The Burlington Choral Society's spring concert will celebrate light and warmth with a program of Haydn gems not performed in the area for many years.
 
Recent concerts have sold out, so get your tickets now at the Flynn Box Office, flynntix.org or (802) 86-FLYNN. Prices are $25 general admission and $20 for students and seniors.
 
Richard Riley, artistic director, will lead the 80-voice chorus in "Spring" and "Summer" from Joseph Haydn's The Seasons, and two shorter works: "Insanae et Vanae Curae" (Insane and stupid worries) and "Te Deum Laudamus" (We praise thee, O God).
 
Soloists Mary Bonhag, soprano; Adam Hall, tenor; Benjamin Dickerson, baritone; members of the Burlington Chamber Orchestra; and pianist Claire Black will perform with the chorus.
 
The two movements from The Seasons (1801) will be sung in English. In "Spring," country folk rejoice in Nature's re-awakening and the loveliness of the landscape. "Summer" finds them hailing the Sun that brings life and light. Their world shakes and trembles when a violent musical thunderstorm erupts. The calm after the storm brings maidens and young men out for a starlit evening.
 
The two pieces to be sung in Latin are just as vivid, with ardent cries for help from God contrasted with resounding praises.
 
Since Riley became artistic director of the Burlington Choral Society in 2012, the chorus has introduced audiences to a range of underperformed works by classical masters. Riley said, "For this concert, the audience will hear some Haydn gems that have not been performed in the area for many years. Composed or revised at the very end of Haydn's creative life, these pieces contain a lifetime's worth of wonder and emotion."