CANTON − Earlier this month, the Chancel Choir at took part in a historic event — the Paris Choral Festival commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day and the liberation of France. About 75 people made the nine-day trip, said Heather Cooper, Christ Presbyterian's director of music and organist since 2019. Her husband, Britt, is director of the Chancel Choir.
Heather Cooper said the trip took nearly two years to plan. "Britt and I were looking for that special, life-defining opportunity for this choir to experience together as a group that would be meaningful, powerful, memorable," she said. The Canton choir was one of several American choirs which performed Maurice Duruflé's "Requiem" at the Church of La Madeleine, built in the heart of Paris built during Napoleon Bonaparte's reign.
Other ensembles were from Cincinnati, California, Utah, Michigan, Arizona and Alabama. "The spiritual emphasis for us was singing Duruflé's 'Requiem,' which is one of the monumental choral masterworks, and a piece that's deeply meaningful to this group," Cooper said. "(Our) choir has sung this piece before.
We actually performed the entire program on April 19 here at the church with a chamber orchestra as a prelude to going on the trip. It was a wonderful spiritual experience, combining with others to create a 350-voice choir, with a full orchestra." Duruflé was French, but "Requiem" was composed in Latin because requiems are typically written for a Latin Mass, Cooper explained.
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