| Reviews of Concert Singers of Cary Concerts |
For more information about the critics, please visit:
Seventeenth Season
The Caribbean Comes to Cary, December 10, 2008, cvnc.org
Sixteenth Season
Concert Singers of Cary Offer Baroque Treasures, April 4, 2007, cvnc.org
Holiday Pops in Cary Captures the Spirit of the Season, December 6, 2006, cvnc.org
Fifteenth Season
Massive Masses, April 11, 2006, cvnc.org
Concert Singers of Cary Continue Anniversary Year Celebrations with Chamber Choir Program, December 20, 2005, cvnc.org
Professionally Polished Pops in Cary, December 7, 2005, cvnc.org
Concert Singers' World Tour, November 17, 2005, cvnc.org
Combined Resources Provide Intimate and Delightful Baroque Experience, October 19, 2005, cvnc.org
Fourteenth Season
Concert Singers of Cary Bring Bach and Handel to Life, April 20, 2005, cvnc.org
Concert Singers and Triangle Wind Ensemble's Festive Holiday Pops, December 7, 2004, cvnc.org
CSC & RSO Members Offer Music for Contemplation, November 29, 2004, cvnc.org
Thirteenth Season
Concert Singers of Cary Come to Raleigh, December 16, 2003, cvnc.org
Cary Choral Artists Debut with Outstanding Program, January 13, 2004, cvnc.org
Concert Singers of Cary Perform Cathedral Music, May 6, 2004, cvnc.org
Twelfth Season
Journey to the Light, October 2, 2002, cvnc.org
Feliz Navidad! Holiday Music from the Hispanic Tradition, December 16, 2002, cvnc.org
Beethoven's Ode to Joy/Rising Stars, March 4, 2003, News and Observer
Beethoven's Ode to Joy/Rising Stars, March 5, 2003, cvnc.org
Brahms' German Requiem, April 15, 2003, cvnc.org
Eleventh Season
Christmas Blessings, December 19, 2001, cvnc.org
Laud to the Nativity, January 15, 2002, News and Observer
Laud to the Nativity, January 17, 2002, cvnc.org
Serenade to Music, May 22, 2002, cvnc.org
Tenth Season
Holiday Pops, December 27, 2000, The Spectator
Christmas Olde and New, December 13, 2000, The Spectator
Classical Jukebox: Ode to Joy, July 25, 2001, cvnc.org
Ninth Season
Christmas Perspectives, December 29, 1999, The Spectator
Saviour and Emperor / Best Large-Scale Concerts of 1999, Dec. 29, 1999, Spectator
Behold! I am a Bell / Best Chamber Music Events of 1999, Dec. 29, 1999, Spectator
A Symphony of Psalms, April 3, 2000, News and Observer
Chichester Psalms, May 2, 2000, Durham Herald
Chichester Psalms, May 3, 2000, News and Observer
Chichester Psalms, May 17, 2000, The Spectator
Modern African-American Masterworks, June 7, 2000,Eighth Season
Songs by Brahms, November 18, 1998, Independent Weekly
Songs of Christmas, December 29, 1998, The Spectator
Mass Appeal / Ten Best Classical Events of 1998, December 30, 1998, The Spectator
Saviour and Emperor, April 19, 1999, News and Observer
Saviour and Emperor, April 28, 1999, The Spectator
Behold! I am a Bell, August 11, 1999, The SpectatorSeventh Season
Great Britten, December 18, 1997. The Spectator
Amahl and the Night Visitors, December 29, 1997. News and Observer
Mass Appeal, March 26, 1998. The Spectator
An Evening of Stars and Stardust, April 29, 1998 (Editorial in The Cary News)Sixth Season
Amahl and the Night Visitors, December 31, 1996. News and Observer
Messiah 1743 Covent Garden Performance, January 2, 1997. The Spectator
Amahl and the Night Visitors, January 16, 1997. The Spectator
Un Soir Avec Fauré, March 13, 1997. The SpectatorFifth Season
Christmas in Cary, December 28, 1995. The SpectatorFourth Season
Christmas Around the World, December 21, 1994. News and Observer
Christmas Around the World, December 22, 1994. The Spectator
The Peaceable Kingdom, April 13, 1995. The SpectatorThird Season
Classical Favorites, June 30, 1994. The SpectatorSecond Season
The Versatile Leonard Bernstein, April 15, 1993. The Spectator
All-Beethoven Evening, June 21, 1993. News and Observer
All-Beethoven Evening, June 23, 1993. The Cary NewsFirst Season
Premiere Concert, October 23, 1991 (Editorial in The Cary News)
The Caribbean Comes to Cary
December 10, 2007, cvnc.org, by Paul D. Williams
December 8, 2007, Cary, NC: One would be almost obliged to enjoy a music program in that captivating venue. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church sits at the dead end of a narrow street, presenting a near pastoral setting right in downtown Cary. There this church hosted the Concert Singers of Cary with their Christmas program, “Holidays in the Caribbean.” Singers and instrumentalists performed under Artistic Director Lawrence Speakman. When called for throughout the program, Linda Velto ably provided piano support.
The program opened in a traditional vein with “O Magnum Mysterium” by the contemporary Venezuelan composer Cesar Alejandro Carrillo. This durable text received a modern treatment, but appropriately subdued and tuneful.
The next several pieces amply justified the title of the program. “The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy” and “Here’s a Pretty Little Baby” introduced the unmistakable Caribbean flavor of much of the evening. Featured in the latter piece were the fine voices of tenor Simon Bate and soprano Megan Bender.
Undoubtedly the surprise of the program had to be the three movements from Glenn McClure’s St. Francis in the Americas: A Caribbean Mass. The “star” instrument here was the steel drum, skillfully exploited by guest artist Tracy Thornton. The piano and drum duo opened the Kyrie, soon joined by percussionists Leah Shull and John Hanks (who played various percussion instruments throughout the Mass), to be followed immediately by the chorus. Bate again appeared as soloist in the Credo. He and Bender were featured in the Santo (Sanctus).
Hearing a Mass with a Latin beat could be a bit disconcerting, but coming to terms did not prove to be too challenging. Perhaps a closer look at the Santo section would be instructive in attempting to characterize this powerful work. The helpful program notes referred to the “driving rhythm of this piece.” Further, instead of emphasizing the “solemnity of prayer, Latin American…liturgical music often emphasizes the lively, dance-like quality of prayer.”
Tradition took over for the latter part of the evening. The familiar “Still, Still, Still” showed the excellent chorus at its best, with first the women, then the men, in smooth unison. In the Appalachian standard, “I Wonder as I Wander,” soprano Justine Limpic displayed admirable control in the quiet, unaccompanied lines. “Carol of the Bells” and “Carol of the Drum” represented the “Christmas cliché” standards, both imaginatively realized and seemingly audience favorites. The chorus, over one hundred strong, was particularly effective in the spiritual, “Go Where I Send Thee,” as they repeatedly counted down “…three for the Hebrew children, two for Paul and Silas, and one for the Little Bitty Baby.”
Congratulations to Speakman, to the Concert Singers, and to St. Paul’s for a counter-intuitive but altogether pleasing view of the Christmas season.
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Concert Singers of Cary Offer Baroque Treasures
April 4, 2007, cvnc.org, by Ken Hoover
March 31, 2007, Cary, NC: The Concert Singers of Cary, under the direction of Lawrence Speakman and accompanied by an orchestra playing instruments authentic to the era, presented a concert featuring works by three of the giants of the Baroque: Henry Purcell (1659-95), George Frederic Handel (1685-1759) and Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). Some of the string instruments dated from the early to mid 18th century. Others were recreated from Baroque models: wooden flute, oboe and oboe d'amore, trumpets without valves, etc. Gut strings and shorter bows provided a softer and more delicately articulated sound that blended warmly with the woodwinds. The ambience of St. Paul's Episcopal Church lent its authenticity to these great sacred works.
The concert opened with Purcell's "Te Deum Laudamus and Jubilate Deo," one of his St. Cecelia anthems, composed in 1694 at the behest of London's "Gentlemen amateurs of music." It is a richly orchestrated piece with trumpets magnificently sounding the praise of God. It calls for a number of incidental solos providing diversity to the longish text of the "Te Deum." Unfortunately, the 16 different soloists of the CSC Chamber Choir were not equally up to the challenges of Purcell's complex ornamentations, turns and melismas. Even the trumpets had a hard time with the difficult high parts requiring very tight and unyielding embouchure. The tempo sagged because some singers could not keep up with the beat or the pitch, and there were spots where the whole thing threatened to fall apart completely. Nevertheless, it did have some rewarding moments, mainly where the full chamber chorus was engaged.
Next the full Symphonic Chorus, some 175 voices strong, sang Handel's Chandos Anthem No. 4, "O sing unto the Lord," one of eleven anthems he composed while in the service of James Brydges, the first Duke of Chandos, for performance in his private chapel. In his introductory remarks, Speakman informed the audience that the soprano who had originally prepared for this presentation had experienced her first North Carolina pollen season and her vocal chords were fouled up. Justine Limpic, one of the members of the choir, prepared the opening soprano solo and the later duet with the tenor in a scant 48 hours. She and tenor Jonathan Blaylock did outstanding work, and the choir and orchestra just about nailed it perfectly. The choir was impressive with their articulation and their rich choral blend, even with their undermanned tenor and bass sections.
The final selection was J. S. Bach's Easter Oratorio, S.249, first performed as a cantata in 1725 and revised as a short oratorio 1732-35. The Symphonic Choir and the baroque orchestra were joined by soprano Megan Bender, mezzo-soprano P.J. Zhu, tenor Jonathan Blalock, and bass Matthew Farnsworth. The oratorio opens with a Sinfonia and Adagio, setting the stage for the joyous opening chorus, "Come, hasten... for the grotto... for He who saves us is raised up." The trumpets sounded out with triumphant joy..., and the chorus matched their vigor with glorious singing.
A recitativo between Mary, daughter of James (soprano), Mary Magdalene (mezzo-soprano), and Peter (tenor), leads to one of those exquisite arias for soprano with flute obligato and basso continuo that Bach weaves so hauntingly into the emotional and spiritual fabric of his compositions. Another recitativo section leads to the solo tenor singing with strings and a marvelous flute and recorder duet. A brief recitative is followed by the alto solo accompanied by strings and oboe d'amore. This is music that must await us just inside the heavenly portal. A bass recitative leads to the final triumphant and joyous chorus with trumpets, full orchestra and a sound like all the saints and apostles and angels singing together.
Though there were some flaws, they were redeemed in the overall experience of this concert. The soloists, especially in the Handel and Bach, did a very creditable job. The baroque period instruments made it special, and the Symphonic Choir was outstanding.
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Holiday Pops in Cary Captures the Spirit of the Season
December 6, 2006, cvnc.org, by Ken Hoover
December 2, 2006, Cary, NC: The Concert Singers of Cary and the Triangle Wind Ensemble joined forces for their annual holiday pops program at the Herbert Young Community Center on Saturday night. There was a pretty good audience with several young people soaking up the excitement and joy of the music. The community center is basically a gymnasium with a plastic tarp protecting the flour, thus making for a pretty lively sound.
The program opened with "Gloria" by Randol Alan Bass. Bass was a student of John Williams, the movie composer and former conductor of the Boston Pops, and the influence of his teacher's style was obvious in the four pieces or arrangements by him on this program. Obviously Bass is a popular composer of wind ensemble and choral music. "Gloria," conducted by Lawrence J. Speakman, Director of the Concert Singers of Cary, was a most appropriate opener and set the mood for the evening. It began with some Star Wars-like fanfares, developed through a syncopated declamation of glorias that led to a hymn-like but more developed middle section, then back to the syncopated glorias and ending with a majestic flourish. It was apparent that the chorus and wind ensemble would make full use of the lively ambience that enhanced the blend of the voices and instruments.
Robert C, Hunter, Director of the Triangle Wind Ensemble, came to the podium next and led the band in a piece of music that allowed them to show off the wide range of sound they have mastered in their repertoire. J. S. Bach's Toccata, Adagio and Fugue, S. 564 originally composed for organ, was arranged for wind ensemble by Paynter, and it allowed them to play light, baroque themes, mellow chorales, and cheerful and playful flights of melody including the rather prankish coda at the end. Many in the pops-oriented audience wanted to applaud at the pauses between the three sections of the piece and generously showed appreciation at the end.
Next, guest artist David Ballantyne, host of "Rise and Shine" on WCPE, "The Classical Station," was given the opportunity to demonstrate his theatre background as narrator in the Bass arrangement of Clement Moore's Christmas icon, "'Twas the Night before Christmas." Ballantyne was in turn impish, excited, awed and joyful in his reading of the poem, and it was the hit of the evening, drawing sustained and enthusiastic applause.
