The annual holiday visit by Chanticleer has become a highlight of the season at George Mason University. This year the virtuoso ensemble performs at both the Center for the Arts and the Hylton Performing Arts Center in a program encompassing a variety of styles from Gregorian chants to modern pieces and familiar carols..
“Our program is a variation on a popular theme,” said Jace Wittig, interim music director. “We begin with Gregorian chants interwoven by three small groups. They are a plea for Christ to come into the world. We follow them with ‘Nesciens Mater,’ by Jean Mouton, a French composer of the Renaissance. Other Renaissance works from Italy, Germany and Spain tell the Christmas story from the angel to the shepherds and the shepherds to the people.
