V of A American program, May 2025

Susie and I heard Voices of Ascension on May 8, 2025. It was a program of music by American composers.

"Stant Syon Atria" by Horatio Parker

It opened like a moldy oldie church anthem but pretty quickly revealed some unexpected harmonic shifts. The choir had a gorgeous blend, as always. I was particuarly impressed with the sopranos in this piece - - they were floaty but never hooty. It had a rousing ending, which is a fun way to open a concert.

"Quem Pastores Laudavere" by Jim Bassi

One word: divine. Jim is a friend of mine and this appears to be one of his most popular pieces, premiered by Voices in 1999 and most notably performed in a televised midnight Christmas Mass from St. Paul's, with the late Pope Francis doing his thing. Glorious harmonies, expert writing for the voices. Tender, special, meaningful. Here's V of A singing the premiere:

"Agnus Dei" by Samuel Barber

We've all heard the Barber "Adagio for Strings" - - this is an arrangement Barber did for a cappella chorus. It made me think back to an afternoon in a hotel in Kyoto back in February of 2006. I was doing cross stitch and listening to a sort of lite classical radio station. In the space of three hours they played four versions of the "Adagio for Strings": the original string quartet version, the well-known string orchestra version, plus an arrangement for flute choir (not entirely successful) and another for violin and organ. I was ready to hear an arrangement for kazoo and coffee can.

I'd never heard the choral version but had heard of it. Voices totally nailed it, of course. I'm sure it's not an easy sing but they made it sound effortless. There was a surprising soprano high note early in the piece - - it appeared to be sung by just one woman and I happened to be looking at it when she sang it. She held her folder all the way down, with her arms straight. Her body was perfectly still. She dropped her jaw, her mouth was very tall, and she had a determined look in her eyes. That was the recipe she neededd to produce a stellar high note.

"Garden Hymn," traditional Southern folk hymn arranged by Annabel Morris Buchanan

Very sweet, a nice little sorbet to cleanse the palate between courses.

"No Man Has Seen His Face" by Margaret Bonds

Lovely, warm, carressed the ear. Wonderful solo by Sarah Frei.

"Alleluia" by Randall Thompson

I know for a fact that this piece is a tough sing, I've sung it five or six times and it never gets any easier. I'll never hear a better performance. The final hushed chord was astonishing.

"In the Year That King Uziah Died" by David McKinley Williams

I'd never heard of this guy and wow, what an exciting piece. The opening was High Camp, totally my jam. I had the feeling that he had a fun time writing it. But that air of camp dissipated pretty quickly, the rest of the piece was totally earnest and deeply felt. Andrew Henderson played the organ part with style and verve. Artistic director Dennis Keene, of course, did a stellar job conducting throughout the concert but in this concert I was especially impressed with his program notes, for this piece in particular. He pointed out a few things that were very helpful to look out for.

"Infinite Light" by Bora Yoon

Susie reminded me that I heard the premiere of this piece a few years ago. I'm a big fan of Yoon's music, her stuff is endlessly inventive and suprising, innovative but not wacky. The first movement of this piece is written for a trio of female voices - - in this concert it was sung by ModernMedieval Voices, Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek, Chloe Holgate, and Madeline Healey. Horner-Kwiatek was one of the members of Anonymous 4, an early music quartet that was big business in the 80s and beyond, what a treat to hear her again. Yoon set the poem by Rumi in a thoughtful way, with the three voices overlapping and and laying out the text, revealing the words. The second movement was for the chorus on a poem by Hafiz. Both movements had a fascinating mix of live voices and a pre-recorded electronic track, harmonies often created by the counterpiont between the voices and their interaction with the electronic element This is composition at a very high level.

Four pieces by Charles Ives

I adore Ives and was lucky enough to have sung a few of his pieces in my college choir. "Psalm 150" was startling. It sounds brand new even though it was written in 1894. "Turn Ye, Turn Ye" was charming and odd. It had me grinning from ear to ear. "Serenity" is one of his collection of 114 Songs - - Voices performed it with the sopranos singing in a haunting unison and the organ playing what Dennis called a "cloud-like" accompaniment. It was dreamy. The final Ives was a bizarre and thriling piece I had done in college, "Psalm 90." So much fun. Voices presented it like the masterpiece it is.

"Deep River" arranged by Harry Burleigh

Dennis took it at a steady, moderate tempo and never for a moment indulged. The sound was sincere and a little austere. It felt like it existed in the same sonic world as the Ives.

"Hear My Prayer" by Moses Hogan

This felt like the second movement of "Deep River," the pieces fit together so perfectly.

"Great Day" and "Ride On, King Jesus," arranged by Hogan

I was thrilled by the performances of these pieces. Voices performed them honestly and faithfully, like they would perform Brahms. There was never a hint of what I hate from Chanticleer when they do African-American spirituals, a style I call Whitey Goes Ethnic. Voices didn't feel like they were slumming, they sang it with class, conviction, and elegance.