(Photo by Dion Ogust)
On June 22, Ars Choralis brings high-drama music back to the rocks of Opus 40 in Saugerties with a performance of German composer Carl Orff’s wildly popular 20th century cantata Carmina Burana (you know it, even if you don’t think you do). Orff based the work on 24 of the poems found in the medieval poetry collection of the same name.
Opus 40, the stunning sculpture park and museum in Saugerties, has a long and storied history as a music venue (and is the subject of a song by well-known art rockers Mercury Rev). Many musical notables who call or have called the Woodstock area home have jumped at the chance to perform in the heightened, otherworldly environment of sculptor Harvey Fite’s winding, rocky and elegant life’s work: Pat Metheny, Jack DeJohnette, Sonny Rollins, Orleans and many more.
Woodstock-based Ars Choralis gave its first concert in 1966. Now under the artistic direction of Barbara Pickhardt, Ars Choralis continues to perform the world’s greatest vocal music using talent recruited from throughout the region.
Ars Choralis performs Orff’s Carmina Burana on Saturday, June 22 at 6:30 p.m. Ticket prices for adults are $25 at the gate, $20 purchased in advance of the concert, and half of the adult price for children ages 18 and under. Opus 40 is located at 50 Fite Road in Saugerties. For more information, visit https://arschoralis.org or www.opus40.org.
