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 On the weekend of August 7-9, William Jewell College hosted the first annual JEMS (Jewell Early Music Summer) Festival. The Festival, designed to showcase music from the European tradition during the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque eras, is the result of a leadership collaboration between Trilla Ray-Carter and Jay Carter (both Jewell faculty members.)  The Festival brought together leading musicians from all around the region to present four concerts in three days, all on the William Jewell College campus in Liberty, MO.

I had the privilege of attending the festival's culmination concert on Sunday, August 9. Leading up to this concert were events that featured vocal quartet Gravitación (performing unaccompanied vocal works of the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque), Jay Carter (countertenor) and Jeffrey Noonon (lutes and theorbo) performing a wonderful program of late Renaissance Elizabethan and Jacobean lute songs, and Charles Metz, performing a program titled "English Music on Italian Instruments". Metz played on an original Italian Virginal, dating to the late 16^th century. At the Sunday evening concert, many forces combined to present a wonderful two-hour cornucopia of music from two of the Baroque era's luminary composers: Purcell and Handel.

2009 marks the 350^th anniversary of Purcell's birth as well as the 250^th anniversary of Handel's death. Henry Purcell (1659-1685) was one of the leading British composers of the 17^th century. His music reflects the changing Baroque aesthetic, as it is full of quick transitions and tonality shifts, all the while maintaining total commitment to (in his vocal music) the meaning of the text. From the very first bars of the concert, as Jay Carter sang from Purcell's "Hail! Bright Cecelia," one could tell the coming performance was to be very special. Carter's interpretation of Purcell's melodic contour was highly informed, and his countertenor vocal color was stunning. Charles Metz, Trilla Ray-Carter, and Jeffrey Noonon provided excellent continuo accompaniment. Collegium Vocale (from UMKC) sang with refined excellence, and Ryan Board gave sturdy and decisive direction from the podium.

The remainder of the first half was just as moving as the opening number. Collegium Vocale sang "Jehova Quam Multi Sunt Hostes Mei", featuring David Row (tenor) and Matthew Leese (baritone). Both soloists performed ably. The newly formed Kansas City Baroque Consortium performed Purcell's Suite from "Abdelazer of the Moor's Revenge" with great flair and musicianship. Finishing the first half was Purcell's "O Sing Unto the Lord A New Song", a large-scale work with string accompaniment. Again, Collegium Vocale sang wonderfully, and the members of the vocal quartet Gravitación provided the solo work. Gravitación is made up of Sherezade Panthaki (soprano), Jay Carter (countertenor), Daniel Carberg (tenor), and Matthew Leese (bass). All the members of this stunning group sang with clear diction and warmth of tone that proved to lend a cohesive glue to the multi-sectional work.

The second half of the program featured works by George Frideric Handel (1685-1759). The programming was excellent, giving us some of Handel's gems that we don't get to hear live very often. In bridging the gap between Purcell and Handel, the combined ensemble forces performed Handel's setting of "O Sing Unto the Lord A New Song". In this selection, Collegium Vocale was at their very best. Their approach to diction and the affect of the text brought the work to life in a very organic way. The members of Gravitación also again were spot on in this moving performance.

The next work was Handel's Concerto Grosso, Op. 3, No. 2. The Kansas City Baroque Consortium performed this five-movement gem without a conductor, which contributed to occasional rhythmic phasing. The baroque oboes also tended to ride sharp in their intonation. However, the ensemble's phrasing was top-notch, and the work of the continuo section was superb, especially baroque bassoonist John Titterington. Also of note was the fact that the ensemble's string instruments played with gut strings as well as baroque-era bows, giving the audience a taste of how the music might have actually sounded so long ago.

The final number was Handel's Coronation Anthem IV, "Let Thy Hand Be Strengthened". Saving the biggest collection of musical forces for the very last, the tutti ensembles enthralled the appreciative audience with their excellent musicianship.

A Festival like JEMS is difficult to pull off in any year. In this, their first attempt, the organizers were able to overcome a difficult economy and a very hot weekend to put on a highly respectable and artistically satisfying festival of early music. Trilla Ray-Carter and Jay Carter should be commended for their work and for their commitment to this music. Also deserving recognition is their conductor, Dr. Ryan Board. Dr. Board's specialization is in early music and the music of the Baroque period, and his expertise shown through brightly. Dr. Ian Coleman, chair of the music department at William Jewell College, also deserves recognition for his and his department's role in hosting this wonderful event. The organizers said in their pre-concert speech that they were hopeful that Kansas City would become a 'hot-bed' of activity in early music. In this reviewer's eyes, they're off to a great start. I'm already making plans to attend next year's event.

REVIEW:
William Jewell College
JEMS Festival (Jewell Early Music Summer)
August 7-9, 2009
Reviewed: Sunday, August 9

By R. Douglas Helvering

Classical and Vocal Contributor (Past writer)

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