There was a mellow arrangement of Mel Tormé's "Christmas Song," always a special favorite. Then "Christmas Flourish," another arrangement by Bass of four well-known Christmas hymns or carols, continued to invite the audience to relish the sounds and meanings of the season. Soprano Leslie Alger's rendition of "Silent Night" was a quiet and meditative moment. This was followed by the obligatory audience sing-a-long, a handful of familiar tunes that attracted moderate participation and added more to the spirit of the season.
TWE performed "Eighth Candle" by Steve Reistetter, a celebration of the lighting of the last candle of Chanukah. It is a very nice piece beginning with a richly harmonized prayer and ending with a dance typical of the infectious joy of Chanukah.
The next selection was another fine arrangement by Bass, in fact specially arranged at the request of Speakman and Hunter for this performance. It included four of the commercial hit tunes of the season. You know, the ones about Santa Claus, Rudolph and Frosty, ending with "Jingle Bells."
Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" and Leroy Anderson's "Sleigh Ride" wound up the evening just right. The concert was a perfect inauguration of the season of joy — just enough to instill the spirit, not so long as to overly tax the young ones. The performances by both the Concert Singers and the Wind Ensemble were outstanding. Hunter and Speakman and all involved are to be commended for providing this delightful evening for the community.
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Massive Masses
April 11, 2006, cvnc.org, by Joe Kahn
Westwood Baptist Church, Cary, April 8: Like the area's population, the area's major choruses are growing in size and start to approach unmanageable numbers. The Concert Singers of Cary (CSC), which presented Saturday's concert under their Artistic Director and Conductor Lawrence Speakman, is 170+ strong, and even its Chamber Choir nears 60. A chronic shortage of tenors has plagued the CSC from the start, causing an imbalance that can only be corrected by either recruiting more tenors or paring down the other sections. As a community chorus, CSC is between a rock and a hard place since civic musical organizations play the dual roles of serving the community's audience for good music as well as the community's musicians as a place to enjoy making music.
The evening was devoted to two masses from the opposite ends of the spectrum of this genre: Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina's (1525-94) Missa Papae Marcelli and Franz Joseph Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass. The first was composed within the strictures of model 16th-century counterpoint under the rigid and restrictive dicta of the post-Council of Trent Catholic Church; the second is concerted, with soloists and orchestra as had become the custom for high celebratory masses some 200 years later. For the Haydn, the chorus was accompanied by members of the ECU Symphony Orchestra, for whom Speakman currently serves as assistant conductor.
Not entirely supported legend has it that Palestrina started composing his famous Missa Papae Marcelli, the most famous of his 104 masses, during the three-week-reign of Pope Marcellus II, who called together the singers of the papal chapel on Good Friday 1555, the third day of his reign, to inform them that the music for Holy Week should be more in keeping with the solemn character of the occasion and that the words should be clearly understood. Palestrina ostensibly composed the Mass with significant passages in note-against-note counterpoint to illustrate how polyphonic music can still make the text intelligible. The chamber choir sang with great precision and good balance, but Speakman's approach recalled the early music interpretations of the mid-20th century, with rigid tempi and minimal dynamic changes. Rather than matching dynamics to the text, he persisted in a uniform mezzo forte, even for such acclamations as "Gloria in excelsis" and the "Hosanna."
As an added bonus, between the two masses, Speakman led the strings in Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings, a work he had recently conducted with the same string players at ECU. Unfortunately, a nice performance was marred by a serious flaw in the hall. While the acoustics are potentially satisfactory, the hall has a noisy ventilation system. Throughout the Adagio, the pianissimo passages were drowned out by the rumbling A.C., sounding like a passing freight train.
After the austere Palestrina, Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass, with four soloists and accompanied by strings, three trumpets and organ, sounded like grand opera. Back from his visits to London and exposure to its robust choirs and Handel's dramatic oratorios, Haydn expanded the resources for his own late masses and especially the oratorio The Creation. The chorus, while well-controlled and precise, sounded unbalanced, with the tenors often nearly inaudible. Of the soloists, baritone William Adams has a full, resonant voice in the upper range but had to strain in the low register; the Mass really needs a basso to do it justice. Tenor Timothy Sparks's full voice and outstanding diction are familiar to area audiences; he did not disappoint on this occasion. But alto Peijung Zhu was the star of the evening; she has a wonderfully clear voice with precise intonation, good projection and good diction – a combination hard to beat. Weakest by far was soprano Elizabeth LaBelle, whose voice lacks resonance; her excessive vibrato and unstable pitch were in sharp contrast to the other soloists.
The accompanying strings were obviously well rehearsed, except in the Benedictus, where the violin section suddenly morphed into eight separate violins. The trumpets were a bit overenthusiastic in places, drowning out even the big chorus.
Speakman should be commended for the interesting programming. The juxtaposition of the two masses made not only for an enjoyable concert, but also gave a concrete example in the development of choral style over a 250-year period.
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Concert Singers of Cary Continue Anniversary Year Celebrations with Chamber Choir Program
December 20, 2005, cvnc.org, by John W. Lambert
The Concert Singers of Cary continued its yearlong 15th anniversary celebrations with a marvelous a cappella concert by its Chamber Choir, presented on December 17 in the sanctuary of St. Paul's Episcopal Church. The lovely venue and the superior singing of the large chamber choir (50 or so voices) made for a lovely evening. CSC Artistic Director Lawrence Speakman directed the program, which consisted of 16 relatively short numbers that spanned centuries of Western art music and many styles.
The choir processed while singing Elizabeth Poston's serenely beautiful "Jesus Christ the Apple Tree." Once in place, the program continued with works by Palestrina and Samuel Scheidt, whose "A Child Is Born in Bethlehem" featured no less than eight soloists from the ensemble – Cathy Snell, Amy Athavale, Donna Parker, Dottie Arold, Katy Bowman, Katherine Booker, Karen Davis, and Jennifer Fahey. Alas, this unusual number, in which solo artists intone lines and the chorus responds, got off to a somewhat shaky start – where do singers get those pitches when singing a cappella? – but recovery was prompt and the piece made a fine impression, overall. A German motet by Mendelssohn – "Frohlocket ihr Völker auf Erden" – demonstrated the choir's outstanding artistic abilities and superior diction; although there were neither texts nor translations, the words were crystal clear. It was good to hear Herbert Howells' "A Spotless Rose" again, for it is one of the gems of our time, and this performance was further enhanced by tenor Simon Bates' expressive singing. A French carol and Joseph Flummerfelt's setting of "S'Vivon" brought the short first half to a positive and cheerful close.
Part two was devoted to lighter fare, starting with "O Little Town of Bethlehem" (with soloist Lori Volpe), but there was no lessening of artistic quality, for the components of this section had clearly received painstakingly thorough preparation. In a sense, the overall program continued the international theme enunciated in the CSC's last concert, for there were works from all over, including the Islands (in the form of Robert DeCormier's setting of "The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy" (with finger cymbals played by Ruth McCoy) to beautiful, scenic Hackensack. The lineup encompassed superior versions of some familiar fare by expert arrangers Nancy Grundahl, David Willcocks, Charles Wood, Gordon Langford, and Mac Huff, plus two rarities – "O Little Town of Hackensack" (with its charming reference to that mecca of New Jersey culture, Tenafly) and "Good King Kong Looked Out" – by the famous (or, as Speakman observed, infamous) P.D.Q. Bach (a.k.a. Peter Schickele). These probably weren't the evening's most important scores, but they certainly lightened the proceedings and helped send the audience away – after a moving rendition of "Home for the Holidays" (with soloist Jamie Fussell) – in a truly festive mood.
The CSC's 15th anniversary season resumes February 11. Click here for details.
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Professionally Polished Pops in Cary
December 7, 2005, cvnc.org, by Ken Hoover
There is nothing like music to change your mood and to put you in the right frame of mind for a special occasion or for seasonal festivities. On Saturday, December 3, the music was provided by the Concert Singers of Cary and the Triangle Wind Ensemble at the Herbert C. Young Community Center in Cary. The "Holiday Pops in Cary" concert pleased a large audience in the former Cary Town Center, which is basically a gymnasium dressed up with a plastic tarp on the floor, risers for the chorus, and chairs for the audience. Some backdrop deflectors that changed colors through the magic of lighting added visual pleasure to the varied and well done seasonal pop music.
The CSC Symphonic Choir is the full ensemble of singers that conductor Larry Speakman has prepared and guided toward higher quality and achievement since 1991. The Triangle Wind Ensemble was founded in 1999 and provides opportunities for woodwind, brass, and percussion players to enhance their skills through the performance of challenging wind ensemble and symphonic band literature. Conductor Robert S. Hunter is also band director at Enloe High School in Raleigh.
Together, the two groups blended in a rich and exciting sound, beginning the program with "Gloria" by popular symphonic band and choral composer Randol Alan Bass. It was a rousing rendition of the ancient hymn of praise inspired by the song of the shepherds on the night of the first Christmas, and it made the most of the capabilities of both groups. This was followed by an arrangement of "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" for band and narrator. Cary Mayor Ernie McAlister did the narration while the band dramatized Clement Moore's poem with music composed by R.A. Bass.
"Russian Church Music" arranged for band by Alfred Reed was heard next. It is based on Russian liturgical themes and cast in the style of 19th-century Russian romanticism with some newer harmonies here and there. Some of it was reminiscent of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov. It displayed the symphonic sound of the ensemble from quiet yearning prayers to triumphant hymns of praise.
There were also two Christmas compilations by R.A. Bass, one of which concluded the program. There was a piece identified in the program as Toccata, Adagio, and Fugue by J.S. Bach, which contained nothing I have ever heard by the Cantor of Leipzig! I found out later the piece that was played was actually "The Eighth Candle" a Chanukah celebration by Steve Reisteter(!). An announcement from the podium or a program insert would have been helpful, for sure – the music was pleasant enough, but it was irritating to try to figure out what it was!
The highlights of the evening were two very familiar Christmas pops favorites, Irving Berlin's magical "White Christmas" arranged by Roy Ringwald, and Leroy Anderson's most popular composition, "Sleigh Ride". Both were done with choir and wind ensemble sounding professionally smooth and polished.
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Concert Singers' World Tour
November 17, 2005, cvnc.org, by John W. Lambert
Over the years, we've savored some wonderful choral music here, thanks to our many fine choirs, great and small. Along the way, the "senior" groups – the NC Master Chorale (formerly the Raleigh Oratorio Society) and the Choral Society of Durham (formerly the Durham Civic Choral Society) have probably come in for more than their fair share of praise (and coverage, too), in part because they dominate the scene, to a certain extent, but also because they are so good and offer such good programs. There are of course other groups that merit attention, and it's a fact that the whole Triangle is a richer, better, happier place because of the work of all our choirs, which provide such fine opportunities for their members and such noteworthy enrichment of the lives of their audiences. Now as it happens, two somewhat younger groups are marking big anniversaries this season. We'll get to the Chapel Hill Community Chorus (which formerly had "Carrboro" as part of its name) next month, when they turn 25. For now, we shift our attention to another birthday group, the Concert Singers of Cary, which fields many more choruses than the others do and whose big choir is the equal – in terms of size and seriousness of purpose – of the old-guard ones. Take these four together and there's lots to celebrate, even before one starts pondering all the others – for an exhaustive list of which, we recommend the fine website TriangleSings!, at http://www.trianglesings.org/.
The Concert Singers of Cary fielded two of its choirs on November 12 in the capacious sanctuary of Westwood Baptist Church for the first of this season's fifteenth anniversary concerts, and it was a celebratory cork-popper, figuratively speaking, of course – given the venue. The subject was world music, and before you start huffin' and puffin' about "outreach," that favorite buzz-word of grantors, kindly recall that the groups are choirs and the music was all choral. And such wonderful music it was! The program encompassed sixteen works from all over, literally – from Cuba and the Dominican Republic and Aruba and Brazil, from Japan and China, from Russia, from Israel, from Africa, and from our own land. (To sidestep the challenge of listing all the works in the body of this review, which would leave little room for discussion, we'll give the complete program below.*) It may be worth noting that all this music except two spirituals was "new" to this listener, who has been involved in choral music since he was a soprano (long story...), and that in and of itself made this a truly exceptional evening. It wasn't that the composers or arrangers were unknown – names like Ernani Aguiar (composer of "Salmo 150") and Brent Michael Davids (composer of the Native American Suite, from which two sections were excerpted) turn up from time to time, and there were several pieces set by Moses Hogan, too. (There was also a very unusual, very strange Japanese piece – "Aki no ko-e" – by Jackson Hill, who was a grad student at UNC when I was there in the '60s.) But a concert of basically unknown choral music can be a real treat, especially when given with skill and commitment and as beautifully sung as this one was. The CSC's "small" group, the Chamber Choir (which, with around 50 singers, is larger than many local ensembles!), did the first several numbers, providing in the process great pleasure and impressing with their clear diction and outstanding balance and blend – qualities that were enhanced by the acoustics of the room. Projected translations helped the audience understand every word and phrase. It was a class act on a relatively intimate scale. And when the Chamber Choir was joined by the Symphonic Choir, well, they nearly overflowed their space, and they filled up the sanctuary with splendid and powerful singing. There aren't as many men as there are women – an opportunity lurks here for folks who might wish to take part in this ensemble – but aurally there were few problems, even in the sonorous richness of a piece by Alexander Nikolsky from a Russian vesper service.
