Chicago Chamber Choir Review - Ringing In The Holiday With Style, Grace

It happens every year, right around November. You know, I grow more and more fond of the whole spectacle of the holidays. The effect of a snowflake on a child’s hand, the joy and merriment spread by the jangle of a bell or the humming of a tune, It IS the season to be jolly. And every pine-scented wreath and eggnog enhanced holiday party puts you closer and  closer to the joy you experienced when you first galloped down the stairs two and three at a time to see what treasures Santa brought THIS year, or mom’s special stuffing she only made twice a year. The ritual is warm and anticipated as the sun begins to set earlier and the air becomes brisk and chill.

This year, I have the great pleasure of adding a  new warm memory to my holiday repertoire. The Chicago Chamber Choir presented a holiday performance titled Chants de Noel, presenting a collection of French originated Christmas-themed works that showcase the great talents of the ensemble as much as it kick starts the fa-la-la-la-la in your heart.

The Chicago Chamber Choir is conducted by Artistic Director Timm Adams. The mission of the Choir is a gift within itself. The Chicago Chamber Choir caters to communities underserved by top quality live performance, and regulalry performs for schools, community centers, and homeless shelters. The choir supports this mission by attracting a highly talented group of singers, run by a board of directors and a forward-thinking Artistic Director. Chants de Noel was almost guaranteed to be a treat on cachet alone.

The performance began with a French carol sung in english called Masters of the Hall. A wave of palpable joy began coursing through the audience, ringing from all sides of the theater as the choir set up in an antiphonal arrangement surrounding the lower house.  The song was bright and cheerful, and gave high hopes of a great night of festive, holiday music.

As the twenty-odd member choir gained the stage, they were joined by a string quintet, an organist, and harpist. Adams then announced the rest of the first half of the performance was to be a performance of the Christmas Oratorio by 19th century French composer Camille Saint Saens.

In stark contrast to the light French carol that opened the show, the Oratorio was rich and stately. An instrumental Prelude alluded to themes simultaneously exultant, melancholy, and even regal, with rich harmonies blended beautifully by the Amadeus Consort, harpist Kara Bershad and organist/pianist Jay Peterson. Immediately following was a choral arrangment of the Christmas story as found in Luke 2. Almost every movement featured soloists, the most notable being mezzo-soprano Monica Blacconeri, Elliot Nott and Hans Royal-Hedinger on baritone, and the quintet during the ninth movement, Consurge, Filia Sion ( William Meek, tenor; Viktoria Johnson, soprano; Melissa Curtis, soprano; Dana Borman, alto; Erich Kurschat, bass).

The Oratorio was wonderfully accented by the orchestra, and Bershad was a stand-out, adding an undertone of whimsy to the beautifully arranged accompaniment. Saint-Saens is said to be influenced by Handel as well as a score of other composers, and yet his Oratorio is a masterfully written piece in its own right. There is a visceral joy at the core of each movement, but each movement seems to address a variety of emotional responses to the Christmas story. Passages that evoked exultation would follow with a movement that becomes melancholy that the whole world can’t feel as exultant as they. The final movement is exuberant and joyful, but its best parts ran the gamut of emotion.

The second half of the program was largely carol-centric. The one notable exception was a hauntingly beautiful performance of O Magnum Mysterium written by Francis Poulanc. Poulanc’s motet contrasts a velvety consonance with brilliantly placed dissonance to propel this legato piece forward as if the singers sprouted angelic wings. The quality of the choir truly stood out during this piece, with such amazing harmonic balance that it produced goose-bumps on my arms.

The final selection of songs were also finally songs I recognized, with the original French rendition of Angels We Have Heard on High, and the French originated Ding Dog Merrily On High (sang in English), which capped off the evening with a light-hearted yet wonderfully performed finale.
Artistic Director Timm Adams selected pieces both challenging and quintessentially Christmas for Chants de Noel. Future concerts indicate similar themes, as next Christmas will explore Spanish carols. The Choir is also conducting a series of the elements, presenting Grounded: Songs of Our Majestic Earth, starting in April.

For more information on the Chicago Chamber Choir, go to www.chicagochamberchoir.org or call 312-409-6890

Published on Dec 17, 2009