Hingham chorale to perform 'beautiful' music about 'horrifying' Matthew Shepard murder

HINGHAM – It certainly wasn't what members of the Unicorn Singers and Broad Cove Chorale had been expecting for their annual spring concert.

This year, the group's founder and director, Margo Euler, chose a dark subject: one of America’s most noto­ri­ous anti-gay hate crimes. The murder of college student Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old gay man, in 1998 will serve as the inspiration for a performance of an "extraordinarily beautiful" piece this weekend. 

While the oratorio composed by Craig Hella Johnson about the event has a powerful and uplifting message – the redemptive power of love and gratitude – chorale members were again shocked by details of that gruesome October day when Shepard, a student at the University of Wyoming, was beaten, tortured and left to die in a field. He died five days later at a hospital. 

Chorale member Joan Gatturna, of Duxbury, said Shepard's murder occurred "because he was different, because he was gay." She said it was a "horrifying hate crime." 

"The surprising thing about this piece is that it is extraordinarily beautiful," Gatturna said. "The music soars, exposing the cruel killing, and then rising with the love and compassion that followed in the aftermath of the death."

Once rehearsals began, members said they realized the music  emphasized awareness, tolerance and unity, and they sensed the divine in the diverse musical styles Johnson chose.

"The composer is brilliant. He took a horrifying crime and wrote music describing what happened, which is disturbing. And then there was a huge blossoming of sympathy for the family," Gatturna said. "It is very powerful. The composer uses all kinds of music – folk, country, gospel, jazz – beautiful, gentle, comforting, lifting music."

The three-part oratorio has been described as "an evocative and compassionate musical response" to the murder and a way to "transcend the heartbreak." 

The Unicorn Singers and the Broad Cove Chorale will present the oratorio, called "Considering Matthew Shepard," at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 9, and 4 p.m. Sunday, April 10, at the United Church of Christ, 460 Main St., Norwell. Tickets are $30 for general admission and $20 for students and available for purchase at bcc-us.org. 

Bringing the piece to the South Shore

In the summer of 2019, Euler, the group's director, heard the oratorio performed at a musical conference in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. She returned home to Linden Ponds in Hingham, and said she felt compelled to present the work for local audiences. The pandemic soon put performances on hold for two years.

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In the piece, composer Johnson combined poetry, Shepard's personal journal entries and newspaper reports. Euler found this and the variety of solo singers, readers and choral singing she heard in New Hampshire to be "thrilling."

She told her two ensembles that hearing the oratorio live was "the most amazing musical 90 minutes" of her life. She studied the score for hours and was convinced her two ensembles and several gifted soloists could perform a version with some "strategic cuts."

The Hingham chorale gave a preview performance Monday evening at Linden Ponds and is excited to bring the oratorio to a wider audience.

"I think it's the best thing we've ever tackled," Gatturna said.

Johnson and two colleagues will hold a free discussion on Zoom at 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 6. Those interested can register to view the discussion, moderated by Unicorn singer Joan Sobel, at bcc-us.org.

Turning brutal history into song

Johnson conducts a professional chorus called Conspirare in Texas, which debuted and released the piece in 2016. The next year, approaching the 20th anniversary of the murder, The Berklee College of Music Signature Series brought the composer and Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble Conspirare to perform "Considering Matthew Shepard" at Boston's Symphony Hall to a "rapt" audience. 

In his three-part fusion oratorio, Johnson draws upon texts by poets including Hildegard of Bingen, Lesléa Newman, Michael Dennis Browne and Rumi. He also incorporates interviews with and writings from Matthew Shepard's parents, Judy and Dennis.

Johnson has said Shepard’s story haunted him for years, and he felt compelled to compose a musical response.

"I wanted to create, within a musical framework, a space for reflection, consideration and unity around his life and legacy,” Johnson wrote on his chorus's website. 

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