Thursday, Feb. 18 2022 – Seventy-nine years ago next month, on March 10, 1943, Anne Frank recorded in her diary that she’d heard guns “booming away until dawn.” The guns were aimed at Allied bombers during nightly raids over Amsterdam against industrial sites and German military positions. “My fear of planes and shooting” sent her crawling “into Father’s bed . . . for comfort.” Hiding with her family in the Annexe of a warehouse that had been part of her father’s business, the brilliant but doomed 13-year-old was crafting what would become one of the most telling portraits of the Holocaust, as well as one of the definitive literary works of the 20th century.
On March 6th this year, the Ottawa Choral Society (OCS) will bring Anne’s work to compelling musical life as it presents the contemporary oratorio Annelies, a work based entirely on the text of Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl. By British composer James Whitbourn, with libretto by Melanie Challenger, Annelies conveys Anne’s words and reflections through a gripping musical score for soprano, choir and chamber quartet.
The music, in 14 distinct movements, is at times brooding (The capture foretold) and cinematic (“This is D-Day”); terrifying (Fear of capture) and prayerful (The dream); apocalyptic (Devastation of the outside world) yet reflective and sublime (Anne’s meditation). Musical styles blend plain chant and romanticism; marches and German lieder; sacred liturgy and ravishing melody. Annelies is a fully dimensional work which is a faithful and extraordinary tribute to its literary inspiration. Britain’s Daily Telegraph described it as “an exquisitely layered masterpiece.”
“The Choral Society is delighted to present this wonderful work for the first time in Ottawa,” says Andrew Hon, OCS’s Associate Director. “This will be only our second live performance since the partial relaxation of COVID health protocols, and we believe the musical portrayal of Anne’s struggles in seclusion with her family will resonate with pandemic-weary audiences.”
“Our experiences cannot of course be compared to the human toll of the Holocaust. Yet a tale of how the human spirit can prevail in the worst isolation strikes a compelling chord in our COVID-afflicted times. Anne wrote not only of her struggle to survive, but also of the essential beauty of existence.”
Guest artists performing with Ottawa’s premier symphonic chorus, will be Aline Kutan, soprano; Ross Edwards, clarinet; Marjolaine Lambert, violin; Timothy McCoy, cello; and Andrew Tunis, piano.
The single performance will take place at 3 pm on March 6th, 2022, at St. Francis of Assisi Church, 20 Fairmont Ave., Ottawa.
Ticket prices $50, $40, $30 (and $10 for full-time students)
