Join us for the world premiere of FIRE!, based on Portland’s Great Fire of 1866.

Told from the perspective of a soldier returning home from the Civil War, the oratorio begins with the celebration of  Portland’s second post-war Independence Day, soon shattered by the catastrophic blaze accidentally sparked by fireworks. Through words and music, we are carried beyond  the fire’s destruction and into its eerie aftermath. Emerging from the ashes is the powerful and defiant message of Resurgam – Portland’s motto, “I shall rise again” – for the real story is not the devastation of the fire, but the speed and tenacity with which the people of Portland rebuilt their great city.

ChoralArt has commissioned this major choral work and instrumental accompaniment from New England composer Travis M. Ramsey.

George Frederick Morse’s “Painting of Great Fire, Portland, 1866” is portrayed as viewed from Commercial Street near the Head of Richardson’s Wharf. Used with permission; Collections of Maine Historical Society, MaineMemory.net, item 42791.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Credomesse (Mass in C major, K. 257) rounds out this stunning concert.