Reviews

Virginia Chorale: Gentlemen of the Chorale
September 21, 2024, Galilee Church
Review by John Campbell

The 41st season opening concert was at Galilee Episcopal Church in Virginia Beach and repeated at Trinity Episcopal in Portsmouth with Artistic Director Charles Woodward leading and pianist Brandon Eldredge, assistant conductor of Virginia Opera.

After a welcome greeting by Galilee's Music Director Mary Dolch, the men of the Chorale sang Edvard Grieg's lovely Brothers, Sing On! With waves of sound rolling in, then fading, it was a wonderful choral greeting.

Franz Schubert's six hundred songs include many for male chorus. We heard Der Gondelfahrer (The Gondolier) and Widerspruch (When I beat my way through bush and branch) about climbing a tree-covered mountain with heart about to burst. Between came an art song, Nacht und Träme (Night and dreams), sung in unison by the entire chorus. Mark Ringer, in his book Schubert's Theatre of Song writes: "The gorgeous nocturnal song hovers over the gently pulsing keyboard that floods the soundscape. A tone of rapt, uncanny intimacy must be sustained by the performers throughout."

Randall Ball was Hebrew language soloist in Louis Lewandowski's Zacharti Lach and sang with rich, deep tones in an a capella call and response with the other men adding depth of sound. In early October the Jewish community celebrated Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur a little over a week later. Lewandowski was part of the process of the assimilation of Hebrew religious music and the development of synagogal choral style in 19th century Europe. This was followed by Psaume 121 (Psalm 121) by Darius Milhaud (1892-1974), a prominent Jewish composer during much of the 20th century. Milhaud lived and taught in the U.S. from 1940-1971. It was sung without piano accompaniment. The Psalm is in the French style, where the formal writing tones down the emotional exaltation of Mid-Eastern song.

Milhaud also set a text from Psalms in French: "I was glad ... let us go into the house of the Lord" for male chorus (1921) titled Psalm CXXVI, Op. 71 (Psalm 122 in the King James Bible). The layers of male voices created great a capella drama.

Benjamin Britten's "10 minute opera" (as Charles Woodward termed it, Ballade of Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard, with piano tells a tale of a fun evening ending in tragedy. Of this piece, Britten wrote in November 1943: "I am quickly scribbling a short choral work for a prison camp in Germany where some friends of mine are." In Eichstatt, Germany the brother of a friend had organized an all male choir. The three-part setting resembled a folk song arrangement. The story: a page betrays to his lord his lady's planned adultery. The slow, stately singing describes the duel of the Musgrave and Lord Barnard ending in the death of Musgrave and by accident, his Lady Barnard.

After intermission the men sang Charles Gounod (1818-1893) Coeurs des Soldats (Chorus of the Soldiers) from Faust. With piano accompaniment the march was wondrously celebratory with the exciting homecoming last section.

Wanting Memories by Isaye M. Barnwell (b. 1946) was sung a capella by a quartet (backed by the chorus) made up of Brian Blair, Christopher Burnett, Brent Hartigan and Daniel Stipe with text "seeing the world by mine own eyes."

There then followed a quartet of Ajee Church, JP Paul, Aaron Todd, and John Tyndall in Franz Bibl's (1906-2001) Ave Maria. They created a lovely group sound after each introductory solo line. In Bob Gibson's (1931-1996) There's a Meeting Here Tonight with a finger-snapping chorus, the rhythm built to a fever-pitch. Brian Blair was soloist.

Ralph Vaughan Williams's (1872-1958) Loch Lomond tells of lovers and wild flowers on the banks of the lake. Gary Montgomery's tenor voice gave a winning performance. The Gospel tune Praise His Holy Name by Keith Hampton (b. 1957) rocked-out in the sedate church chancel. My grand-nephew Carter Campbell was soloist.

The fellowship at the reception offered an added dimension to the lovely evening.