Eternal Light: Bernstein's Chichester Psalms

The Rhode Island Civic Chorale & Orchestra (RICCO) invites you to Eternal Light: Bernstein's Chichester Psalms — a special concert weaving together centuries of Jewish musical tradition into one cohesive and deeply moving experience.

The program opens with the rarely heard Hebrew choral settings of Salamone Rossi, the pioneering 17th-century composer who brought the grace of the Italian Renaissance to sacred Jewish texts. From there, the afternoon unfolds through Alex Berko's Sacred Place, a contemporary work that draws on the structure of Jewish worship while reimagining it through poetry and reflection, and Ernest Bloch's Kol Nidrei for solo cello — intimate, searching, and profoundly expressive.

The concert culminates in Leonard Bernstein's Chichester Psalms, one of the great choral works of the 20th century. Composed in the 1960s, it sets Hebrew liturgical texts in a musical language full of rhythmic energy and lyricism — with echoes of West Side Story that give audiences an immediate and irresistible way in. Its central text — "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity" — resonates as powerfully today as ever.

Music Director Joshua Rohde has designed this program as both a celebration and an invitation: familiar textures alongside discoveries, spiritual depth alongside sheer musical joy. Whether you're a longtime RICCO audience member or joining us for the first time, this is an afternoon that will stay with you.

This performance is presented one time only. Don't miss it.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher Rhode Island Civic Chorale & Orchestra