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Tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Kansas City, a modest audience gathered at St. Mary Magdalene Episcopal Church in Loch Loyd, MO Saturday night for Kantorei’s Christmas-themed concert, “Sweet was the Song.” The hour-long concert presented audiences with varied Christmas repertoire, coinciding with the release of the group’s new CD of the same title.

Opening the concert were three motets for double choir—Resonet in laudibus and O magnum mysterium by Jacobus Gallus, and Michael Praetorius’ In dulci jubilo. Though some of the quick runs in the lively Resonet in laudibus were not cleanly articulated, other moments in these early music pieces displayed the seventeen singers’ impressive ability to listen across the ensemble and create precisely tuned chords, particularly at final cadences.

Following these antiphonal Renaissance choruses were two Christmas motets by Heinrich Schütz. Ach Herr, du Scöpfer aller Ding unwound with gentle, fluid textures and appropriately finessed German diction, which was both effectively communicative and emphatic. The text became somewhat muddled during the fast, rhythmic portions of Ein Kind ist uns Geboren though. However, this piece ultimately revealed the ensemble’s ability to sing vowels that were unanimously agreed upon, consequently producing a consistent, unified, homogenous blend.

Jumping centuries, three carols by modern composer Tim Porter followed Schütz. The pensive Sweet was the Song featured placid, perpetually shifting textures on which a serene, effortless, and beautiful soprano solo was sung. A lively, bell-like Hark How the Welkin Ringing and the slow Sleep in Peace concluded the set. The overall mood of these carols was inviting and serene, undoubtedly the result of Kantorei’s finely tuned chords, open and relaxed singing, unified, organic breaths and phrasing, and sincerest attention to text.

The concert’s first half ended with two more carols by Tim Porter, There Is No Rose and As Sunne through Glass. Throughout the concert, director Chris Munce mostly sang with the ensemble and occasionally conducted only to inform the singers of alterations in tempo or articulation, primarily at cadence points. In these final Porter carols, Munce fully employed this minimalist conducting style where, instead of being a strict dictator of tempo, he simply stood back, sang along with the ensemble, and let the music do the talking.

After a quick intermission, Kantorei returned to the sanctuary and presented Felix Mendelssohn’s Sechs Sprüche, a set comprised of six short choral anthems on themes from Christmas to Good Friday. The short, German pieces, diverse in their tempos and textures, were sung with more Romantic vigor, but remained consistent with Kantrorei’s already exhibited skills.

The concert concluded with two beautiful anthems by late composer Robert H. Young, to whom the ensemble dedicated these pieces “In Memoriam.” In the Bleak Midwinter was full of consistently legato lines, particularly noticeable during the tenors’ moments of unison singing. There Is No Rose of Such Virtue was a stunning piece on which to end the concert. An excellent ebb and flow of phrasing pervaded this selection. Different texts called for different moods, and the ensemble masterfully invoked these moods with both their facial expressions and quality of singing. Paired with each line of English text was a Latin word that added an extra layer of commentary. The final verse, “Leave we all this worldly mirth, and follow we this joyful birth,” was intimately paired with a peacefully sung, beautifully honest “Transeamus” (Let us cross over) that pointed the audience optimistically forward.

Overall, Kantorei’s forte seems to be the performance of modern compositions, where crunchy dissonances ring with bright clarity, homophonic and polyphonic textures are sung with equal skill, and texts are communicated in deep, inviting ways. Though many choral ensembles have presented Christmas themed concerts over the past several weeks, this ensemble managed to add their own flare and interesting interpretation of the season through their repertoire and skill.

REVIEW:
Kantorei
Sweet was the Song 
Saturday, December 17, 2011
St. Mary Magdalene Episcopal Church
16808 Holmes, Loch Lloyd, MO
For more information, visit http://www.kantoreikc.org/

Top Photo: Kantorei (Photo by Walker Williams Photography)

By Tom Marks

Classical Contributor

Tom Marks holds a degree in vocal performance (B.M., summa cum laude) from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and is currently pursing a degree in musicology (M.M.), also from the UMKC Conservatory. A graduate teaching assistant, Tom can generally be found
rummaging through books in the UMKC library, exploring potential research topics. In addition to researching music, Tom is an active vocal performer (baritone) and has appeared in various venues throughout the Kansas City area. Recently, Tom has appeared in productions of the Kansas City Metro Opera, Bay View Summer Music Festival in Bay View, Michigan, and UMKC’s choral, musical theater, and opera department.

Outside of the conservatory, Tom is a music intern at the Village Presbyterian Church where he performs solo and choral vocal music and, on occasion, conducts the Village choir. Tom also writes program notes for the Bach Aria Soloists 2011–12 concert series. Future aspirations include a Ph.D. in musicology with an emphasis in early music, particularly of the late Renaissance and early baroque periods.