A local nonprofit choral group’s latest production is putting a spotlight on a tragic note in Portland’s history.

ChoralArt’s latest production, "Fire!”, is scheduled for March 22 and 23 at the Woodfords Congregational Church in Portland. It tells the story of the Great Fire of 1866, which devastated the City of Portland and remains one of the worst fires on record in US history. 

The fire also prompted an enormous rebuilding effort and an outpouring of assistance, and organizers said they hope to show both the tragedy itself and the triumph that followed.

“I think that’s what strikes me the most about the piece is the humanity of it, and then at the end, the hope. The rebuilding and the hope,” said Sarah Bailey, a soprano with the group. 

The fire, according to historical records, began during the city’s July 4 celebration, only the second to take place in the city following the end of the Civil War. Many believe it was ignited somewhere on Commercial Street by a discarded firecracker.

The flames quickly spread, and over the next 24 hours the blaze devastated the city, carving a swath that reached as far as Munjoy Hill before finally burning itself out.  

In all, 1,800 buildings were lost, including the then-brand-new city hall, the post office and the customs house. An estimated 10,000 people lost their homes.

The tragedy prompted responses and offers of help from across the country. The ensuing rebuilding effort is a principal reason why Victorian-style architecture is so prominent in the city today, according to records from the Maine Historical Society. 

ChoralArt has been presenting choral productions since 1972. Robert Russell, the nonprofit’s music director, said he had discussed a commissioned piece with local composer Travis Ramsey.

Russell said he wanted the piece to be secular but based in format off of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s famous Mass pieces. His only requirement, he said, was that the piece be tied to Maine. It was Ramsey, he said, who chose the fire as the piece’s setting. 

“Oh, it’s a great story,” Russell said.

About 40 singers will be standing on risers during the performance, accompanied by music provided by nine instruments. Russell said unlike a typical performance during a religious service, Fire! will be a storytelling experience, similar to opera in concept. 

“It has operatic elements to it in the sense that we are telling a story from beginning to end,” he said. “The main character in this opera is the chorus, so that’s where it differs from an opera, but it certainly is dramatic in the way an opera is.”

Bailey herself has been singing with ChoralArt since the fall of 2002. She said most commissioned pieces she has performed have been about 10 minutes long, but Ramsey’s piece wound up being about half an hour in length. 

“That’s really exciting that it’s almost like a Maine-based, Portland-based master work with multiple movements,” she said.

Robert Stoddard, who himself is a bass soloist and past president of the nonprofit, said Ramsey couldn’t contain himself after reading historical accounts of the fire. 

“He was so excited by the texts, that he came back to the board and said, ‘It got big!’” he said.

Stoddard said basing the piece off eyewitness accounts lends authenticity to the production. 

“What a great exciting thing to be bringing the voices of people into the concert hall, not being told by necessarily the highfaluting poets, some of them by newspaper reporters and letters being received by the city, so these are very much the voice of the people and we wanted those to be heard on the stage.”