Music Director Lawrence Speakman conducted and introduced many of the numbers. He has a way with a crowd, and his comments were right on the money. A lot of the program was a cappella, permitting listeners to savor the singers' special skills, but there were also some choice and unusual accompaniments – by percussionists Stephen Burke and John Fedderson (of the NC Symphony), a dazzling steel drum import, Tracy Thornton (from Greensboro), flutist Linda Metz, and pianist Linda Velto. Along the way, too, there were some fine soloists, all from the ranks of the choirs – which provides further testimony (if it is needed) of the overall excellence of these ensembles. They were Jane Muldoon-Smith (in the West African "It Takes a Village"), Connie Margolin and Bob Dey (in the Israeli "Mi Yitnení Of"), descant artist Lori Volpe (in "The Battle of Jericho"), and David Lee (in the soul-stirring, rafter-rattling encore, "Ev'ry Time I Feel the Spirit"). It was quite an evening.
The CSC's next program will be a joint concert with the Triangle Wind Ensemble on December 3. See our calendar for details, and make it a point to hear the CSC in its 15th anniversary season!
*Program: "World Music": Chamber Choir: Eduard Toppenberg/Rufo Odor: Balia Di Sehú (Let’s Dance the Sehú) (Aruba); Ernani Aguiar: Salmo 150 (Psalm 150) (Brazil); Jackson Hill: Aki no ko-e (Voices of Autumn) (Japan); David Mooney: Silent, O Moyle (Ireland); & Guido López-Gavilán: El Guayaboso (The Liar) (Cuba); & Symphonic Choir: Arr. Ralph Johnson: Praise the Lord (Cameroon); Joan Szymko: It Takes a Village (West Africa); Glenn McClure: St. Francis in the Americas: Kyrie (Caribbean); Brent Michael Davids: Native American Suite (Native America); Juan-Tony Guzman: Chanflín (Dominican Merengue) (Dominican Republic); Alexander Nikolsky: Gladsome Light (Russia): Arr. Audrey Snyder: Mí Yítnení Of (Who Will Give Me Wings) (Israel); Jing Ling Tam: Flower Drum Song (China); Trad./Moses Hogan) (Spiritual): The Battle of Jericho, & My Soul’s Been Anchored In the Lord (African-American); & [encore] Trad./William L. Dawson (Spiritual): Ev’ry Time I Feel the Spirit
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Combined Resources Provide Intimate and Delightful Baroque Experience
October 20, 2005, cvnc.org, by Ken Hoover
The Cary Choral Artists, along with the Chatham Baroque Trio and the East Carolina University Early Music Ensemble, all using period instruments, joined their considerable talents on Saturday, October 8, in the acoustically lively sanctuary of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Cary. It was one of the finest presentations in my memory of some of the most well known and beloved music of J. S. Bach.
The Choral Artists were Elizabeth LaBelle, soprano, Kathy Hopkins, mezzo-soprano, John Cashwell, tenor, and Lawrence Speakman, baritone. More about the instrumental ensembles later. They began with Bach's Cantata 59, Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten (He who loves me will keep my commandments). This is an earlier version of Cantata 74, composed for Whit Sunday (the First Day of Pentecost), possibly when Bach was in Cöthen or perhaps as early as 1716, in Weimar. The work is richly orchestrated and was performed with violins, viola da gamba, violone, theorbo, portative organ, and two trumpets. It consists of only four movements – Duetto, Recitativo, Chorale, and Aria. The opening duet, sung by soprano and baritone, was quite pleasant and somewhat festive, with the trumpets doubling the melody at times. It was a little difficult for me to hear the vocalists at first, but the balance became better as they proceeded. The aria, sung by Cashwell was very nice indeed, with solo violin, viola da gamba and continuo playing a lovely melody around the solo. The chorale, which Bach put third, was switched and sung last on this occasion. Though not one of the highlight cantatas – Bach made better use of the material in the later version – hearing it done with period instruments and in a one-voice-to-a-part performance provided a special chamber-like intimate pleasure.
The Chatham Baroque Trio, based in Pittsburgh, consists of violinist Julie Adrejeski, who demonstrates an indisputable mastery of her instrument and of Baroque music interpretation, Patricia Halvorsen, who plays the viola da gamba with sensitive warmth and consummate skill, and Scott Pauley, whose instruments are the theorbo and baroque guitar, both played with understanding of the instruments as well as the music of the Baroque period.
Only two members of the ECU Early Music Ensemble were listed in the program – John O'Brien, who performed the continuo, and Tom Huener, trumpet. The others were Leslie Connor, violin, Szeewon Lee, viola, Julie Willis, trumpet, and Rachel Gragson, harpsichord. Augmenting the ensemble were guest artists Tracy Mortimore, violone, and Barry Bauguess, trumpet.
The Sonata VII of Ignaz Franz von Biber (1644-1704), a generation or two earlier than J.S. Bach, was performed with two violins, viola da gamba, violone, harpsichord, and theorbo and baroque guitar, played by Pauley. The artists shared a little about each of these instruments. They were all reproductions of instruments made in that period or earlier or known to have been used at that time. The violins appear very similar to the modern violin but have extra structure so that the sheep gut strings will produce more sound. The bows are also several inches shorter. The viola da gamba and the violone both have six strings and frets as well as other features differing from their modern counterparts, the cello and double bass. The theorbo is, more or less, a bass lute with a very long neck and two sets of strings. The bass strings extend to the top head and the conventional strings are tuned at a second head about midway up the neck. It produces charming renaissance-like sounds, though they were still in use into the 18th century.
The ensemble performed three of the rich treasures known almost universally to those who love the music of the Cantor of Leipzig – the Duetto from Cantata 78 ("We hasten with failing but diligent paces (or footsteps)"), the tenor chorale from Cantata 140 ("Zion hears the watchman singing"), and the most familiar of all; "Jesus shall remain my gladness" – usually referred to as "Jesu, Joy of man's desiring." All three were done with knowing musicianship and affection. Labelle and Hopkins seemed to be absolutely having a ball with the Duetto. One cannot help but wonder what the reaction must have been in Thomaskirche on that Sunday when it was first performed!
Following the intermission, Chatham Baroque performed a Sonata in G by Bach and a Chaconne by Johann Heinrich Schmelzer (1621-80) (who played a key role in the development of the suite and the sonata). Both pieces featured violin, viola da gamba, theorbo, and harpsichord.
The program concluded with portions of Cantata 29, Wir danken dir, Gott wir danken dir (We give thee thanks, God, we give thee thanks). We heard the Sinfonia, the second-movement chorus, the third-movement aria, and the final chorale. The Sinfonia, a rearrangement of the E major partita for solo violin (S.1006), was superbly played by the Chatham Baroque ensemble and members of the ECU Early Music Ensemble. Bach must have felt very satisfied with the chorus since he used it twice, with modifications, in the Mass in B minor – as the Gratias agimus tibi and the closing Dona nobis pacem. It is indeed a majestic and masterful accomplishment, considered by some to be the most moving three minutes in all of music. The tenor aria was also magical; it is one of those pieces wherein Bach spins a violin obbligato with the continuo instruments that seems as though heaven has come down to touch the human being and combined with it perfectly. The closing chorale – superbly exuberant with three trumpets – ended the concert with a solid and warm feeling that was just right.
This was one of the best concerts I have heard this season and may well be a candidate for the Best in the Triangle this year.
A footnote from a distinguished Bach interpreter and scholar: "Bach's cantatas are the focal point of his œuvre. And once you've played or recorded them for years on end, it becomes evident just how amazing it was that one man could have been so rich, original and full of inspiration when composing. Every cantata and every aria becomes a passionate adventure where the question of routine or repetition never arises. No other composer pushed strict counterpoint to such limits or romanticism to such expressive heights. No other composer uses such rich and complex instrumentation, nor gives as much importance to musical symbolism." – Nikolaus Harnoncourt
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Concert Singers of Cary Bring Bach and Handel to Life
April 20, 2005, cvnc.org, by Ken Hoover
The two greatest composers of the high Baroque were represented on the Concert Singers of Cary's program at St. Paul's Episcopal Church on Saturday evening, April 16. Both composers were born in Germany in the same year – 1685 – but their careers took them on widely different paths. Johann Sebastian Bach never traveled far from his birthplace and spent his life composing music for the church and a few patrons. Georg Frederic Handel traveled widely and ended up as a British subject. He composed mainly for the theater – operas, oratorios, incidental music and some works for the church. Though their styles are somewhat different, both composers left legacies of creative genius that provide generous pleasure to audiences today, nearly 300 years from their heyday.
St. Paul's Church was packed in a gratifying affirmation of the pleasure of great music meticulously prepared and lovingly performed. Bach's Magnificat in D, S.243, is one of those pieces that Bach reworked for different situations and occasions. The first version, in the key of E-flat, was performed at Vespers at the Church of St. Nicholas, Leipzig, on Christmas Day 1723. The more familiar D Major version appeared some five to eight years later. It is one of only a few works Bach wrote with a Latin text.
The Magnificat opens with a joyful chorus – the words of Mary at the news that her cousin Elizabeth was to give birth to John the Baptist and her own awareness that she was to bear the Son of God, conceived of the Holy Spirit. Timpani, trumpets, the rest of the orchestra and an exuberant chorus proclaim "My soul magnifies the Lord." Bach magnificently lifts the spirits of his congregation (audience) with matchless music. The following eleven portions of Mary's canticle provide reflection, devotion, and praise. With solos by Kelly Stephenson, Elizabeth LaBelle, Robert Dey, Tim Sparks, Marjorie Smith, and Roberta Thomason, we were enticed into the event of incarnation as it was experienced in the heart of Mary. The piece ended with the chorus singing homage to God in the astonishing "Gloria Patri," some of Bach's most impressive music.
Handel's Dettingen Te Deum was composed in 1745 to celebrate the English victory over the French at the battle of Dettingen in June of that year. This triumphant work is also resplendent with the instruments of celebration in the Baroque era – timpani and trumpets. The opening section, "We Praise Thee, O God," was sung joyously and jubilantly by the fine chorus under the direction of Lawrence Speakman.
The Baroque Arts Project provided outstanding orchestral accompaniment on period instruments throughout the concert. The New-Bern-based ensemble included, for this performance, sixteen outstanding specialists, mainly from Virginia and North Carolina, playing either original 17th- and 18th-century instruments or replicas. Their demonstration of the instruments before the concert was both informative and entertaining, and their performance left this reviewer very impressed.*
The "Glorious Company of Apostles" section provided an opportunity for the men of the chorus, with their warm and rich sound, to shine splendidly. Amy Athavale, Smith, David Lindquist, and Dey did fine jobs with their solo and ensemble singing. There was an unanticipated pause in the program after "Thou Art the King of Glory" while the 8:45 Amtrack whistled its way through Cary. Speakman did his best not to draw attention to the diversion, but several times, as he raised his baton to begin the next section, the train whistle seemed even closer. The audience rather enjoyed it and took it good-naturedly. "We Therefore Pray Thee" was time for the women of the chorus to show their beautiful tones. The most familiar chorus of the Te Deum, "Day by Day," was winsomely done, and the closing chorus, "O Lord, In Thee Have I Trusted," brought this outstanding concert to a thrilling conclusion.
Much gratitude was expressed in the applause of the large audience – thanks to the Concert Singers of Cary, the soloists, the Baroque Arts Project, and Maestro Speakman for bringing Bach and Handel to life this night in Cary.
*The BAP strings were headed by violinist John Pruett and anchored by bassist Robbie Link, the wind group included Rebecca Troxler, flute; the trumpets were led by Barry Bauguess; and the organist was Linda Velto.
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Concert Singers and Triangle Wind Ensemble's Festive Holiday Pops
December 7, 2004, cvnc.org, by John W. Lambert
Cary's Herbert Young Community Center contains a gym, and it's in that venue that the Concert Singers of Cary and the Triangle Wind Ensemble presented a marvelous holiday pops concert on December 4. It looked like a gym, and its vapor lamps sang along with the music. The floor was covered with a protective tarp. But the place was attractively decorated, and at one end of the large room there were risers for the choir, backed by a multi-section shell, and that shell was lit in red and green. The band was set up in front of the risers, and there wasn't much space between the musicians and the large audience. All those bodies surely helped absorb some of the sound. The bottom line: it was the best sounding concert this writer has heard there, and it was one of the best and happiest holiday concerts yet heard, too. Now admittedly we CVNCers don't do too many pops concerts, largely because there's so much else going on. But this one was not your typical movie-music and Broadway show mix, with a guest artist who is not completely at home in front of an orchestra (or band, or...) tossed in to help sell tickets. Nope, this one featured a lot of music that was new to this listener — and if much of it was light, it was consistently good and well realized.
