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Virginia Chorale: Gentlemen of the Chorale 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.
The Virginia Chorale closed their forty-first season with two performances of Voyage à Paris, this one at First Presbyterian in Virginia Beach and another at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Norfolk, April 6. The fifteen singers gave a sparkling performance that balanced ancient and modern with serious and just-for-fun choral music. Opening with Comment allez-vous? (How are you?) in a Swingle Singers style arrangement that was pert and engaging fun. They followed with the Claude Debussy (1862-1918) song Dieu, qu'il la fait bon regarder (God! What a vision she is), making clear that Paris is all about love for a pretty woman. The text was a poem by Charles d'Orleans (1391-1465), a soldier and poet born in Paris who became a prisoner and was carried to England where he lived twenty-five years. There he maintained a sort of literary salon, writing courtly poetry in French and English. The third song, also on a poem by d'Orleans, was set by our local Stephen Coxe, Yver, vous n'estes qu'un villain (Winter, you're nothing but a villain), sung in French with translation in the program. They sang of winter being replaced by summer dreams of woods and flowers! The program booklet cover was a scene of the Eiffel Tower with spring cherry blossoms. My Shepherd will supply my need, a setting by American Virgil Thomson (1896-1989) followed, with its soothing text and lovely harmonies displaying the full range of voices. Thomson, like Aaron Copeland (1900-1990), studied with Nadia Boulanger, the famous Paris teacher (1887-1979). Copland's Sing ye praises to our King was crisply contrapuntal and featured the compelling vocal quartet of Sarah Taylor, Nerissa Thompson, Christopher Burnette and Brent Hartigan. Quatre Motets pour un temps de pénitence by Francis Poulenc (1889-1963) ended the first half. Though Poulenc is known for his songs of laughter and mockery, as he grew older his compositions became deeply religious with an expressive lyricism. The first of the Four Motets for the Time of Penitence speaks of Fear and Terror but the tragic pain has lovely harmonies and "eyes wide open" energy. Poulenc draws on a deep well of pure sound in II. Vinea mea electa (A vineyard my chosen one). III. In Tenebrae facta sunt (Darkness covered the earth) Jesus cries out "My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" with high voices ringing out with passion. The end is as quiet as the death spoken of. Featured soloist Kimberly Nickerson sang IV. Tristis est anima mea (Sad is my soul unto death) and yet the music featured stark beauty rather than emotional pain. A charming song of chickens clucking in staccato phrasing, Il est bel et bon (He is handsome and good) came after intermission. A wife praises a good husband in text set by Pierre Passereau (1509-1547). Two serious songs followed. Ave Maria, Virgo Serena of Josquin des Prez (c. 1455-1521), paired with Hymne à la Vièrge written some 500 years later by Pierre Villette (1926-1998). Both songs speak of the pivotal role the Virgin plays in love in our lives. Now for the fun! Elise Ramos Krepcho was solo lead in Michel Legrand's How do you keep the music playing? When love is new it's great and with luck it will stay that way. Krepcho is a Chorale veteran and also Music Director of First Presbyterian and was in memorable cabaret voice. The perfect ending was three, very Parisian songs. Sous le ciel de Paris (Beneath the Parisian sky) is all about lovers in this old city where even tramps and beggars are caught in the aria of love. Kathryn Kelly offered her lovely sound with exciting low notes in La vie en rose, written and made famous by Edith Piaf (1915-1963) (Grove Dictionary of Music, Vol. 14). "Her song expresses the hopes and suffering of daily existence, a sense of fatal destiny and a belief in the power of love." On a lighter note, J'ai deux amours ( I have two loves) wrapped up the program. The two loves are Paris and Manhattan and the singer lives in New York and aspires to see Paris someday. The evening was quite a journey that left me with a happy aftertaste, much like my 1985 visit to Paris. |