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May 24, 2007
Musical Nirvana
The Chanticleer concert was great. This is probably the tenth (give or take a few) time I've seen the group perform in the past 15 years, and I'm always satisfied. (I even had the pleasure of hearing them on their home turf in San Francisco once, taking P & C, who lived there at the time.)
My favorites of the evening were "This Marriage," by Eric Whitacre and "Village Wedding," by John Tavener. I really like the music by both of them. I just bought one of Whitacre's CDs yesterday ("Cloudburst" - Hyperion LC7533), and, serendipitously, it contains "This Marriage." Three of Whitacre's pieces are also featured on the CD by Conspirare, which I went on and on about here on Feb 14, 2007.
The Chanticleer sound is so pure - spot on. (As it says in the program notes, the group was named for the "clear-singing rooster" in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.) There were a lot of new faces on stage last night; the guys seem to be younger each time I see them. But they have a rigorous travel schedule, and I suspect it's not difficult to burn out after a few years.
I had a thoroughly enjoyable time singing with the Schutz Singers tonight. We are a group of about 15 folks from many different choirs who just enjoy singing together once a month. It's extremely satisfying. Folks are good sight-readers and singers, but not prima donnas. Everyone's just there for the sheer pleasure of it. There are no rehearsals and no performances. Tonight we did some Palestrina, Tallis, Weelkes, Byrd, Gibbons, and others. I've really missed singing this year. The choral music scene is one of the aspects of the Twin Cities that I will miss the most - it's quite amazing. Everyone assures me that there's great music in west-central Mass. Next summer, Tanglewood! and the Boston Early Music Festival!
Posted by hgroteva at May 24, 2007 4:20 PM | Choral Music