Marc-Antoine Charpentier Te Deum (H.146) w/ chamber orchestra
Veljo Tormis Curse Upon Iron
Francis Poulenc Liberté
& Spirituals by Moses Hogan and Undine Smith Moore

In this bold and evocative program, Orlando’s own professional choir, the Solaria Singers, weave together music across centuries. From pre-Revolutionary France to Soviet-era Estonia to occupied WWII Paris, Voice and Flame traces humanity’s struggle, resilience, and hope in times of upheaval.

Charpentier’s radiant Te Deum, written in the splendor of the French monarchy, opens the program with music of glory and divine order—an echo of the world soon questioned by Enlightenment thinkers. Their ideas of liberty and equality profoundly shaped both the French Revolution and the founding ideals of the United States.

The program then journeys into Veljo Tormis’ haunting Curse Upon Iron, a work rooted in Estonian folk tradition and written under the shadow of Soviet rule, before culminating in Poulenc’s iconic Liberté—a secret musical plea for freedom composed during the Nazi occupation of France. The concert concludes with a powerful set of spirituals by Moses Hogan and Undine Smith Moore.

Together, these works form a dramatic arc from royal courts to the universal longing for liberty, inviting audiences to reflect on the global threads that continue to shape the American story.