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The soprano voices of Ida Nicolosi and Joyce Steeby crowned an evening of superlative music-making Friday night at Grace & Holy Trinity Cathedral in a concert performed by the UMKC Collegium Vocale together with the Kansas City Baroque Consortium.

The focal point of the program commemorating the 350th anniversary of the birth of Henry Purcell was the set of pieces entitled Funeral Music for Queen Mary.  Purcell, as composer and the organist of Westminster Abbey, was responsible for the music for the service of Queen Mary, who died on December 28, 1694 from smallpox.  Her funeral, delayed until March 5, 1695, due to the inclement weather, was a grandiose affair for the city of London.  Selections presented in concert Friday night included instrumental music: the Funeral March and two Canzonas performed with brio by a splendid quartet of brass and organ (Dale Morehouse); and two settings of the choral Funeral Sentences: Thou knowest Lord and In the midst of life.

Although not originally composed for the funeral service, added to the selection of Funeral Music were two stunningly beautiful laments composed the same year, Incassum, Lesbia, sung to exquisite perfection by Ida Nicolosi, and one of the most beautiful duets ever heard, O Dive custos Auriacae Domus, sung by Joyce Steeby and Ida Nicolosi.  These two remarkable artists brought a level of beauty to the cascading lines of sorrow that played upon each other, intertwined and spun again into release, and held the listener rapt, wishing it would never end.  Steeby's gorgeously centered ringing tone and illuminatingly intelligent realization of vocal line was perfectly paired with Nicolosi's vibrant, ringing coloratura and startling command of vocal range.  I cannot imagine a more sumptuous rendition of this duet, and urge that a recording will be made.

William Byrd's a cappella Ave Verum Corpus opened the program that evening in a pianissimo so perfectly expressed that it seemed to emanate from the ether of eternity.  From my seat on the second pew, so close to the singers, I could almost hear individual voices, but not quite - this ensemble is so perfectly attuned they blend like glimmering molten gold.  This was an offering of the well-known Ave Verum Corpus that flung open new vistas of nuance through the unbelievable beauty of perfectly created quiet.  Dr. Ryan Board elicits compelling interpretations from his stellar chamber ensemble of 15, the UMKC Collegium Vocale, through the use of precisely placed vowels and consonants for the text, subtle shifting of vocal timbres to evoke the mood of the work, and profoundly deep interpretations of musical lines and harmonic progressions.  In short, this ensemble is not to be missed.

Also heard in the first program half was a Purcell Trio Sonata performed by Charles Wines, flute, Trilla Ray-Carter, cello, and Steven McDonald, harpsichord.  McDonald captured my admiration with his flawless continuo realization played in perfect ensemble.  The enchanting, limpid tone of Wines' blonde wooden flute seemed to dissipate into the high expanse of space in the stone nave of the Cathedral, and did not achieve sufficient dynamic presence in that acoustic to bring balance of its line with that of the cello obligato, played expressively by Ray-Carter.

The Kansas City Baroque Consortium lent a full array of its ancient sonorities to the evening both as accompaniment to the chamber choir in various pieces, and with instrumental works.  Purcell's Suite from Abdelazer, or the Moor's Revenge was led with lively espirit by the bow of violinist Monty Carter, with the violinists and violist all standing to perform.  Admittedly, it took this listener a few moments to adjust to the lower frequency of pitch employed to achieve an authentic replication of the baroque tuning.  Particularly satisfying to hear was the well-known Rondeau, made familiar to modern ears via Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra.  Director and cellist Trilla Ray-Carter, has guided this ensemble to the forefront of the Early Music scene in Kansas City.  Its name on a program signals to me a concert worthy of attending.

The final bonbon of the evening in the program of delights was Purcell's O Sing Unto the Lord, which featured solo cameos sung excellently by soprano Amy Waldron, alto Kate Lohmann, and bass Jonathan Krinke, and the combined artistic forces of the Collegium Vocale, the KC Baroque Consortium, and harpsichordist, Steven McDonald.  Charged by the overwhelming experience of immense beauty, the audience mingled about long after the concert concluded to share with one another in its afterglow.

[In the spirit of full disclosure, the author states that the concert reviewed featured two of her choral colleagues and her highly esteemed voice teacher, Joyce Steeby.]

REVIEW:
UMKC Collegium Vocale and KC Baroque Consortium
Fall Concert: Music of Henry Purcell commemorating the 350th anniversary of his birth
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Immanuel Lutheran Church
1700 Westport Road, Kansas City, MO
Friday, November 13, 2009 (Reviewed)
Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral
Broadway and 13th Street, Kansas City, MO
For more information visit www.kccollegiumvocale.com

By Gayle G. Hathorne

Classical and Vocal Contributor (Past writer)