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Kansas City's Online Journal of the Performing Arts

The first brutally cold evening of December could not keep quality vocal music enthusiasts away from the sold-out King’s Singers Joy to the World concert presented by the Harriman-Jewell Series.  Those that braved the elements were treated to an evening of Christmas staples, droll banter, and spotless performances.

What struck me most about the performance was the effortless quality of it all.  Solo voices would come to the fore and then instantly retreat back into the ensemble sound.  The six singers were one organic whole.  My overarching criticism is that from where I was sitting (center right balcony) I often lost the bass Jonathan Howard.  Perhaps he was under the weather.  But in examining the construction of the group—2 countertenors, 1 tenor, 2 baritones, 1 bass—it is top-heavy.

The first half consisted of musical sets interspersed with relevant Christmas readings. The goal of which, as Howard put it, was “to get back to the true meaning and away from Commercialism… Now is a good time to mention our new CD.”  Though cheeky in their introduction, the music and readings carried a serious tone.  The stand-out pieces and performances were Philip Lawson’s arrangement of Noël nouvelet and Lullay my liking, Jeremy Lubbock’s arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s Crown of Roses, and June Collin’s The Quiet Heart. 

Noël nouvelet capitalized on tight interlocking snap rhythms and provided an added layer of interest to the traditional French carol.  Lullay my liking perhaps overused a wonderful descending melodic half-step in David Hurley’s resplendent countertenor, but the arrangement was so pretty that it was just a small nuisance.

Crown of Roses contained all the thorny harmonies that the title suggests.  The ensemble was locked on to the controlled dissonances that had eluded them during Bob Chilcott’s arrangement of What child is this? earlier in the evening.  The text was also the most convincing and gripping of the night next to that of Christina Rossetti’s salient poem “Christmas Eve.”  June Collin’s Quiet Heart was the most modern sounding piece of the evening, but even with its unfamiliarity it felt at home with the romantic swells and lush voicings. 

The second half presented much lighter fare.  The sextet hammed it up during Saint-Saëns Serenade d’Hiver as the wandering minstrels.  It also helped that a cute young lady was sitting in one of the Folly’s box-seats; she bore the full force of their swarthy British charm much to the audience’s delight.  John Julius Norwich’s “A correspondence”—a rebuke of the gifts of Twelve Days of Christmas—was delivered with expert showmanship by Hurley.

Even in the ensemble’s 42^nd year, they show no signs of slowing down or slacking in quality.  I think I might check out that CD that they mentioned.  I do need some last minute gifts after all.

REVIEW:
Harriman-Jewell Series
The King’s Singers Holiday Concert
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Folly Theater
12^th and Central, Kansas City, MO
For more information visit http://hjseries.org

By Lee Hartman

Editor-in-Chief; Traditional and New Classical Contributor

Lee Hartman holds degrees from the University of Missouri-Kansas City (D.M.A., M.M.) and the University of Delaware (B.M.). At the University of Delaware, he received a Dean's Scholar position enabling him to pursue an individually designed academic program combining music education and composition. At the University of Missouri-Kansas City he served for three years as the Assistant Director to Musica Nova, the conservatory's new music ensemble, while teaching a variety of composition classes.

In 2007 he was invited to both the Iceland Academy of the Arts in Reykjavík, Iceland and the Sichuan Conservatory in Chengdu, China to give lectures and master classes in composition. In the summer of 2009, Hartman served as an orchestra manager for the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble and Aspen Opera Theater Center for various performances. He serves on the National Executive Committee of the Society of Composers, Inc. as Submissions Coordinator. His primary composition instructors include James Mobberley, Chen Yi, Zhou Long, Paul Rudy, John Beall, and Jennifer Margaret Barker. He currently teaches music theory at the University of Central Missouri and general music classes at Park University having previously taught at UD (2007–08) and UMKC (2006–07).

His compositions can be found at http://www.leehartmanmusic.com