The Los Angeles
Master Chorale

The Los Angeles Master Chorale is the “the finest-by-far major chorus in America” (Los Angeles Times) and a vibrant cultural treasure. Hailed for its powerful performances, technical precision, and artistic daring, the Chorale is led by Grant Gershon, Kiki & David Gindler Artistic Director; Associate Artistic Director Jenny Wong; and President & CEO Terry Knowles.

REPERTORY

2025/2026 SEASON

Music to Accompany A Departure

Set to Heinrich Schütz’s Musikaliche Exequien

Grant Gershon, conductor

Peter Sellars, director

24 singers, conductor, continuo (gamba and portative organ)

Continuing a decades-long collaboration with Peter Sellars, the Los Angeles Master Chorale production of “Music to Accompany a Departure” is set to the music of Heinrich Schütz’s Musikalische Exequien (Funeral Music).

One of the most painful aspects of the pandemic was that countless people were unable to be with their loved ones in their final days, hours, and moments of life. So it was also in Schutz’s time, as travel and community gathering were so disrupted by the Thirty Years War. Schutz’s requiem was created just as Europe was emerging from this dark period, and communities could once again commemorate lives of those lost. Recognizing the historic resonance of this work today, Peter Sellars, Grant Gershon, and the singers of the L.A. Master Chorale are creating a very personal ceremony of presence and remembering, through the transfixing music of Heinrich Schütz.

Malhaar: A Requiem for Water

Composed by: Reena Esmail

Artistic Director: Grant Gershon

In Hindustani music, Malhaar(p/d) refers to a family of raags that beckon rain. As the legend goes, the greatest musicians could cause a downpour from even the most severely parched skies by the power of their song.

This is the inspiration for Malhaar: A Requiem for Water. As drought worsened in Southern California, I yearned for a way to process the rising panic. The work intertwines texts from the traditional Latin Requiem mass alongside the work of Wendell Berry and William O’Daly, along with interspersed Hindi. It traces a trajectory of beauty and awe of water, the fear and devastation around its loss, an answered plea of atonement, and eventually a promise of a new cycle of life, as the water returns to the skies.

This is a hopeful requiem. While the collective loss has been so tremendous, we can still hold out hope that if we change our relationship to the earth, we might beckon the rain back.

GALLERY

All
Music to Accompany A Departure

Photo by: Brian Feinzimer

WATCH

MTAAD Interview with Peter Sellars & Grant Gershon

WATCH NOW

Meet LAMC

WATCH NOW

MTAD WORKSHOP

WATCH NOW

" [Music to Accompany A Departure] The result was a spiritual, meditative, and sometimes sad experience. For the first half of about 65 minutes, I sensed that this was a once-in-a-lifetime event...

… It’s so ideal for our times, and the chorale showed off some astounding skills at emoting while singing with plaintive simplicity. Clarity and precise balance were everywhere in evidence, and solo voices had character and warmth. But something strange began to happen up until the end. I drifted. Not that the piece had a soporific effect, but it did feel like I was under the spell of some kind of narcotic, as if being drawn to The Light. What a fascinating experience to have during the final beautifully lit scene, which had the chorus members gathered around a grave to bury someone they held dear. I read that the deceased is represented by bass voices, while angels accompanying it to heaven are represented by the sopranos. Well done. I certainly ended up in heaven.”