Members of the University Mixed Chorus and Concert Choir performed in a variety of languages and exhibited a world premiere at the “Cathedrals, Castles and Colonies” concert on Sunday.

The concert began with five pieces performed by the University Mixed Chorus, a group directed by April Lee, the assistant choral director.

Richard Rossi, the director of Orchestral and Choral Activities introduced Lee, spoke about many of the pieces and also composed one of the pieces.

Rossi said the concert was Lee’s first concert, but it was not her first performance at Eastern.

“She also plays oboe in the Eastern Symphony Orchestra and was a graduate student of mine a few years ago,” Rossi said. “I’m very excited to have her back as a colleague now.”

After the University Mixed Chorus preformed, the Concert Choir performed, which was directed by Rossi.

The third piece the group sang was called “O Sacrum Convivium” and was composed by Rossi. The piece was sang in Latin and dedicated to Rossi’s sister Loretta.

“I’m passionate about the Latin language, the poetic prose of it and how it lends itself to the human voice,” Rossi said. “At one point, there are 16 different parts being sung.”

Rossi said what made this particular piece different from the others he has composed was the techniques he used.

“The cool thing about composing for voice is that I have the words in front of me,” Rossi said. “I tried to let the words spread through as I composed it.”

Along with the different techniques, Rossi called certain parts of the composition “accidents” but was pleased how it turned out.

“Some parts were accidental—my hands just started to play it as I sang the words,” Rossi said. “The other puzzle I could never really figure out was how it starts in A-flat, but it never really stays there; I think (the change) shows how pure and sacred the words are.”

On one of the pieces, “Dark Night of the Soul,” which was composed by Ola Gjelio, members of the Eastern Symphony Orchestra joined the choir.

“(The piece) has a unique sound; it is dark and painful.” Rossi said.

The piece is about the journey of a soul detaching from the darkness of the world and finding unity with God, he said.

James Calderon, a junior music major, played violin on the piece.

“It is a very different sound; it is something you just have to experience,” Calderon said. “The way the melody and the harmony flow, it is a really unique sound.”

The concert closed with a piece called “Chanuke, Oi Chanuke,” which had verses in both Yiddish and English.

Lauren Swingler, a senior music major and alto singer in the concert choir, said the piece was particularly difficult because of the different language.

“Before singing this piece, I didn’t have any experience singing Yiddish,” Swingler said. “It was a challenge—most of us don’t have experience in a second language—basically we learned as we went.”

Amy Wywialowski can be reached at 581-2812 or alwywialowski@eiu.edu.