​Choir Concert and All Saints' Service of Remembrance on Friday, November 1 (All Saints' Day)

The Holy Comforter Choir and Evensong Choir, with members of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, will present a Concert of Remembrance on Friday, November 1 at 7:00 pm in the church. (Childcare will be available.) Each year, Christians around the world mark November 1 as All Saints' Day; it is one of the seven major feast days in the Episcopal Church (can you name the other six?), set apart to remember the saints of the church. The day has also been known by other names, including All Hallows' Day (hence our cultural celebration of "Halloween," or "Hallow's Eve" the night before). All Saints' Day begins a short period of several days in the church year where we remember the strong spiritual bond between all Christians, living and dead.

To mark the day, the choir has been learning and preparing a major musical work by French composer Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986): his setting of the Requiem, or the Mass for the Dead. It is an extended work, lasting about 45 minutes, full of gorgeous melodies and beautiful harmonies, capturing in music many of the words we hear each time we gather for the burial service of a friend or loved one. The concert will be a powerful way to mark All Saints' Day, gathering together to listen and pray. The event is free and open to the public; a free-will offering will be received at the concert for Episcopal Relief and Development, which will be earmarked for hurricane relief in Western North Carolina.

If you'd like to learn more about Maurice Duruflé, his life and work, the Requiem, or about what All Saints' Day is, then plan to come to a two-part class series in Henry Hall following the 10:00 am Eucharist on Sundays, October 20 and 27. If you have questions or would like to help support these classes or the concert, please contact Patrick Pope, director of music, in the church office.