RSS 2.0 FeedFebruary 17, 2010, Cover Stories, Classical
What's not to love?
The Fine Arts Chorale knows how to show an audience a good time. "Heartfelt Voices: Our Ode to St. Valentine's Day" blended a fresh, exciting program of love songs with art by Jenny Hahn, chocolate from Andres along with wine and a bit of bubbly courtesy of Rimann liquors.
The Fine Arts Chorale knows how to show an audience a good time. Heartfelt Voices: Our Ode to St. Valentine's Day blended a fresh, exciting program of love songs with art by Jenny Hahn, chocolate from Andres along with wine and a bit of bubbly courtesy of Rimann liquors.
A more romantic setting would have been hard to find, even on Valentine's Day weekend. The Founders' Hall at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral had the festive air of a reception. The audience sat comfortably at elegant tables where red carnations in silver vases sat atop crisp white table cloths strewn with chocolate hearts and glittering confetti. The chorus was color coordinated in black with red accents and the beautiful soloist, Ida Nicolosi, wore a red satin strapless gown with a dazzling necklace. KXTR's Patrick Neas, looking dapper in his tux, was the gracious master of ceremonies.
Artistic Director Terri Teal is one of Kansas City's best. Her programs are always well designed with careful attention to the soulful aspects of choral composition. She chooses music that is easy to fall in love with. The accompanist for the ensemble, Geoff Wilcken, regularly writes new pieces specifically for the ensemble. His Go, Lovely Rose was completed this year. The piece featured the talented Nicolosi and dovetailed well with the Two Love Songs by Robert H. Young that followed. Other surprising pieces included the Love Lost set of four hilarious songs written in 1969 by Paul Sjolund. These pieces, using poems by Dorothy Parker, Samuel Hoffenstein and Mark Hollis, I had never heard before.
The first half of the concert featured unaccompanied vocal works from the 20th and 21st centuries. Teal conducts with a broad range of distinctive gestures that rivet her singers. Her musical intentions are always crystal clear and the ensemble demonstrates its commitment with attention to every choral detail. They breathe together, swell together and their endings are executed with sensitive precision.
Anyone planning a wedding this year should look closely at This Marriage by Eric Whitacre, set to poems by Rumi and i carry your heart with me by David Dickau from a poem by e.e. cummings. Because of their specific focus, they rarely appear on concert programs, yet they remind listeners of how the bonds of matrimony are special, and they convey a deeply moving message. Including them was a masterstroke.
The Five Hebrew Love Songs by Eric Whitacre was fantastic. Singing in Hebrew is no easy task. It resembles German on the page but the vowels are very different. The choir sang expressively as the music moved from lyrical to energetic. In the piece, Larov (Mostly) random bell-like tones supported the solo well-spoken by Leah Koesten. Soprano Pam Gregory added a gorgeous descending line and Josh Kendle's violin added just the right amount of expressive color. This is an eclectic and arresting piece I hope to hear again.
Local favorite, Ida Nicolosi, and her accompanist Mark Ball took the stage for a set of her favorite love songs beginning with the delightful Steal Me, Sweet Thief by Menotti. "What a curse for a woman is a timid man!" she tells the story with charming earnestness. Anyone familiar with the Merchant Ivory film, A Room with a View, would recognize the glorious aria Chi bel sogno di Doretta by Giuseppe Adami which is another rare gem. Her interpretation was exquisite. An excellent actress, Nicolosi is one of the few sopranos who easily embody the protagonist. She delighted the audience with her 1940s girlie New York accent in Irving Berlin's You'd be Surprised. I hope Nicolosi pursues musical theater as well as opera as she continues her career path.
Combining choral concerts with a visual arts collaboration and small business donations of food and wine is genius. At a time when arts organizations across the country are looking for ways to provide a 360-degree concert experience, the Fine Arts Chorale delivers. The audience was feeling the love.
REVIEW
The Fine Arts Chorale
Heartfelt Voices: Our ode to St. Valentine's Day
Saturday February 13, 2010
Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral Founders' Hall
415 W. 13th Street, Kansas City, MO
www.fineartschoralekc.org
Classical, Vocal and Theatre Contributor; Managing Editor Arts News
Megan Browne Helm hails from St. Louis, MO where she grew up singing, dancing and acting. As a teenager, she was awarded a scholarship to the Carnegie Mellon University pre-college program where she studied voice with Glynn Page, dance with Myron Nadel and theater with Rick Davis.
She pursued a voice major at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music studying with Duane Mahy and her sabbatical replacement Carole Webber. She was a frequent soloist with the Oberlin Collegium Musicum. In addition, she hosted a contemporary classical music show on WOBC and recorded recitals for the audio department.
At the University of Kansas she earned degrees in History and Music Education. In 1988-89, she was the Baby Jay mascot. Her passion for modern and contemporary art music culminated in her involvement with the now defunct Kansas Composers Project at KU. She also sang and soloed with the Collegium Musicum and Oread Consorts at KU under the direction of Simon Carrington.
As an alto, Ms. Browne Helm has performed in and around Kansas City for over 20 years. She joined the Kansas City a cappella ensemble, Octarium for their 2005-6 season and currently sings with the Kansas City Symphony Chorus under the direction of Charles Bruffy.
Ms. Browne Helm began her freelance career while staying home when her children were babies. Her past works can be found at Presentmagazine.com, KC Parent Magazine, Shawnee Magazine, and the Lawrence Journal World and on her new blog Raw Organum. She is also working on a young adult novel and music related picture books for children. At KCMetropolis, Megan is the managing editor for the Arts News section as well as reviewing music, theater and occasionally dance.
In 2009 she was honored to be chosen as a NEA Fellow at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism's program for Classical Music and Opera in New York City.
Ms. Browne Helm's day job is as a professional music educator in the Turner School District, KCK where she shares her love for the art form every day with the very youngest students in the district. She also shares her expertise with other teachers and has been a presenter at the Crucial Early Years conference at the University of Missouri St. Louis.
When she isn't teaching, writing, singing or functioning as an assistant cub master or PTO secretary, Ms Browne Helm resides in Lawrence, KS with her husband, three sons, three dogs, a cat and any number of fish.
All material contained in KCMetropolis.org is the property of or licensed for use by KCMetropolis.org. Any use, duplication, or reproduction of any or all content of this publication is prohibited except with the express written permission of KCMetropolis.org or the original copyright holders.