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The Kansas City Chorale, led by Artistic Director Charles Bruffy, gave a superb performance of Benjamin Britten's A Ceremony of Carols at the beautiful Asbury United Methodist Church on Tuesday, December 15. The talented 24-member choir is currently in their 28th season and has performed worldwide as well as released numerous well-received and award-winning recordings.

The show began with the upbeat and pleasant piece Joys Seven. Despite the occasional imprecise consonant cutoffs, the piece showed of the group's wonderful blend and dynamics. The slow Some Children See Him followed with a beautiful solo by baritone Bryan Taylor. Taylor's tone was rich and smooth, and added much to the success of the piece. Wexford Carol, the third selection, featured an oboe, played by Margaret Marco, and soprano solo sung by Pamela Williamson. Although the musical skill was apparent in both artists, I did not enjoy the combination of the oboe and voice. I felt the two sounds were competing for my attention rather than complimenting each other.

The men performed Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, accompanied by harpist Tabitha Reist-Steiner. The men, both on their own in this piece and with the women, were the highlight of the show. Their sound at all times was strong and well blended. However, despite their brilliant musicality, I did not particularly love this selection. The piece had many pauses, which made me feel as though it should have ended several times before it actually did.

Wake up, my spirit, the fifth carol in the show, was a world premiere of a piece written by J.A.C. Redford specifically for the Kansas City Chorale and oboist Natalie Twigg. Although it was performed well, it was not one of the more memorable moments of the show. A Christmas Canticle rounded out the first section of the evening. These three pieces showed off the impressive full strength of the Chorale.  All parts were strong and blended well together. And the full sound, along with the wonderful solo by Rebecca Lloyd in Nova, Nova, made this one of the highlights of the evening.

The second half began with A Ceremony of Carols, a twelve-part showcase for the women, featuring a number of well-performed solos, including those from altos Barbara Meyer and Meredith Barreth, and sopranos Pamela Williamson and Melanie Melcher. This Little Babe, was a spirited number that showed off the skill of all the women nicely and Spring Carol, featuring a beautifully sung duet by sopranos Sarah Tennehill and Beth Munce were the standout moments.

The men rejoined the women for the 3 Nativity Carols. The first selection, The Holly and the Ivy was very well performed, while the second carol, The Endris Night, was rather discordant and a bit harsh sounding, but was an issue with the music and not the singing. Wonder Tidings was upbeat and demonstrated the full potential of the ensemble. The Kansas City Chorale finished the night with a wonderfully spirited and festive song, Tiny Little Baby in Bethlehem. It was a playful piece with several small solos, including one by director Charles Bruffy.  

The performance was a delightful Christmas celebration, and the Chorale gave a solid performance of that illustrated why they are one of the premiere ensembles in Kansas City.

REVIEW:
The Kansas City Chorale
A Ceremony of Carols
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Asbury United Methodist Church
5400 W. 75th Street, Prairie Village, KS
For more information visit www.kcchorale.org

By Andrea Montgomery

Dance and Classical Contributor (Past writer)

Comments(1):

1. background in music?

   The main problem I have with this review is that it's obvious that the reviewer is not a musician. Please, KCMetropolis, if you want to be taken seriously have your reviewers be someone with a background in what they are reviewing! I was at this concert and it was, for the most part, absolutely stunning. The pauses in 'Stopping By Woods' were absolutely necessary for the effect of the piece, making it a real highlight of the concert. And one more thing, this was a concert, not a show. A show is entertainment; fun but not usually an experience of deep emotion. A concert though, has the expectation of being a soul stirring event. Show and concert do not have the same meaning and I would like to see them used correctly.

   Wednesday, December 23, 2009 Robert