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kenjariThis weekend I went to two excellent choral concerts.
Boston Cecilia
This was the final concert of their season, and the program consisted of works by living composers.
Time - Richard Rodney Bennett
Verses on St. Cecilia's Day - Richard Rodney Bennett
These pieces were nice, with occasional interesting moments. However, they didn't really grab me or stay with me. I did like the second one better, though.
Black Air - Barbara White
This piece was based on dante's Inferno, particularly the story of the lovers Fancesca and Paolo. The choral writing was very good - striking, lovely, and atmospheric. Unfortunately, the piece also included a narration that expounded upon Dante's story. I readily admit that I've never been a fan of this type of music plus spoken word piece, and this one just didn't work at all for me. I found the narration unconvincing and, frankly, a bit pretentious. I was particularly unhappy with it because it was a distraction from choral music that I really liked.
Turning Back - Scott Wheeler
I really liked this piece a lot. The texts are from poet Hilda Doolittle, and it's scored for mezzo-soprano and chorus, with piano accompaniment, and it made terrific use of all three elements. I especially liked the piano accompaniment in the first movement, Aubade. It was delicate and kind of glimmered along the surface of the texture. The soloist, Krista River, was absolutely terrific. She has a great voice and a tremendous ability to convey the emotional content of the text and music. These qualities were shown off beautifully in the fourth movement, Eurydice, the text of which is a reflection on the Orpheus myth, but from the woman's point of view. This piece was done again on the second half of the program, which made me incredibly happy, because I so often wish that I had opportunities to hear new works more than once.
Four Chinese Folk Songs - Chen Yi
These short arrangement of folks songs were really lovely, although somewhat different from Chen Yi's other work: simpler and more consonant.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
pantsie's solo was gorgeous.
Two Emily Dickinson Settings - Elliot Carter
Carter will be 100 later this year, and he is still composing. This work was from the 1940s. It was a lot less rhythmically and harmonically gnarly than other works of his that I have heard. Which is not to say it was exactly easy listening. I liked it very much, though.
Anthology iswavyarms's vocal quartet (tow sopranos and two mezzos), and they are extremely good. Their program was very wide-ranging, including Renaissance music, 1940s-style pop tunes, traditional songs, and contemporary music. They performed all of it very well, and I enjoyed the concert tremendously. My favorites included:
"I Am a Can of Tuna", a witty barbershop-style song.
A lush choral arrangement of Dowland's "Come Again", which is one of my favorite songs.
sen_no_ongaku's beautiful piece "Blacklist", the text of which is the names of the Hollywood Ten.
Boston Cecilia
This was the final concert of their season, and the program consisted of works by living composers.
Time - Richard Rodney Bennett
Verses on St. Cecilia's Day - Richard Rodney Bennett
These pieces were nice, with occasional interesting moments. However, they didn't really grab me or stay with me. I did like the second one better, though.
Black Air - Barbara White
This piece was based on dante's Inferno, particularly the story of the lovers Fancesca and Paolo. The choral writing was very good - striking, lovely, and atmospheric. Unfortunately, the piece also included a narration that expounded upon Dante's story. I readily admit that I've never been a fan of this type of music plus spoken word piece, and this one just didn't work at all for me. I found the narration unconvincing and, frankly, a bit pretentious. I was particularly unhappy with it because it was a distraction from choral music that I really liked.
Turning Back - Scott Wheeler
I really liked this piece a lot. The texts are from poet Hilda Doolittle, and it's scored for mezzo-soprano and chorus, with piano accompaniment, and it made terrific use of all three elements. I especially liked the piano accompaniment in the first movement, Aubade. It was delicate and kind of glimmered along the surface of the texture. The soloist, Krista River, was absolutely terrific. She has a great voice and a tremendous ability to convey the emotional content of the text and music. These qualities were shown off beautifully in the fourth movement, Eurydice, the text of which is a reflection on the Orpheus myth, but from the woman's point of view. This piece was done again on the second half of the program, which made me incredibly happy, because I so often wish that I had opportunities to hear new works more than once.
Four Chinese Folk Songs - Chen Yi
These short arrangement of folks songs were really lovely, although somewhat different from Chen Yi's other work: simpler and more consonant.
pantsie's solo was gorgeous.Two Emily Dickinson Settings - Elliot Carter
Carter will be 100 later this year, and he is still composing. This work was from the 1940s. It was a lot less rhythmically and harmonically gnarly than other works of his that I have heard. Which is not to say it was exactly easy listening. I liked it very much, though.
Anthology is
wavyarms's vocal quartet (tow sopranos and two mezzos), and they are extremely good. Their program was very wide-ranging, including Renaissance music, 1940s-style pop tunes, traditional songs, and contemporary music. They performed all of it very well, and I enjoyed the concert tremendously. My favorites included:"I Am a Can of Tuna", a witty barbershop-style song.
A lush choral arrangement of Dowland's "Come Again", which is one of my favorite songs.
sen_no_ongaku's beautiful piece "Blacklist", the text of which is the names of the Hollywood Ten.
