Spring Oratorio: Light from Light
![An event graphic for the Spring Oratorio titled "Light from Light" at Duke University Chapel. The image is split into two halves. Left side: A detailed, high-contrast illustration in the style of stained glass or a woodcut. It depicts a figure with long hair and a beard kneeling in prayer, looking upward toward a crescent moon and stylized rays of light. Right side: A solid navy blue block containing the event title in white serif text.](/images/2026/20260328/1fab58cf6437092cb8ccc80a6ef3d64d-CR-Spring Oratorio Calendar 2025 copy_20251216101238PM.jpg "An event graphic for the Spring Oratorio titled "Light from Light" at Duke University Chapel. The image is split into two halves. Left side: A detailed, high-contrast illustration in the style of stained glass or a woodcut. It depicts a figure with long hair and a beard kneeling in prayer, looking upward toward a crescent moon and stylized rays of light. Right side: A solid navy blue block containing the event title in white serif text.")
On the eve of Holy Week, the Duke Chapel Choir joins forces with Mallarmé Music to perform two stunning expressions of faith.
*** Tickets will be sold through the Duke Box Office. ***
Arvo Pärt's Berliner Messe was written in 1990 for a German religious festival following the fall of the Berlin Wall. Yet its origins lie in an earlier work, the 1977 Summa, a setting of the Creed written in Estonia during an era in which Pärt could not openly express his faith. The mass moves between ethereal serenity and joyous exuberance, woven together by Pärt's signature tintinnabuli technique.
John Rutter's beloved Requiem premiered in 1985 and was dedicated to the memory of his father. It combines portions of the traditional Latin Requiem with English-language scriptures-Psalm 130, Psalm 23, and verses from Job and John-in a musical tapestry of solace and reassurance.