The TWE, a 45-member ensemble of seasoned performing vets, got things underway with a festive Fantasia by Timothy Mahr. Robert Hunter, the director, is in charge of bands at Enloe High School, and if the playing of the TWE can be taken as a guide, the students there are in very capable hands. Solo work from individual players was strong, and the group's balance, blend, and attention to dynamics were first rate. A band of this size in a boomy space could have been a challenge, but these players never seemed too loud, and in fact the only significant evidence of conflict between musical intent and realization came from the timpani (harder sticks might have made for crisper beats) and the somewhat overamplified (and not very good) synthesizer that filled in for piano, harp, and (perhaps?) several other absent instruments.
Later in the program, the TWE offered Alfred Reed's impressive "Russian Christmas Music," surely one of the evening's highlights. The ensemble often sounded like a great pipe organ, so rich was the sonority, and the music was powerful and moving. There were nods to other traditions (other than Christmas, that is) in Steve Reisteter's "Eighth Candle" and to secular traditions too, in Randol Alan Bass' attractive and effective setting of "'Twas the Night before Christmas," narrated with skill by NBC 17's Melanie Sanders.
The Concert Singers of Cary, led by Lawrence Speakman, performed at intervals with the band during the course of the intermission-less program. Bass' "A Symphony of Carols" was the first of several works that incorporate seasonal melodies — some well-known, others less frequently heard; the soloists were Amy Athavale, Lisa Fredenburgh, and Robert Dey, all reasonably audible. Soprano Athavale also soloed in Bass' "Christmas Flourish," another medley of carols. Both impressed with the skill of their construction and their musical effectiveness. For years we have turned to the four-section "Many Moods of Christmas" for tasteful arrangements of seasonal favorites. Bass has added new options, and for that all holiday listeners must be grateful.
The CSC's other big number was Craig Courtney's delightful "Musicological Journey Through the Twelve Days of Christmas," a take-off of sorts on the well-known countdown piece but with a twist — it sets the lines in various musical styles, ranging from chant to Sousa. Thanks to the CSC's lavish program book and notes by Executive Director David R. Lindquist, there was ample documentation so everyone could be in on the jokes (and yes, even experienced listeners are unlikely to have known all the sources without the crib). The large choir sang this number and the others with keen musicianship, remarkable projection and diction (particularly given the venue), and careful attention to all the requisite niceties.
Rounding out the evening were "White Christmas" and "Sleigh Ride" and a good arrangement of Anderson's "Christmas Festival" sing-along that allowed the audience to claim they've performed with the CSC and the TWE! The crowd was clearly pleased with the whole show and seemed reluctant to let the artists go, but there was no encore.
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CSC & RSO Members Offer Music for Contemplation
November 29, 2004, cvnc.org, by Ken Hoover
Something really magical happens when human voices blend in rich close harmony, sustained or subtly shifting, supporting and uplifting a well-chosen text. Bruno Walter pointed out in a lecture "On the Moral Strength of Music" how performer and listener alike are drawn into community by the mystical power of harmony. He said, "I often think I can feel the way we are seized by its magical power of transformation and experience a kind of mystic merging, blending with it and becoming one." It is my belief that those who heard the Concert Singers of Cary in Westwood Baptist Church on November 20 experienced something of this transforming community through becoming one with the music. The selections, chosen for the program by Lawrence Speakman, the CSC's director since 1991, were written mostly in the past fifteen or so years. These creative composers represent some of the best choral music around today and offer a still richer future for lovers of this idiom – performers and listeners alike. Though the choir struggled a bit with finding or holding the right pitches in some of the more challenging passages, and though the orchestra members muffed a few passages, overall it was a very special concert.
The first half of the program began with pieces by Robert H. Young, now retired but as an octogenarian continuing an active schedule as Choirmaster at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Waco, Wake Forest University Composer-in-Residence Daniel Gawthrop, and Grammy nominee Eric Whitacre. The three selections – Young's "Sudden Light," Gawthrop's "Sing Me to Heaven," and Whitacre's "Lux Aurumque" – are cut from the same choral fabric – they are rich and accessible – and each was very well done by the 36-voice Chamber Choir. There was a sense that the audience was truly drawn into the performance. The Whitacre composition especially declares to the world an uncanny sense of vocal possibilities in choral sound that is at once elegant and transcendent.
Stephen Paulus's four-movement A Place of Hope was commissioned by the Mayo clinic for the dedication of a new addition to the hospital. It makes use of texts extracted from heartfelt letters and notes written by Mayo Clinic patients. It is a beautiful idea, and though the composition sounds rather forced in places, it comes out okay. It was nicely done by the Chamber choir, and accompanist Linda Velto deserves special kudos.
After intermission, the CSC's full 120-voice choir presented two more late-20th-century choral masterpieces, René Clausen's "Set Me As a Seal" and James Mulholland's setting of "A Red, Red Rose." Both were well done and kept the audience involved in the community of music.
The featured piece was Morten Lauridsen's "Lux Aeterna," composed in 1997 and premiered by the Los Angeles Master Chorale, for whom it was written. It takes its text from the portion of the Latin Mass for the Dead that begins "Grant them eternal rest, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them." For this performance, the Concert Singers were joined by members of the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra. Those familiar with Lauridsen's "Dirait-on" and "O Magnum Mysterium" will know the style, for "Lux Aeterna" has the same rich choral sound, characterized by well-crafted delicious dissonances melting into sweet resolution and long-sustained melodic lines with a sense of direction and purpose, enhanced by the added lush and support of a symphony orchestra. All together, it added up to a marvelously contemplative experience on the weekend before Thanksgiving, leading us to give thanks for our food and our material "blessings" (which are beyond the imagination of even the previous generation), our families – those present and those missing – and finally to contemplate, with the help of music, what it means to be human in our time.
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Concert Singers of Cary Perform Cathedral Music
May 6, 2004, cvnc.org, by Mary Nordstrom
The setting was Highland United Methodist Church, but on May 1, Westminster was responsible once more for the grandeur of a concert of cathedral music. Double entendre intended: both Lawrence Speakman, director of the Concert Singers of Cary Symphonic Choir, and guest artist Kevin Kerstetter, who conducted the Concert Singers of Cary Chamber Choir and accompanied the Symphonic Choir at the organ, are products of Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey. Speakman built his program, "Music of the Great English Cathedrals," to culminate in three consecutive outstanding works, following each of which it was nearly impossible to restrain applause. This had been requested at the beginning of the concert, which was being taped. Those three final works were G. Hubert H. Parry's "I Was Glad When They Said Unto Me" (1910), William Mathias' "Let the people praise thee, O God" (1981), and Ralph Vaughan Williams' "O Clap Your Hands" (1920). Had this impeccably performed program bounced off the walls of Westminster Cathedral or even Duke Chapel, the sound would have been heavenly beyond its summary perfection. Speakman explained that since Duke Chapel had not been available, they had selected Highland as the venue. It is a contemporary work of architecture with an impressively high ceiling, the simplicity of the décor of which is highlighted by a virtual decorative screen of stained glass windows of random jewel-colored design, appropriate to a contemporary sanctuary. The other impressive large focal point is a mass of organ pipes at the upper left of the front wall. The marvelous organ, by Casavant Frères of Canada, was another consideration for the use of this space for the cathedral music concert.
The brass and percussion ensemble that complemented the voices and organ with commensurate strength was placed on a platform, to the right, balancing the organ, on the left. Antiphonal organ pipes in the rear of the sanctuary were used by Kerstetter with spectacular effect toward the end of the program. The organ was placed in its pit position for this occasion, but at a recent weekend event of the Central North Carolina Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, audiences learned that its console may be raised for workshops or moved for recitals. Indeed it is a very special instrument in a fine concert space, its primary function being to support weekly worship in the sanctuary.
Opening with William Byrd's "Ave Verum Corpus" (1605), the Chamber Choir presented a clarity of blend and perfection of balance that was evident throughout the evening. Both the small and large choral units excelled in cohesiveness of tone quality and diction. The Chamber Choir's other two offerings were John Tavener's "The Lamb" (1982) and Charles Villiers Stanford's "Beati Quorum via" (1892). CSC Executive Director David R. Lindquist's delightful program notes* describe the latter: "Beati, one of three Romantic-style motets published by Stanford in 1905, ably echoes the contemplative nature of its Psalm 119 text." There was a thoughtful segue to the first work performed by the Symphonic Choir: "When in Our Music God is Glorified" (1904), sung to the familiar hymn tune Engelberg, was also written by Stanford. Appropriate organ accompaniment and the great brass, timpani and percussion that supported the performance of this work hid the tentative first word of the chorus, soon forgotten, and probably inspired the singers never to show uncertainty again. Indeed the instruments enhanced the voices throughout the evening with excellent balance creating – or perhaps I should say simulating – the ambiance of a cathedral performance. The instrumentalists were by no means background accompaniment.
Exceptional program building was realized when, after the first three assertively-sung selections by the Symphonic Choir – Handel's "Coronation Anthem No. 1" ("Zadok the Priest") (1727) and Edgar L. Bainton's "And I Saw a New Heaven" (1928) followed the Stanford hymn – the brasses burst forth to introduce and then to play interludes during John Rutter's glorious "Te Deum" (1988). Notable was the alternate use of men's and women's voices toward the end, punctuated with brass fanfares. Next, lovely quiet contemporary organ harmonies introduced Herbert Howells' "Like As a Hart Desireth the Waterbrooks" (1941), featuring soprano soloist Nancy MacDonald. Here, choral contrasts were notably well executed, the Casavant organ tones registered for the interludes were extremely effective, and diction was exceptional, as it was throughout the evening. Soprano Amy Athavale rose to the occasion to make proper emphasis in a section of Benjamin Britten's "Festival Te Deum" (1945). The choral statements were appropriately assertive from the beginning, and there was great urgency in the passage "...When He had overcome the sharpness of death," where the voices rushed on with tremendous organ support. There followed an organ introduction like a great modulation into Henry Balfour Gardiner's "Evening Hymn" (1926). The Symphonic Choir began this with a notable grand attack. The program notes* can't be topped in commentary: "...a jewel of an anthem features a lush harmony, a sweeping twenty-one measure 'Amen,' and fine organ accompaniment."
On to the three aforementioned show stoppers, resulting in one heartfelt finale. After each, it took great effort to restrain applause. Parry's "I Was Glad When They Said Unto Me" was sung at the coronations of Edward VII in 1910 and of Elizabeth II in 1953. Mathias' "Let the People Praise Thee, O God" uses the text of Psalm 67 and was composed especially for the wedding of Charles and Diana in 1981. An antiphonal organ trumpet introduction distinguished this work, and the interplay of the trumpeting pipes in the rear of the venue with the huge choir at the front was magnificent. The brass section filled the sanctuary with glorious sound in support of the chorus in the grand finale, Vaughan Williams' "O Clap Your Hands" (1920). The performance excelled and the audience responded to the suggestion of the last work's title with long-delayed applause.
*Corrected 5/11/04
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Cary Choral Artists Debut with Outstanding Program
January 13, 2004, cvnc.org, by John W. Lambert
The chamber choir of the Concert Singers of Cary has been around, in various incarnations — the personnel keep changing — for several seasons, but till now the "small group" has been a mere adjunct to the larger choir, although they appeared with the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra in part of a program last year. It was news, then, and well worth the trip to a non-traditional venue — the Cary Senior Center, on Maury O'Dell Place (near Bond Municipal Park) — to hear the 24-voices of the Cary Choral Artists entirely on their own. The program was built on a theme, and the selected music supported it admirably. The relatively small audience received a booklet that was attractively arranged and contained texts, translations and some supplemental information (not all of which was in the same order as the program itself), but Artistic Director Lawrence Speakman introduced the numbers, too, in some cases bringing to his informal remarks some pretty remarkable information. Alas the venue itself, with an unusually noisy ventilation system, left something to be desired, but it was better than some of the Town of Cary's other halls.
