall Have No Dominion.” 

“In ‘Fern Hill,’ Thomas masterfully depicts the image of time as a Golden lampstand of truth, but also as a looming force of the definite,” said Dr. Chris Rosborough, associate professor of music, director of choral activities and chair of the Department of Music. “His use of color and imagery as the poetry develops is profound as Time holds the poet green and golden, green like fire, green and dying.”

The choir will be accompanied by Ana Birch, sophomore worship ministry major.

“I have encountered this piece multiple times as a singer and as a conductor, and within the practice and preparation of this work is always discovered a profound growth for the ensemble,” said Dr. Rosborough. “It is a remarkable composition that I look forward to returning to every time I perform it. This is the mark of any musical masterpiece; it develops with you, before you and beyond you for generations, much like Time itself.”

 

For more information, contact HPU’s School of Education and Fine Arts at 325-649-8500.