Love in its many forms is the subject of a new CD and a special concert by faculty and friends of Fresno Pacific University.
"Songs of Requited Love" was created by Walter Saul and Larry Warkentin, who composed all the music and performed piano on all tracks. They are joined by vocalists Milton Friesen, baritone, as well as Daphne Saul and Charity Saul McCallum, both sopranos. Lyrics come from works by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Lord Byron, Edna St. Vincent Millay, the Bible and other authors.
"The focus of the CD is on lasting love, not only the romantic kind but of God's love for us, which is the foundation of love that lasts," Saul said. The composers set out to explore the topic from several angles as a way to prepare for Valentine's Day.
A CD release concert will be Friday, February 2, 2007, at 7:30 p.m. in the McDonald Hall Atrium at Fresno Pacific University, 1717 South Chestnut, south of the Chestnut-Butler intersection. The event is free and open to the public.
Walter Saul has been a music professor at FPU since 2003. His works include the CDs From "Alpha to Omega" and "Out of Darkness Into His Marvelous Light." His doctorate in music is from Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester.
Warkentin served as music faculty and department chair from 1962 to 2002. He has a DMA from the University of Southern California and has won numerous awards for his compositions.
Friesen joined the FPU music faculty in 2006. He has a master's degree from California State University, Fresno, and a long background in church music.
Daphne Saul sings and directs the Full Court Pres youth choir at First Presbyterian Church, Fresno. Charity Saul McCallum, daughter of Walter and Daphne, is a freelance artist and musician in Portland, Oregon.