Many of the works were sung a cappella, but three accompanists were on hand — pianist Linda Velto, flutist Susan Brown, and percussionist Jack Roller, who is MD of Meredith's String Orchestra. Short chestnuts by Morely, Passereau, and Wilbye got things underway; many of us have sung these pieces, here or there, but few have delivered "Now Is the Month of Maying," "Il est bel et bon," and "Sweet Honey-Sucking Bees" with such precision and restraint. Handel's "No di voi non vó fidarmi" is better known in recycled form, as "For unto us a child is born"; hearing this first take by the composer — and perhaps it wasn't even his initial use of the theme — was an unexpected delight. David C. Dickau's setting of "If Music Be the Food of Love" flows like a great but gentle river, while György Orbán's "Daemon Irrept Callidus," which sounds like a rip from Carl Orff, served as a contrasting wake-up-and-smell-the-coffee call. The only recognizable text in a short selection from Brent Michael Davids' Native American Suite were the words "I don't care if you're married sixteen times, I still love you yet oh honey dear" so that, too, was a wake-up call of sorts. All these pieces commented on aspects of love and thus supported the program's basic theme, "Heart Rendering." They were delivered with skill and relish, and the technical expertise of the singers, and surely the preparation they received, was apparent pretty much throughout, although the tempo of the opening piece made it difficult for the choristers to spit out all the words. The Davids song, "Apache '49'") was attractive — and short — enough that one wished the entire suite had been performed. Part one ended with Stephen Paulus' Personals, which we'll address in a moment.
The shorter second half began with Vaughan Williams' radiant setting of "Loch Lomond." Gail Kubik's "Oh, dear! What can the matter be" flew like the wind and the words were not always clear, but surely most people in attendance knew them. Speakman's comments about the genesis of René Clausen's "Set Me As a Seal" (from A New Creation) brought new levels of meaning and understanding to a short choral work that has rapidly acquired "classic" status; an email from the composer to members of a choral newsgroup explained that it flowed from Clausen's pen in the wake of the still-born delivery of a child under what must have been harrowing emotional circumstances.... This has always come across as an exceptional and exceptionally engaging piece, and now we know one more reason why.
The second part of the program was capped, as was the first, with music by Paulus, who is perhaps best known for his contributions to Garrison Keillor's long-running radio show, but whose richly varied music has been performed by artists ranging from Thomas Hampson to Doc Severinson; see his bio, at http://www.stephenpaulus.com/1bio.htm, for details. He's one of those composers who can set virtually anything to music, as the two fairly substantial works given by the Cary Choral Artists demonstrate. The first, Personals, settings of four personal ads from the Village Voice, was absolutely in keeping with the concert's overall theme. It's hard to imagine what someone who doesn't speak English would make of them, for they are expertly crafted bits of music, imaginatively written, attractively varied and — surprisingly, perhaps — often quite touching. They work well as pure music, and the texts add interest and/or wit. Part two ended with A Place of Hope, which is an entirely different kettle of fish. Its four parts are taken from writings by patients at the Mayo Clinic, and they are, for the most part, fervent statements of thanks and hope. Speakman explained that they are dedicated to doctors and caregivers, and the moving words are enveloped in appropriately moving music that soothes and calms the listener much as the words surely soothed and calmed speakers/writers and the first hearers/readers. Here's a big bravo to Speakman and his artists for such good programming of music by this and other contemporary composers during this outstanding evening of outstanding singing.
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Concert Singers of Cary Come to Raleigh
December 16, 2003, cvnc.org, by John W. Lambert
The Concert Singers of Cary presented its generous holiday concert in the sanctuary of Raleigh's Highland United Methodist Church on the evening of December 14. The place was packed, and the program began a little late while additional chairs were brought in. There was a bit of this and a bit of that, and the sum of the diverse parts added up to a fine artistic experience, in toto. The program began with a short group sung by the Cary Children's Concert Choir, known as C4. Roberta Thomason has done a remarkable job with her charges, whose stage deportment and attention to their leader is as good – or better – than many adult ensembles. The 30 singers are in grades 3-6, and girls are very much in the majority. The sound produced by the ensemble is excellent, and the words emerged with tremendous clarity. The opening number is a personal favorite, recorded by the Hickory Choral Society and played every year by WCPE – it's the lovely Michael Clawson merger of Pachelbel's Canon with "The First Noel." Percussion was used in several numbers, including "Fum Fum Fum" and "The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy," and three soloists graced "Candle in the Window." "Let There Be Peace on Earth" brought this heartwarming group, accompanied by Angela Llewellyn-Jones, to a close.
And then the men of the Concert Singers delivered Franz Biebl's stunning Ave Maria, which is becoming something of a signature piece for this chorus. For some of us in attendance, this would have been enough, even if nothing else had been offered.
But there was lots more, including a magnificent group of music from or inspired by Venice. Monteverdi's "Gloria in Excelsis" is a big antiphonal piece that contrasts a small ensemble with a subdivided full choir, accompanied by strings (Jack Roller and Phyllis Garriss, violins, and Virginia Hudson, cello) and continuo. In this venue, the work of the 130 singers was felt as well as heard, and the results were stirring, indeed. Healy Willan's "Hodie, Christus Natus Est" was inspired by the tradition of St. Mark's in Venice, and it was richly sung. Giovanni Gabrieli's "Jubilate Deo," for double chorus, and Andrea Gabrieli's "Magnificat," for triple chorus (12 parts) brought the Venetian journey to a close. There was a bit too much organ at the outset of "Jubilate Deo" – things soon balanced out – but it was a treat to hear the real McCoy, played by Tom Bloom (and at other times by CSC accompanist Linda Velto), and to hear, too, some of the same excellent brass players who earlier in the day had appeared in Meymandi Concert Hall. On paper, this choir looks a bit skewed toward the women (there are over twice as many women as men), but the tenors and basses sang lustily (in a way that would have pleased John Wesley, among others) and more than carried the day.
The second half of the program brought forth a batch of fairly traditional carols and Christmas songs, including four arranged by David Willcocks and others by (or arranged by) John Rutter. Some of these works were accompanied by various brass and percussion players and organ, too. A version of "Joy to the World" by Frank Kuykendall was introduced by CSC Artistic Director Lawrence Speakman; Kuykendall was his first choral director, way back when, and the unpublished brass parts used on this occasion came directly from him. The lone soloist in the second half was soprano Kelly Stephenson. The audience had a chance to sing three numbers and did so with spirit and enthusiasm, after some prompting from the podium.... There were some minor ensemble glitches in a few spots, and some brief patches of less than perfect balance, some of which might have been due to the unusual interior design of the church, which led to the instrumentalists being off to the side. That design resulted in some strange interior shapes and angled surfaces, including a high wall over the altar, on which were projected the texts of many of the selections. The program notes, by CSC Executive Director David R. Lindquist, were as impressive as the concert itself. The show went on for about 2-1/4 hours, counting the delayed start and a longish intermission, and some may have thought it a bit too much of a good thing, but at the end the crowd was as enthusiastic as the singers had been throughout the evening, and people left humming and happy.
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Brahms Requiem Gets a Creditable Reading
April 15, 2003, cvnc.org, by Elizabeth and Joe Kahn
Cary Academy Fine Arts Center, April 13: In a brief and tasteful dedication to all the military and civilian casualties of the war in Iraq, Lawrence Speakman, musical director of the Concert Singers of Cary, reminded us of why we still need this choral warhorse. Brahms was revolutionary - and particularly Protestant - in his omission of the fire and brimstone that dominates the Latin requiem mass. He aimed to make the work a comfort rather than a threat to mourners and music lovers alike. Its message is musically challenging for a community chorus but emotionally satisfying in these hard times.
CSC performed the Requiem in English in a 1997 translation by Chapel Hill native Lara G. Hoggard, and, especially under the circumstances, it would have been nice had the text been available as a program insert. As it was, it was difficult to evaluate the new translation because the acoustics of the auditorium at Cary Academy tend to diffuse the focus of the sound and make the words nearly unintelligible.
Accompanied by members of the Raleigh Symphony, the CSC obviously put a great deal of effort into this performance. Speakman emphasized the Requiem's crucial use of dynamic contrast and more or less successfully maintained the balance between chorus and orchestra. Like so many choruses, however, CSC suffers from a paucity of tenors, and Brahms gives this section an unusually prominent and exposed role in this work. The chorus performed particularly well in the homophonic passages. The turgid contrapuntal sections, like the text, were more blurred. While not meaning to set one section against another, we could not help noticing the strength and blend of the altos.
It is important to have matched soloists in this - or for that matter any - work. Baritone David Mellnik is a fine and obviously experienced musician with a powerful and well-trained voice. He was especially convincing in Part III, "Lord, teach me to know the measure of my days." Soprano Amy Athavale has a lovely but small voice and had trouble rising above the orchestra and chorus.
After the death in 2001of CSC's founder and first director, Fuller Blunt, his friends and family established a scholarship in his name for a promising high school senior to pursue a career in music education. Before the performance, CSC recognized this year's recipient, Sara Wolfgram, a flautist at Enloe High School.
In this sprawling bedroom community, the butt of so many suburbia jokes, the Concert Singers of Cary are an important resource. They are a first-rate community chorus and, we hope, are pioneering the establishment of more Cary-based arts organization (How about an orchestra?) With a new performing arts center hopefully a part of the town's future, we hope the community spawns more local groups to grace it.
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Raleigh Symphony with Student Soloists and Cary Concert Singers
March 5, 2003, cvnc.org, by John W. Lambert
The programming was a bit out of the ordinary at the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra's latest classical concert, presented on March 2 in Jones Auditorium. The main thrust of the evening was apparently intended to be a series of performances of concerto movements by students selected during the RSO's annual concerto competition, a marvelous program, now emulated by many other regional performing arts organizations, that has been in place for twelve years, thanks in large measure to the ongoing beneficence of longtime RSO patron Benjamin Kilgore Gibbs, who was on hand to present plaques to the young artists. The second half, however, featured a quartet of soloists and the Concert Singers of Cary's Symphonic Choir (or part of it) in the finale of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. As a result, the program offered much in a most unusual configuration involving a gargantuan cast of performers.
The concert began with a rousing performance of the National Anthem, which was accorded all due respect in that it was not applauded. It was however impossible not to note the absence of the star-spangled banner itself, which is not on display in the auditorium.
The first half was devoted to the student musicians. Kevin Crotty, a junior at UNC, where he studies with James Ketch, performed the first and third movements of Hummel's Trumpet Concerto. It was a busy week for the young artist, whose technique and musicianship and poise will surely carry him far. Five days earlier, he played part of another work in Chapel Hill, in another concerto competition concert! There was, again, much to admire, in the Hummel: Crotty, who hails from Raleigh, was his customary brilliant self, and the orchestra provided spot-on support, never overwhelming him. Granted, it's somewhat difficult to overwhelm a solo trumpet player at the lip of a stage, so perhaps we should simply say that the balance was outstanding, even in Crotty's most restrained passages (and there were some of those).
Clarinetist Benjamin Mitchell, a student of Daniel McKelway, at the NCSA, played Weber's attractive Concertino, Op. 26, a work that turns up fairly often on concerto competition concerts but that is loudly ignored elsewhere. That's a pity, for it is a marvelous work, and Mitchell played it very well.
Durham pianist Andrew Tyson, a sophomore at Durham Academy and a student of Chapel Hillian Mary E. Turner, did a fine job with the first two movements of Mendelssohn's Concerto No. 2, a score that is, like the Weber, joyously rhapsodic. Like Crotty, Tyson is making the rounds - he was to have played again on March 4, with the Durham Symphony Orchestra, and his work in Raleigh made us sorry that the latter program wasn't on CVNC's reviewing schedule....
Last (but hardly least) came pianist Fallon Blaser, an Enloe HS sophomore and student of Ruth Hafley, whose other musical interest is the violin. She played the first movement of Saint-Saëns' Second Concerto, turning in a performance that, like the others, drew considerable applause. It was perhaps not in her best interest that, prompted by colleague William Thomas Walker's recent review of a concert in Winston-Salem involving Pascal Rogé, this critic had spent part of the preceding weekend revisiting recordings of this Saint-Saëns concerto, in performances by both Rogé and Rubinstein. It should come as no surprise that these masters spun out longer and more ethereal melodic lines and managed dynamics somewhat more discretely than Blaser, whose reading - heard in isolation - would in all likelihood have roused greater enthusiasm in this listener. (I hasten to say that this "work-up" was unintentional: if all presenters would share with CVNC their complete programs in advance, for our calendar, chances are our critics would not make the same sort of blunder I did on this occasion!)
After a long intermission, about 100 members of the Concert Singers of Cary's big choir took the stage, along with soloists Patricia Donnelly Philipps, whose name will surely be recognized by CVNCers, thanks to her many area performances; Diane Thornton, currently teaching at Davidson College; William McCulloch, of the Vocal Arts Ensemble; and David Mellnik, currently Minister of Music at Cary's Greenwood Forest Baptist Church. The basso got the solo portion of the "Ode to Joy" off to a resounding start, and McCulloch was more than adequate, after a somewhat rough-sounding start. The alto role in this piece is one of music's most thankless chores, with virtually no solo exposure; Philipps nailed the score's most notoriously hazardous high note, and the rest of her work had a great deal going for it, too. The chorus, scrupulously prepared by Lawrence Speakman, was outstanding, as this ensemble tends to be. The German diction was good, although some of that surely reflects the work's great popularity and the frequency of performances of it, even here - RSO Founding Conductor and Music Director Alan Neilson has done it so often that he was able to lead it from memory, and there were surely many people in attendance, on the stage and in the hall, who have sung or played in it. Overall, this was a reading of some brusqueness, often lacking serenity and grace but never failing to please in the more animated sections, of which there are more in the finale than earlier in the long work. Still, it would have pleased more, and stirred more souls, if greater attention had been paid to the music's inward qualities, as opposed to its outward ones.
