A hammered dulcimer, a cappella ensembles, percussion, a 72-member choir, bird songs, nature walks – all will come together May 30-June 1 in a three-day, three-venue festival of music called Hymnody of Earth, a series of musical numbers composed by Malcolm Dalglish. Sponsored by the Springfield Choral Society, in partnership with Lincoln Memorial Garden and The Audubon Society – Adams Wildlife Sanctuary, the musical selections present the connection of music and our environment.
Choral director Jacobsen “Jake” Woollen has known Dalglish since he was a child in Bloomington, Indiana. Woolen’s mother, a church choral director, worked with Dalglish to develop choral compositions for her children’s choir.
Woollen said, “My first experience was singing Malcolm’s piece, Into and Among You, a ritual of Omaha people welcoming a newborn. Then as a teen, I was included in Malcolm’s show. Malcolm’s music literally changed my life. I was a stiff teen and being introduced to such playful and gleeful music freed me.”
He later interned with Dalglish, learning the world of a freelance musician and watching Dalglish’s creative process. Daglish is a native of Bloomington, Indiana, where he still lives and runs a music business called Oolitic Music.
Dalglish is a composer, singer and internationally known master of the hammered dulcimer. He has received more than 50 commissions to compose choral music for choirs around the world. His compositions bring together serious and fun, joyful and reverent pieces that are moving and uplifting. He fuses poetry, folk tradition, storytelling and rhythms into various musical pieces.
Hymnody of Earth combines a variety of music with lyrics inspired by the poetry of Wendell Berry, a poet, essayist and short story author from Kentucky.
“Berry’s poetry focuses on our relationship with the natural world,” Woollen said. “We are stewards who must care for our landscape; the landscape, in turn, nurtures us. By partnering with Lincoln Memorial Garden and Adams Wildlife Sanctuary, we want to draw attention to natural places here in our area.”
The festival will open on May 30 with 7:30 p.m. performance at First Presbyterian Church in downtown Springfield. It will feature ensembles by the Choral Society, Dalglish on the dulcimer and premier percussionist Carolyn Koebel from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Tickets are $20.
On May 31, Adams Wildlife Sanctuary, 2315 E. Clear Lake Avenue, will host two nature walks with small dulcimer recitals by Dalglish. Participants will be taken on walks to listen for bird songs. The first walk is from 9-11 a.m. and then 3-5 p.m., the times birds sing the most. Tickets are $15.
Then on Sunday afternoon, the Choral Society will perform selections from Hymnody on the outdoor terrace of Lincoln Memorial Garden, beginning at 2 p.m. There is no cost to attend.
The 72-member singing group of the Choral Society will be traveling to Austria and performing Hymnody of Earth in both Vienna and Salzburg.
“I wanted to revive trips that the group used to take,” said Woollen. “We had decided to go to Austria, but what could a Springfield group present in the country that is known for Mozart? So, we asked Malcolm about accompanying us. He is so in demand around the world, and we are very fortunate to have him going with us.”
James Kontio, the vice president of the Choral Society and a member of the choir since 2008, said, “The Society has always been known for performing masterworks of Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart and others. One of our older members had doubts about the new pieces we are going to perform, but she later came to me and said this music is transformative.
“In fact, over time we have changed the types of music we perform, and that has led to new members. We now have a mix of 20–30 year-olds along with 60-80 year-olds.”
Hymnody of Earth introduces Springfield to a composer and poet, whom some may never have heard of, and brings the magic of music and nature together.
Find details for events and reserve tickets at springfieldchoralsociety.org. Proceeds will be shared among the Choral Society, Lincoln Memorial Garden and Adams Wildlife Sanctuary.
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Woods
I part the out thrusting branches
and come in beneath
the blessed and the blessing trees.
Though I am silent
there is singing around me.
Though I am dark
there is vision around me.
Though I am heavy
there is flight around me.
– Wendell Berry
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Cinda Ackerman Klickna, president of the Sangamon County Historical Society, is looking forward to the festival. The partnership with the Choral Society and the SCHS for the March performance of Unsung Heroines was a huge hit.