Bel Canto serves feast of contemporary music
Bel Canto Chorus music director Richard Hynson has a gift for ferreting out gorgeous pieces of choral music, new and old.
The chorus closed its concert season Wednesday evening in the Wilson Theater at Vogel Hall with a 90-minute program of masterfully written contemporary choral pieces.
The program, titled “Spellbound,” opened with Kile Smith’s achingly beautiful “Canticle,” written for soprano, mezzo-soprano, baritone, chorus, three cellos and percussion.
“Canticle” is an artfully crafted setting of a 16th-century mystical poem, “The Spiritual Canticle of the Soul and the Bridegroom Christ.”
Smith’s composition is a feast of textures and colors, including vocal solos, contained delicate choral sounds that blossom into rich, full-chorus swells, cello sounds that range from percussive pizzicato notes to solo and section passages with a very vocal quality, shimmering vibraphone lines and harmonies and definitive tambourine and bass drum interjections.
Hynson, the chorus, cellists Scott Tisdel, Adrien Zitoun and Madeleine Kabat, and percussionist Carl Storniolo created a remarkably rich, resonant sound in what can be a dry, unforgiving hall, including some sounds from the chorus in the opening bar of the piece that sounded more like resonating fine-crystal wine glasses than a chorus of adult singers.
Beautifully shaped choral phrases, a well-balanced blend of all of the forces on the stage, and clean, crisp, yet unaffected diction were all part of this engaging mix. A bit of vocal fatigue near the end of the piece might not have been noticeable at all in a more live acoustic.
Polished, sensitive work from the instrumentalists and capable vocal solos from Jennifer Grokowsky, Chelsea Betz and Jonathan A. Laabs were integral to the success of the piece.
Continuing without an intermission, Hynson and the chorus performed three exquisite miniatures for a cappella chorus written by Eriks Ešenvalds: “Amazing Grace,” “Only in Sleep” and “O Salutaris Hostia.”
These elegantly written pieces blend and layer solos, choral melodies and harmonic colors into powerfully poignant expressive vehicles.
Hynson and the singers, including soloists Sandi Lash, Anne Steeves, Rebecca Whitney and Emily Donaldson, gave meaningful, unfussy renditions. They crafted arced phrases, moved gracefully from foreground to background and created a warm, rich, smoothly blended sound.