We are richly blessed to have not one but three more-or-less full-sized adult orchestras in Raleigh - what other city of comparable size can boast this? The one that lives in that fancy new hall downtown seems to get most of the press and the lion's share of the highbrow audience, too, but the other two - the RSO and the RCSO - are worth checking out, and the price of admission for these two is considerably lower, too.
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Young musicians shine with RSO
March 4, 2003, News and Observer, by Roy C. Dicks
RALEIGH--Benjamin Kilgore Gibbs deserved the hardy round of applause at Sunday's Raleigh Symphony Orchestra concert in Jones Auditorium.
The audience at Meredith College had just heard the latest winners of the awards Gibbs established in his name 12 years ago to allow young artists the chance to play with a full orchestra. These awards bring before the public a few soloists performing concerto movements in concerts which usually are the highlight of the RSO season. They are extremely heartening to those who fear that classical music is dying and that young people have no interest in it.
The program featured four talented players, each a joy to hear and each brimming with great potential. Kevin Crotty, a junior music major at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, choose two movements from Albinoni's Trumpet Concerto in B flat. Once beyond a small flub in the beginning, he exhibited a firm tone, clean trills and smooth dynamic control. In the last movement, Crotty showed insight in shaping the melodic line. Alan Neilson led the orchestra in a crisply rhythmic accompaniment.
Clarinetist Benjamin Mitchell's confident performance of Weber's Concertino, Op. 26, indicated his expert training at the N.C. School of the Arts and the New England Conservatory of Music. In the most accomplished playing of the evening, Mitchell proved the master of all aspects of his instrument, from the moody, deep tones of the slower sections to the sprightly arpeggios of the upbeat passages. His impressive breath control and precise fingering made this early Romantic miniature a delight. Neilson coaxed lovely playing from the orchestra, never overpowering the soloist.
The first movement of Mendelssohn's Second Piano Concerto is a challenge for any pianist, with its constantly moving but delicately shaded lines. Sixteen-year-old Durham Academy student Andrew M. Tyson met the challenge with laudable technique, taking an amazingly speedy tempo and yet clearly articulating the line and accurately attacking the runs. During the quietly soulful second movement, Tyson played all the notes but lacked the interpretive powers to truly make the movement sing, forgivable at his age. Neilson maintained good underlying tension throughout.
Fallon Blaser, a sophomore at Enloe High School, took on the most difficult task of the evening by performing the first movement of the Saint-Saens Piano Concerto No. 2. This sensuously exotic music needs more sweep and control than Blaser is able to supply. She was best at the lightly airy runs and the faster sections near the end of movement. Nielson conducted with spirited understanding.
The stage for the second half was jammed with the hundred voices of the Concert Singers of Cary for the fourth movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. The chorus, well rehearsed by director Lawrence Speakman, had impressive diction, precise cutoffs and a rich blend. The sopranos deserve special mention for the impact of their long-held high notes. The soloists (bass David Mellnik, tenor William McCulloch, mezzo Diane Thornton and soprano Patricia Donnelly Philipps) managed their difficult tasks with conviction.
This work proved too daunting a challenge for the orchestra. Much of the playing was choppy, and Neilson's beat was mostly metronomic in a frantic bid to keep all the forces together. Still, the music always inspires, leaving a satisfied and uplifted audience to cheer the participants.
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Hispanic Holiday Fare
December 16, 2002, cvnc.org, by Marvin J. Ward
It was perhaps a seasonal miracle in its own right that the Concert Singers of Cary's holiday concert was able to take place when scheduled on Saturday, December 7, albeit in a different venue, after the disastrous ice storm. (This reviewer also recalls experiencing the famous "ice storm of the century" in upstate NY in 1964.) Turnout was consequently light at 8:00 p.m. in Jones Auditorium on the Meredith campus.
Admittedly not an attendee of holiday concerts, which are inevitably repetitive from year to year, I was drawn to the programming for this one, entitled "¡Feliz Navidad!," ostensibly focusing on music of the Spanish-speaking world, and featuring Ariel Ramirez' Navidad Nuestra (with which I was familiar from the spirited recording by Los Calchakis acquired in the early 70's when I was living in France) and Conrad Susa's delightful Carols and Lullabies: Christmas in the Southwest, neither of which works I had ever heard performed live. Consequently, I looked forward to the performance eagerly, glad that it was not canceled or postponed.
It opened with a rendering in English, with guitar and flute accompaniment, of the Brazilian lullaby "Canção de Ninar," curious since Portuguese is the language spoken there. There followed two a capella settings of "O Magnum Mysterium," in Latin, of course, one by the Spanish Tomás Luis de Victoria, who spent the bulk of his career in Rome, and the other by the contemporary Venezuelan César Alejandro Carillo. This made an interesting pairing, although the contrast was not as great as one might have expected. Then came a traditional Spanish song, "Ya viene la vieja" in an a capella Alice Parker/Robert Shaw arrangement. There was, alas, not much Hispanic flavor to these short appetizers leading up to the Ramirez, although the performances were lovely.
The Ramirez is a six-section musical tableau of the events of the nativity with accompaniment for this performance on piano, guitar, and various percussion instruments, some traditional and others orchestral. The scenes are the Annunciation, Pilgrimage, Birth, Shepherds, Three Kings, and Flight into Egypt. The music uses Argentinean folk dance rhythms and quotes traditional melodies. Unfortunately, the performance was rather lackluster. It was too formal and stiff, the tempi were too slow and rhythms not quite right, and some of the solo work was weak and lacking in the folk idiom flavor and general exuberance that characterize the majority of the work.
After intermission, whose necessity was questioned by many in the audience in view of the brevity of the entire program, the chorus gave a good performance of Susa's ten-part assemblage of Christmas songs from all over the (generally) Hispanic world with guitar, harp, marimba and xylophone accompaniment. Curiously, it includes two Catalonian (or Catalan) carols – that's a different language and culture, with the territory, like that of the Basques, split politically between Spain and France in a roughly 2/3-1/2 ratio, and as with the Basques, there has been general contentment on the French side of the Pyrenees and lack thereof on the Spanish side over the centuries since independent status was lost. Tempi and rhythms were better, as was the solo work and the accompaniment. The final scheduled work was Robert DeCormier's arrangement of the English-speaking Caribbean Islands' "The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy," which received the finest performance of the evening. The group then offered the 16th century Spanish "Riu, Riu Chiu" as an encore and sang "Peace, Peace," its customary final number, with the audience being invited to join in the second chorus.
The printed program was thorough and informative, if a bit strangely ordered with the Program Notes, director and accompanist bios, and season info appearing before the Program itself, presumably to allow placement of the latter, together with the list of choristers, in the centerfold. Texts and translations were included in the second half, although the heading said simply "Translations." Guest artists were merely listed. The organization is to be congratulated for the amount of corporate support it has generated, as evidenced by the ads that filled 16 1/3 pages.
Perhaps if director Lawrence J. Speakman had made the decision to forsake formal concert attire for the chorus members and encouraged dress with an Hispanic appearance, the singers would have been better able to relax, to get into the spirit of the music, and sing with more Hispanic flair to authenticate the generally fine diction. He might also take care in the future to supplement, rather than repeat, the content of the program notes in his oral comments. Overall, the concert was, unfortunately in view of the circumstances and the effort obviously put forth both to prepare and to present the program, a disappointment. I do not think that my expectation was too high.
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RSO Chamber Players and Cary Vocal Artists Go New Age
October 1, 2002, cvnc.org, by Elizabeth and Joe Kahn
Meredith College, Raleigh, September 29: It's only fair to open this review with a disclaimer: We're just not into concerts where the pieces are introduced with pithy meditations on life, death and transcendence and lit by candles on the stage. We had enough of that stuff in the 60s.
That being said, and in the interest of accurate reporting, The Raleigh Symphony Chamber Players and the Cary Choral Artists (a mid-sized cappella chorus drawn from the Cary Singers) put together a concept concert entitled "Journey to Light," A very earnest musical contemplation on-uh- life, mortality, war, peace, hope, despair, transmigration of souls, etc. The program was clearly put together to fit the program's spiritual theme rather than with an ear to the artistic value of many of the pieces. While each work (or set) was preceded - or was it followed? - by a mercifully short reading by narrator Harrison Fisher, we kept our focus on the music. Apparently, we were expected to be so transported by the solemn atmosphere that we were officially given permission not to applaud.
The concert opened with a solo cello rendition of musicologist Remo Giazotto's construction built on six measures by Albinoni, generally referred to mistakenly as "Albinoni's Adagio." Giazotto's main contribution to the fragment was its harmonization, so to have that subtracted left us with a slow tune partially by Albinoni. Cellist Jane Salemson continually rushed the rests at the ends of phrases, a problem which no amount of otherwise commendable dynamic gradation and artistic planning could cover up. This piece, which was paired with a reading about a cellist who played to a bomb crater in Sarajevo for 22 days in memory of the twenty-two victims, has become a funereal cliché that needs to be retired along with Pachelbel's Canon and other such over used works.
There followed the highlight of the program, a set of a cappella motets by Franz Liszt ("O salutaris hostia,"), 17th century Anglican composer Richard Ferrant ("Call to Remembrance"), Charles Villiers Stanford ("Justorum animae") and 17th century composer Gregorio Allegri's famous litany ("Miserere"). To this was added contemporary composer Daniel Gawthrop's "Sing me to Heaven." Director Lawrence Speakman's group was together, musical and in tune. This is the first time we've heard this permutation of the Concert Singers of Cary, who, if this performance is any indication, represent another star in the Triangle's array of outstanding choral ensembles.
Another virtuoso performance was put in by alto flautist Patty Angevine in contemporary Polish composer Henryk Górecki's Good Night. The work is scored for alto flute, piano (Lanette Lind), soprano (Teresa Fernandez) and tam tams (Jack Roller), but it is the flute that predominates. Górecki has made his way to the top of the pop charts with his works but certainly not because of their beat. There seems to be a separate neural pathway for even the most hard-core rock fans that is attracted to Gregorian chant, Hildegard von Bingen and meditative minimalist works such as Górecki's. The program notes described this work as "…an incantation, rarely rising above a whisper, disembodied, somewhere between waking consciousness and a luminous transcendent state," and it was indeed more of an aid to meditation than anything else. Good Night is comprised of slow descending two-note motives (diads) or short simple repeated motives in the lower end of the flute's range. Angevine achieved a real tour de force in her use of subtly varied levels of pianissimo and her clarity of tone in the instrument's challenging lowest register. She was accompanied, however, by the "plang, plang, plang" of the piano part, a veritable Chinese torture. The soprano and tam tams were saved for the end of this interminable piece, the former jarringly strident, given the delicacy of the instrumental parts.
Speakman's chorus returned during the second half to perform a hideous transcription of the adagio from Samuel Barber's String Quartet No. 1 set to the text of the "Agnus Dei" of the Catholic mass. The subtle but complex harmonic changes in the inner voices of this work were, unfortunately, beyond the chorus's ability. But then, there is a reason why this work was written originally for string quartet and not voices. While a wonderful work in and of itself, the adagio has also become clichéd.
The string quartet that should have played the Barber - violinists Tasi Matthews and Joan Beck, violist Michael Castello and cellist Jane Salemson - were instead joined by clarinetist Jim Williams to perform Canadian composer Elizabeth Raum's Searching for Sophia. The work's three movements, "Dance," "Prayer," and "Fantasy on a traditional Theme," are rhapsodic in structure and borrow a fair number of sonorities and harmonies from the Brahms Clarinet Quintet. While the strings were a little rough at times, Williams's performance was both sensitive and sensuous. Searching for Sophia, while generally accessible, is a meandering piece whose goals remain vague - perhaps Raum's still searching.
By this time, we'd heard meditations from the Catholics, Protestants and New Age seekers of transcendent knowledge. But no program of this sort would be complete without a Native American presence. Since Native American cultures are generally without a developed musical tradition, Lanette Lind's, Song of the Earth Spirits for chorus and chamber ensemble filled that niche to end the program.
