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Dramatic, emotional piece inspired by Beethoven will highlight Monmouth College's fall choir concert on Oct. 19

by Barry McNamara

Monmouth, Ill. (10/16/2024) — Fall is in the air, and three Monmouth College choral groups will celebrate that Oct. 19 when they present their annual fall concert.

Under the direction of music professor Tim Pahel, the Chorale and the Chamber Choir will be part of the event, which will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Kasch Performance Hall of Dahl Chapel and Auditorium and is free and open to the public.

Also singing will be the Concert Choir, led by 2023 Monmouth graduate Kaitlyn McCullough, who is also a music teacher in the nearby Orion school district. In addition to Monmouth College students, her choir includes community members, local high school students, and members of the college's faculty and staff.

All three ensembles will perform a wide variety of styles of music, from classical to contemporary, and from the Renaissance to pieces written very recently.

"That's one of the cool things about choir concerts," said Pahel. "We have such a great diversity of styles to perform, going back hundreds of years and from across the globe."

The central piece on the program is "A Silence Haunts Me" by Jake Runestad.

"This is a powerful, dramatic and moving work about Beethoven's struggles with going deaf and his attempt to come to terms it," said Pahel.

The text is based on a letter Ludwig van Beethoven wrote to his brothers Carl and Johann in 1802 called the "Heiligenstadt Testament," in which he confessed that he had been losing his hearing for several years, that it had been a terrible struggle for him, and that he had contemplated suicide.

"He ultimately decides that he will not be defeated by his deafness," said Pahel, "and that he will continue to live and to write music. It's after this period in his life when his music took on new power and drama, including the Eroica symphony and his 5th symphony."

In "A Silence Haunts Me," the choir sings Beethoven's words in first person, often in a very dramatic fashion.

"In the piano part, we hear themes from his music, like the 'Moonlight Sonata,'" said Pahel. "Near the end, when he is deciding that he must triumph over his deafness, we hear the beginnings of the famous 'Ode to Joy' theme from his 9th symphony."

One aspect of the Chorale's performance that will make it even more powerful and dramatic is that Dareann Pettis '26 of Monmouth will provide sign language for it.

"The students love this piece and all the drama and emotion of it," said Pahel. "It's been so fun and rewarding for us to work on."

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Tim Pahel

Kaitlyn McCullough

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