Stare at the Sun presents a compelling lineup of new music for chorus
Nineteenth-century scientists theorized that the phenomena of the afterimage—the impression of a bright object that one continues to see after looking away—remains momentarily imprinted on the retina, regardless of where one’s vision turns.
In a concert by Stare at the Sun, the music’s afterimage lingered in the hall and on the mind long after the final notes had faded. The concert, held Saturday night at Wicker Park Lutheran Church, was by turns exciting and moving, indelibly stamping new music on listeners’ ears.
Throughout an intermission-less 75 minutes, the 20-member chorus led by artistic director A.J. Keller performed contemporary works (both a cappella and accompanied by piano and strings) with the oldest piece dating to 2003.
Keller titled the program “Sanctuary,” with pieces that explore “the idea of the sacred.” Featuring new settings of Catholic Marian antiphons, Jewish prayer, and works about the natural world, the hope was that the concert would allow the audience “to find comfort in the beautiful music about the very human need for solace in the 21st century.”
Chicago composer Alex Berko was in attendance for his six-movement Sacred Place (2024). The texts lyrically meld the natural world and prayer, from Wendell Berry to traditional Jewish verse.
Berko’s movements conjure different places in the natural world. The second movement, a setting of a historical document about Yosemite National Park, layers flowing tenuto rhythms and staggered section entrances to create a flowing landscape. The fifth movement, “Kaddish,” directly contrasted this with a slow, mournful tenor and alto refrain that was chant-like in its precision and gravity.
The third movement, “Shema,” included a lilting solo from Sarah Fisk, whose vocal clarity enlivened the lyrics she sang, “hear the sound the birdy imply and see as deep as ridges go behind each other.”
Berko’s writing paints the text as a landscape, from still unisons to jubilant chords. The singers’ bright tone captured the warmth and vigor of the landscapes painted—from beautiful, still unisons to jubilant chords of celebration.
Anchored by Berko’s Sacred Place, the ensemble also presented short pieces by Caroline Shaw, Kevin Puts, Toivo Tuley, Gabriel Jackson, and Galina Grigorjeva.
Of these, the Grigorjeva and Jackson works especially stood out. Grigorjeva’s Salve Regina opened the concert with a stirring, crunchy soundscape that was scarcely tethered to a singular pitch. The ensemble captured this painterly tone quality with a unique verticality, landing on chords and structures as one. They immediately followed with Jackson’s Salve Regina 2, which used brisk attacks to staccato phrasing of the Latin text, creating dramatic contrast.
The most well-known composer on the program, Caroline Shaw was represented with and the swallow. Setting Psalm 84, Shaw’s sparrow finds her home “where she may raise her young.” The chorus captured the longing present in the texts with remarkable dynamic contrast, beginning with a hollowed whisper that gently crescendoed to a cascading arpeggio.
The other short works showcased the performers; Tuley’s Der Herr ist mein getreuer Hirt II highlighted the sopranos and altos with grace and Puts’ Home ended the program on a meditative note.
Although the music was rather stylistically similar across all six composers, this cohesion felt warranted by the program’s shared message, and Stare at the Sun’s bright vocalism successfully delivered the force and precision needed for these contemporary works.
The program will be repeated 4 p.m. Sunday at First United Methodist Church in Evanston. stareatthesun.org
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