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RSO & CSC Close Season in High Style
May 22, 2002, cvnc.org, by John W. Lambert
Sometimes you gotta wonder about programming in the Triangle, where we go for years–literally–without certain works and then have several readings of them in close proximity. We're not talking about war-horses, either. In the second half of the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra's last classical offering of the season, presented on May 18 in Meymandi Concert Hall, the Concert Singers of Cary, led by Lawrence Speakman, performed one of Mendelssohn's several psalm settings (no complaints there!), preceded by Vaughan Williams' "Serenade to Music"–yep, the same piece given the night before in Chapel Hill! Speakman selected the purely choral incarnation of the score, without soloists, and there were many differences in the two realizations of the piece. Meymandi's acoustics are generally good, and the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra, headed by Concertmaster Tasi Matthews, played radiantly for Speakman. Balance within the orchestra, which was arrayed on the NC Symphony's risers, was outstanding, and the strings were prominent–but not excessively so–throughout. The winds and brasses were skillfully folded into the overall sonic mass, but solo bits–including some harp passages, performed once again by Emily Laurance–emerged with great clarity from the orchestral texture. The choir, some 75 singers strong, sang from the elevated seats above and behind the orchestra that were installed primarily for this purpose. There is a great distance from the podium to the choir stalls, but the words emerged fairly clearly and the balance with the orchestra was more than acceptable. There wasn't much impact, however, and at no point did this listener feel the sheer choral power that the CSC can and often does project in its customary churchly venues. It's probably a matter of volume–volume of the space itself–as much as anything. But that said, we persist in the belief that the hall needs a shell for smallish choirs (of, say, under 100 voices); and experience hearing other vocal ensembles in this room has shown that putting at least some of the singers on the floor, with the orchestra, helps immeasurably. Some fine-tuning of the hall might help, too–it is apparent that in the fifteen months since the new halls in the Big Mac were dedicated, the City has done nothing to enhance acoustics or, for that matter, patron amenities. The lobby lighting remains ridiculously harsh, and Meymandi is generally frigid, supporting the rumor that the wood that lines the walls requires extreme cold to prevent splitting or peeling(!).
There was in the program no text for the Vaughan Williams, presumably because it is in English. There were however program notes (not very well proofed or edited) for it and for Mendelssohn's gorgeous double-chorus setting of Psalm IIC, "Sing to the Lord a new song," Op. 91, given in its original German, a translation of which was provided. For reasons that continue to elude me after 25 years in this business (and atop many years before that as a singer), American choirs tend to do better with works in foreign languages, projecting their texts with greater care, precision and clarity than is generally devoted to English or American pieces. That was the case on this occasion, although there were in truth no serious problems with the Vaughan Williams. After the long a cappella introduction, Mendelssohn's orchestration pointed up the psalm text in some truly remarkable ways, and the score's stirring conclusion made a tremendous impression on the small audience, which rewarded the singers, orchestra and Speakman with enthusiastic applause.
The concert began with appearances by four winners of the RSO's recent concerto competition, sponsored by Benjamin Kilgore Gibbs (who was on hand at the end of the event to present plaques to the young musicians. Not all of 'em were as young as one might have guessed. The first performer was trombonist Micah Everett, the grand old man among the soloists–he's 22, and he's working toward his Master of Music degree in trombone performance at UNCG. After the orchestra's rendition of the National Anthem (credited to Key, although of course John Stafford Smith was responsible for the music), Everett played a movement from Launy Gröndahl's Trombone Concerto (1924). The work is obscure to most music lovers who aren't trombone specialists, so notes on it (and the other concerto selections) would have been helpful. The performance, led by RSO Artistic Director Alan Neilson, was polished and very nicely unified. Cellist Stephen Proctor, a 10th grader at Enloe High School, studies with Jonathan Kramer. He selected a movement from Saint-Saëns' First Cello Concerto (there are two, but the other one is almost never heard), and he played it reasonably well. There were some minor glitches from which he recovered quickly, and his tone was somewhat uneven (perhaps due to his instrument). Greater passion would have enhanced the reading, as perhaps would a somewhat brisker pace, but that might have jeopardized articulation. We will look forward to hearing this talented young person again in the future and suspect there will be opportunities to do so since he is this year's principal cello of the Triangle Youth Philharmonic and will surely continue to play here. Multi-talented pianist Andrew Yeargin, a student of Marie E. Willett, is into the oboe and organ, too, and also serves as East Wake High School's Blue Spirit Marching Band's drum major. He performed a movement from Howard Hanson's Piano Concerto, Op. 36 (1948), another work that languishes in obscurity (and that therefore merited at least a line or two of notes in the program). Based on the bit we heard, it is a fine score, one that might be a welcome replacement for Gershwin's piano-and-orchestra pieces (the Rhapsody and the Concerto in F) that enjoy oh, so much more exposure. Yeargin might welcome some other opportunities to play the work, too, for otherwise he will have made a big investment primarily for academic reasons, absent this single RSO concert. The grand finale of the first half was a dazzling reading of Weber's Konzertstück, J.282 (1821), by Myung Ko, a junior at Leesville High School who studies with Marilyn Brown and who, like Yeargin, is multi-talented–she is also a violinist in the TYP. Hers was the evening's most satisfying concerto selection, and not only because the work was given complete; no, she managed a reading of the score that was of extremely high quality, technically and interpretively, and she interacted beautifully with Neilson and the accompanying band.
The RSO's financial problems, reported in our last review (in our archives, at http://www.cvnc.org/Archives42002a.html), persist, and Maestro Neilson himself addressed them from the stage, just before intermission, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Contributions that will allow the orchestra to obtain a two-for-one match that will net a total of $30,000 are virtually in hand, and the second phase of the anonymous benefactor's offer involves another two-for-one deal, starting June 1, that has the potential to bring in $15,000 more. Beyond the total involved in these matching challenges, the orchestra is seeking contributions of an additional $36,000 to retire long-term obligations and to secure its future. The RSO is one of our City's most important cultural assets, for reasons articulated with some frequency in these and other a&e pages, over the years. For more information, or to make a contribution, see the letter from President Irene Burke in the program for May 18 or write to the RSO, Inc., at P.O. Box 25878, Raleigh, NC 27611-5878, or call 919/546-9755.
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Three Uncommon Pleasures: Haydn, Mozart and Respighi
January 17, 2002, cvnc.org, by William Thomas Walker
One of the largest audiences that I have seen at any Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle concert in recent years filled a good part of Durham's Carolina Theatre on the afternoon of January 13. Some of the increase was certainly due to the involvement of the Concert Singers of Cary. It was nonetheless a remarkable turnout on a concert-filled day that had cvnc reviewers covering four events in Raleigh and Durham.
Conductor Lorenzo Muti selected three choice rarities. It is a reflection upon shameful local programming that after some thirty years of concert-going I can still label the performance of a concerto or symphony by either Haydn or Mozart a rare event. For once, the program contained brief unsigned notes. Muti added some background comments from the stage.
One of Franz Joseph Haydn's named symphonies (No. 49 in F Minor, " La passione") opened the program. The moody piece was composed during his "Sturm und Drang" period which brought a new emphasis on the musical portrayal of human emotions. A long, slow Adagio opened the work, and its performance showed great care in string articulation, phrasing and sensitive use of dynamics. Woodwinds were excellent and, after a slightly tentative start, the horns settled down. Often the bassoon part was paired closely with the double bass. The next movement's very fast tempo provided splendid contrast and displayed elaborate writing for both woodwinds and horns. The oboes, led by Bo Newsome, were a delight in the trio of the Menuet. Thoughtful phrasing helped bring out details in the vigorous Presto that brought the symphony to a rousing end.
The well-drilled Concert Singers of Cary joined an unusual reduced orchestra for the second item, Ottorino Respighi's Christmas cantata, Lauda per la Natività del Signore. Muti said he had never even heard the work on the radio and had discovered this gorgeous piece as part of an Italian CD he bought on a recent return to his birthplace. My own google.com search turned it up most often as part of repertory lists for several European choirs and soloists. The program describes it as "a large Christmas cantata... exemplify(ing) Respighi's fascination with Medieval times" and notes that "Its text (in Old Italian) is a very original version of the 13th century Franciscan friar Jacopone da Todi." The much reduced orchestra consisted of oboe, English horn, two flutes with one doubling on the piccolo, two bassoons and a piano played four hands. Catherine Charlton had a clear, firmly-supported high soprano voice in the role of the Angel. Timothy Sparks brought warmth to the brief tenor role of the Shepherd. Stephanie Dillard was excellent in the extensive mezzo-soprano role of Mary. The well-balanced choir sang the roles of both Angels and Shepherds. Gregorian Chant had extensive influence in Respighi's scoring. The diction and projection of the choir was very good. Despite full texts, the hall lights were too dim to allow anyone to follow. Memorable was an extended humming vocalise by the chorus, underpinning Sparks' Shepherd episode. Oboist Newsome was first among equals with many beautifully played solos. Carrie Shull played a gorgeous solo during mezzo-soprano Dillard's first solo. The most complex part was during the chorus' "Laude, gloria..." where the rhythm of the poetic text was most striking. At one point, with full chorus and ensemble including the piano four-hands, only the piccolo played by Jill Muti cut through the texture completely. Because of its unusual but small instrumental ensemble, this would be an ideal work for Christmas programs by well-drilled college-and-community or church choirs and would be a welcome relief from abridged Messiahs. Since it hasn't been recorded often, it would be a good selection for a promotional recording. The unlisted piano players were Vicki Oehling and Linda Velto.
After intermission, rising young Italian pianist Laura Magnani joined the orchestra for Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 17 in G, K.453, one of his most attractive middle concertos. The pianist's playing was elegant and unsentimental. The first movement featured a lively dialogue with the woodwinds. Magnani played the jewel-like Andante with eloquent simplicity. The mellow oboe was joined by the flute, and there was lovely playing from the bassoon and horns. The concluding light-hearted set of variations, heard first in the theme played by flute and violin, was enchanting. Magnani offered sensitive playing very much as a chamber musician. The opera-buffa-like ending brought much of the audience to its feet for prolonged applause. As an encore, Magnani gave a deeply felt performance of Chopin's Andante spianato without its Grand Polonaise. I sense that she is more at ease in the Romantic repertoire and look forward to hearing more from her in the future.
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Treasure from the chamber
January 15, 2002, News and Observer, by Roy C. Dicks, Correspondent
DURHAM - Concerts by the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle are always enlightening, and Sunday's program was yet another example of why this organization has become one of the region's musical treasures. With a charming piano concerto and an arresting symphony, the orchestra demonstrated how such early classical pieces probably would have sounded when Mozart and Haydn composed them, requiring smaller forces than are usually heard from full symphony orchestras. And with a rare Christmas choral work from Respighi, the orchestra tapped the modern chamber orchestra repertory for a belated holiday gift.
That the concert was well-played and well-sung only underscored the value of this group.
Ottorino Respighi, known most for his tone poems, wrote his only sacred choral work, "Lauda per la nativita del Signore," in 1930. This "Laud to the birth of our Lord" takes its text from a biblical narrative in Italian attributed to the 13th-century Franciscan friar Jacopone da Todi. The narrative is simple: An angel tells of the birth of Christ, a shepherd leads his companions to the stable, and Mary sings a cradle song.
Respighi set his version for mixed chorus, three soloists and a small orchestra of six woodwinds and piano. He uses a chantlike style to convey medieval flavor, with repetitive phrases and angular melodies. The woodwinds give an attractive pastoral feeling and the many hushed choral passages add mystery.
Catherine Charlton floated some lovely, ethereal high notes as the Angel, displaying beautiful tone that sometimes became tremulous. Timothy Sparks supplied focused, sunny vocalizing as the shepherd, while Stephanie Dillard's bright, rich sound easily soared over the chorus and orchestra, giving Mary a wonderful radiance.
The Concert Singers of Cary, now into their second decade, gave a solid, well-rehearsed rendering of the difficult choral sections. The men were especially adept in the quiet, often unaccompanied passages, offering a warm and velvety blend. Artistic director Lawrence J. Speakman has molded these singers into a highly professional troupe.
Conductor Lorenzo Muti led the reduced orchestra in precise yet flowing phrases, evoking both the wonderment and the joy of the text. One of his colleagues in his Spoleto Study Abroad program, pianist Laura Magnani, was the soloist for Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 17. Composed in the same year as "The Marriage of Figaro," this concerto has all the hallmarks of Mozart's genius: genial charm, lyrical contemplation and dazzling brilliance. Magnani's approach was gentle and subdued, never aggressive but coolly introspective. This worked best in the melancholy second movement but reduced the forward thrust of the first and the pointed sparkle of the third. (This approach had the opposite effect in her solo encore of Chopin's "Andante Spianato," her lingering introspection a perfect evocation of the piece.)
Muti's orchestra bubbled and danced in all the right places, with well-balanced tempos. At times soloist and conductor seemed to be working under different interpretations but the performance found enough common ground to give satisfying, if not sublime, pleasure.
