So Choral Society and opera rehearsals were both cancled because Chanticleer was in town, so I went! (How could I pass it up?)

Chanticleer is a classical vocal ensemble who cover everything from rennaissance music to 20th century compositions to celtic music to spirituals. They are pretty amazing.

The music director of the group, Joseph Jennings, is an Augusta native.

Their tour, which concluded tonight, was called "Earth Songs" and all the works they did had to do with nature.

They opened with Domini est terra (The earth is the Lord's) by Philippe de Monte, and then did some Palestrina including Jubilate Deo omnis terra (Make a Joyful Noise to the Lord, all the earth).

They then did two madrigles by Janequin and Monteverdi. This was all great and wonderful and very very well done. I was sitting on the side (half-circle seating) and though I could not hear well the stage floor was pushing the sound right to me (on the front row).

Then they came into the 20th century with two songs by Chen Yi who used to be their composer in residence. The second, Spring Dreams, was a wonderfuly cacophonous painting which involved some of the singers immitatimg birds, a tolling bell, someone humming a tune from a chinese orchestra, insects, and a number of other sounds. The whole experience was amazing.

They did some Hindemith and Mahler after that which was very nice and pleasent. (So much so that I kept drifting off into the beginnings of sleep. How I remember doing that durring so many guitar recitals in college... Such soothing music...)

Intermission.

A lady who sings with the choral society and her boyfriend were there sitting in the middle section, up a bit, and she invited me to sit in an empty seat by them so I could see better.

After I got up there I regreted being asked as the sound down by the stage was much, much better.

They started the second half off with two 20th century compositions, A Boy and a Girl by Whitarce which was good, and "Past Life Melodies" by Sarah Hopkins which was amazing and my favorite piece of the evening.

Here is the program note on that one:

"The melodic ideas of Past Life Melodies, like those in all of Sarah Hopkins' music, are simple in structure and reach deep into the soul. The first melody was one which haunted the composer for many years -- a melody which came to her at moments of deep emtion. The second melody reflects her considerable interest in the music of various world cultures, and in this particular case to her eight years in Darwin in the north of Australia, where she had much contact with Australian Aboriginal art and music. The third section of the work utilizes a concept called harmonic-overtone singing, which is as ancient a technique as singing itself. Here the separate harmonic voices weav and dart like "golden threads" above the earthy drone sustained by the main body of the choir. The richness and subtlety of colors and the earthy heart quality of the voices, along with an inner rhytum of very simple ideas and materials, offers the listener a communication with the very heart and soul of music itself."

Ok, perhaps a bit cheesy, but it's a good description and had me longing to hear this piece before the program had even started. I figured the "harmonic-overtone singing" would be similar to throat singing. Turns out it IS throat singing! But I had only heard a single person do it before, and had tried it myself with a small bit of success. To hear 12 people on stage all droning and hear the manipulation of the harmonics of the overtones being done by multiple people at once, and to be there witnessing it LIVE, is amazing.

They then did some very good renditions of traditional irish and english songs, a couple of jazz numbers, and a couple of spirituals. I dont remember which, they were not programmed. They brought out mr. jennings and did an encore, a spiritual he arranged (again not sure what it was now) and then they came out again for a second encore with him, breaking out into Georgia on my Mind to close the evening.

Wonderful show. If you ever have a chance to see them, do so.
- posted by Nick @ 5/09/2006 10:53:00 PM | 0 comments