The 2015-2016 concert season in West Michigan boasts three performances of Gabriel Faure's Requiem, a serene masterpiece for choir, two vocal soloists, choir and chamber orchestra. In November, Steven White led the work in a concert at Battle Creek's St. Thomas Episcopal Church; later this month, Raymond Harvey will conduct a Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra performance with a larger orchestration. This Saturday, Portage Chapel Hill United Methodist Church music director Caleb Williams will conduct the original version, for singers, solo violin, harp, and organ. Local musicians Ann Marie Boyle and Joel Snyder will be featured as vocal soloists.
Williams puts Faure's Requiem in historical perspective, and highlights some of the work's standout sections. He also previews other works on the program, which will be held Saturday night at 7 pm.