The concert opened with Haydn's Symphony No. 49, one of his transitional works in which he began to give the symphony more passion and emotion. Muti's conducting was a model of attention to the details of dynamics, rhythm and contrasts. The brooding waves in the first movement, the forceful turbulence of the second, the third's solemn stateliness and the fourth's scurrying nervousness were all vividly caught by the players.
Several major grants were announced before the concert, ensuring that this valuable musical organization will continue to provide many wonderful works rarely programmed by the larger orchestras.
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Concert Singers of Cary & Cary Children's Concert Choir Ring in the Holidays
December 19, 2001, cvnc.org, by John W. Lambert
Although we don't know if he was a sailor, "Steady as she goes" may have been Fuller Blunt's motto. Certainly that expression fits what was clearly his goal in his work with the Concert Singers of Cary, for he was, as CSC Executive Director David R. Lindquist explained in September, when Blunt passed away, that choral ensemble's "central figure and... mentor." As a result, the choir's December 15 holiday concert, its eleventh such, was dedicated to Blunt's memory--as was a day of broadcasting by WCPE on December 16.
The concert began with a half-hour presentation by the Cary Children's Concert Choir, whose 35 or so members are directed by Roberta Thomason. Their seven offerings, variously accompanied, featured a single soloist--Katie Hernandez, who was discreetly amplified--in Jay Althouse's "Hodie" and some other attractive pieces that spanned a range of styles and traditions, including Chanukah. The mixed ensemble fared better than many all-boy or all-girl groups and--miracle of miracles--never once sounded the slightest bit breathy. The singing was confident and assured, and the pitch didn't wander. There was often too much piano, and the instrument, lovely to look upon, sounded clunky, but Thomason and her charges persevered and the capacity crowd seemed delighted with the performances. Including this choir, known within the CSC as C4 (for obvious reasons), in a mainstream program was a masterstroke that allowed the youngsters to be heard by far more people than would normally take in a concert given by the kids all by themselves. Cary has a lot going for it, musically and otherwise. This ensemble is just one of the town's attributes.
The adults began their part of the program with Ukrainian and Russian carols, sung in English, Vaughan Williams' impressive Fantasia on Christmas Carols, and Schubert's lovely Magnificat, D.486. In the Vaughan Williams, baritone soloist Kevin Smith's intonation was sometimes off, but his voice was rich and he made himself heard consistently. An absent basso obliged CSC Music Director Lawrence Speakman personally to fill in the quartet in the Schubert; he joined soprano Sally Ann Timothy, alto Leann Carroll, and tenor Lindquist in this undertaking, with altogether positive results. The group's conductor can do more than one thing at once, which is helpful in such circumstances.
A chamber orchestra accompanied the two concert works performed in the first half. It was a busy night for our orchestral friends--the new, much ballyhooed Nutcracker was concurrently being given in downtown Raleigh--but Speakman secured excellent players, including Concertmistress Margaret Partridge, cellist Nathan Leyland (whose several solo bits were impressive), and organist Kevin Kerstetter.
It was a long program, and some members of the audience--perhaps including the C4 singers' families--evaporated during the intermission. They missed a very strong second half that began with five seasonal numbers, variously accompanied. Flutist Leslie Speakman, harpist Emily Laurance, and guitarist Randy Reed participated in this section, and all were superb. The music included Rutter's "Angels' Carol," a beautiful arrangement by Dale Warland of "What Child Is This?," and a Brazilian folk song arranged by George L. Mabry. "Ocho Kandelikas," sung reverently, lacked the effervescence and pizzazz that Mappamundi brought to it during a recent concert in Durham, and CSC soloist Joy Cox was hard to hear, but the song was delivered in Ladino and appropriately accompanied. Mezzo-soprano Kelly Stephenson fared much better in Jeffey Van's attractive "Child of Peace," and this section ended with a beautiful setting by Stephen Paulus of "Bring a Torch, Jeanette Isabella."
The concluding work was Saint-Saëns' "Christmas Oratorio," a relatively brief score that involves soloists a good deal more than the chorus. It has been presented here in the Triangle fairly often (we last heard it in 1999, courtesy of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Community Chorus, which delivered its 2001 holiday concert concurrently with the CSC's--see below for a review). In Cary, the soloists were soprano Amy Athavale, mezzo-soprano Stephenson, alto Lee Rollison, tenor Tom Hawkins and baritone Bob Dey. The tenor part runs high, but Hawkins coped well; the other parts were nicely done, overall, although the women generally out-sang the men. We suspect that slightly brisker tempi would have helped all around, making the soloists' tasks easier and increasing the level of excitement for the audience. The choral work was excellent, and the whole thing benefited from outstanding orchestral work and Speakman's strong abilities to achieve crisp, clear diction and proper balance and blend--no easy task with a choir in which there are nearly twice as many sopranos and altos as there are tenors and basses. The reading was warmly received, and the ensemble rewarded the audience with what has become its traditional holiday encore, a mixture of "Peace, peace, peace" and "Silent Night," the latter with audience participation.
The printed program included erudite notes by Lindquist plus texts and translations of the works that were sung in languages other than English. The layout was a bit strange--the translations and texts were interwoven, with the translations appearing ahead of the texts in tightly-packed columns.
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Summerfest Grand Finale
July 25, 2001, cvnc.org, by John W. Lambert
Summerfest 2001 ended on July 14 with a concert that was remarkable in many respects. For openers, it was classical from start to finish. True, some of the selections were short and many were what might be called "popular," but when one considers the tripe that passes for concert fare at far too many outdoor and pops events, the program itself was stunning and ground-breaking. For that, we have William Henry Curry, Associate Conductor of the NC Symphony and Artistic Director of the Summerfest series, to thank.
During Curry’s tenure, we have seen Summerfest move from the lightest sort of ear-candy (Broadway and film medleys and the like) to some whole evenings of classical fare that would not be out of place on mainline winter seasons. Take Summerfest's grand finale, for example. The program began with the Turkish March from Beethoven's incidental music for "The Ruins of Athens" and ended with the granddaddy of all choral-orchestral works, the finale of that master's Symphony No. 9. In between came Weber's Euryanthe Overture, Hindemith's magnificent Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes by Weber, and excerpts from two of Wagner's most popular operas. A cynic might decry the latter as "bleeding chunks," wrested from the works in question--Lohengrin and Die Walküre (and a cynic wouldn't be wide of the mark insofar as the "Ride of the Valkyries" is concerned, inasmuch as it is an orchestral adaptation of a piece that originally included voices)--but the rest of the show was certainly nothing to sneer at, and the program fulfilled admirably the conductor's stated objective of providing a survey of great German music from 1824 to 1945 (Never mind that the March is dated 1811.)
The playing, often distinguished by expressive touches (in the strings, particularly) rarely heard nowadays, was consistently outstanding, and the sound, heard from several different places, ranged from so-so to excellent. We'll return to the latter in a moment. As for the performances themselves, well, this orchestra can sound like a great orchestra when the chemistry's just right, and it can pull off this little hat trick in such abysmal settings as decrepit high school auditoriums or even in the great outdoors. The March was crisp and clean and the Overture was a brilliant encapsulation of the music drama that it precedes in the theater (or, more commonly alas, on recordings).
Members of the Concert Singers of Cary were at long last again on hand for two choruses from Lohengrin, sung in English; these came off well enough, given the fact that the choir was amplified and there were not really enough microphones, causing some individual voices were "spot-lit"). The first Wagner cut, "Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral," began with a long orchestral introduction, handsomely realized and played with great skill that belied the fact that music by this still-controversial composer is rarely offered by our state-supported orchestra. A blazing reading of the Prelude to Act III led directly to the famous Bridal Chorus, one of the two best-known wedding tunes in all of music-dom CSC Director Lawrence Speakman, a fine baritone who was present among the singers, had plenty of reason for looking pleased (and proud, too) when the concert was over.
One of Curry's many passions is Hindemith, and over the years he's given us some memorable performances of that master's profoundly beautiful and moving music. The Symphonic Metamorphosis is tantamount to a symphony, and its four parts, each strongly written and orchestrated, are, singly or collectively, among the 20th century's most important contributions to the literature. Cur ry introduced the work with some brief remarks and then led a performance that many must have found mesmerizing. It would have been enough had this been the last work on the program, but it was clear from comments before the concert and during intermission that the interest of many attendees centered on the finale of the Ninth, with soloists soprano Krista Wozniak (of National Opera fame), alto Mary Gayle Greene (now teaching in the western part of our state), tenor John Daniecki (whose performance of the roasted swan in Orff's "Carmina Burana" nearly stole Rodney Wynkoop's show a few seasons ago), and baritone Herbert Eckhoff. They were capably supported by the Concert Singers of Cary. The performance, sung auf Deutsch, was both inspired and inspiring for reasons that many present probably didn't fully comprehend. Curry must feel every bit as strongly about this work as he does about his Hindemith, for he made his professional debut (in Richmond) conducting it and--due to the illness of the scheduled director--without a rehearsal! We didn't have the pleasure of hearing that performance, but Curry's interpretation in Cary gave ample evidence of his profound artistic insights and his leadership skills, too. It served as yet another example of the fact that he has been and remains the single brightest light in the conducting department here during the past twenty years or so.
As the movers and shakers chart the replacement of NCS Artistic Director Gerhardt Zimmermann after the upcoming season, they should give all due consideration to Curry's eminent qualifications for the post--qualifications that include breathtaking artistic skills and program-planning abilities, too. He's served his time in the musical purgatory of the final Zimmermann years, and he richly deserves a shot at the number one job. Although Zimmermann will have a "presence" here till 2008 (thanks to the terms of his exit agreement), he's effectively through--he'll plan no more concerts, never mind whole seasons--and that means that until the next M.D. is appointed, any programs of interest that come our way may well bear Curry's imprint. What a refreshing prospect!"
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Classical Notes
December 27, 2000, The Spectator, by John W. Lambert
Holiday concerts with truly holiday themes resumed on the evening of December 10 in the sanctuary of Cary's Presbyterian Kirk of Kildaire, a commodious venue that offers clear albeit somewhat dry sound. The program, "Christmas Olde and New," was offered by the 103-voice Concert Singers of Cary, celebrating its tenth season. Lawrence J. Speakman conducted the choir and an outstanding orchestra of leading string, wind and brass players and percussionists--in all likelihood, the strongest such ensemble yet assembled by the CSC. Regular CSC accompanist Linda Velto also participated in the performance.
A highlight of the evening was the polished debut of the CSC's new Cary Children's Concert Choir, directed by Roberta Thomason and accompanied by Angela Lewellyn-Jones. The 24 young singers performed their portion of the concert from memory, sang with astonishing stability in terms of pitch, and projected enthusiastically. The ratio of girls to boys is 5:1; this might eventually appeal to the latter but makes little practical difference since the boys' voices have not yet changed. The selections were mostly light--"Carolare," "I wonder as I wander," "Merry Christmas Waltz," "Hodie Canon," and "Winter Fantasy"--but Thomason's meticulous preparation was constantly evident.
The adults began the concert with some attractive seasonal selections that featured various soloists and accompaniments. Rutter's version of "O come all ye faithful" worked well for the processional, and Franz Biebl's exquisite "Ave Maria" found the men of the choir and three soloists in outstanding form. After an arrangement by R.L. Pearsall of "In dulci jublio," Schuetz's "German Magnificat" and Bach's fourth motet, "Komm, Jesu, komm," were welcome departures from traditional programming. The former was in English, but the latter was delivered in German. Diction was excellent, a nd overall the CSC demonstrated once again its proficiency in a wide variety of choral literature. We admire Speakman's restraint, too, in holding the membership of his ensemble down to a reasonable number of people--and for his attention to balances between the sections. There are never enough tenors, in any regional choir, but this group has around 40 men and 60 women, so the conductor can achieve textures and definitions that are not always readily apparent in larger, less well-apportioned groups.
The second half of the program featured a complete performance of Vivaldi's Gloria, in which Rocky Alexander, Joy Cox, Donna Parker, and Leann Carroll were the soloists. Alas, they were substantially upstaged by the CSC itself and by the instrumentalists: the choral work in the Vivaldi was quite splendid, and the orchestral accompaniments were--as elsewhere--absolutely first rate. Three Moravian Christmas songs provided further delight, in both programming and purely musical terms. One of the great centers of Moravian music was just up the road, in Winston-Salem. Whether the three pieces sung came from there or elsewhere is not clear, but these were extraordinary works, in any event. The finale was a pair of carols, arranged by David Willcocks, both of which had been sung by the Raleigh Oratorio Society and its audience the day before, in the same venue. The CSC's effective encore was a lovely commingling of "Peace, Peace" with "Silent Night" that served to get the singers out into the audience--and to expedite their departure when the concert ended. The excellent program notes were by CSC Executive Director David R. Lindquist. 'Twas another big success for one of our superior Triangle-based choral organizations.
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Classical
