Choral Review
Sacramento Master Singers
Spirituals & The Journey of Harriet Tubman - March 10, 2019
Is there any American music more widely loved than African-American spirituals? This concert featured many of them, but there was so much more on this second day of a two-day, sold-out concert series by Sacramento Master Singers at First United Methodist Church in Sacramento. There’s a phrase in the commentary to one of the songs on the program, noting that it is about “overcoming the obstacles and challenges of life.” Indeed, that’s how I’d characterize the theme of all the music I heard on this Sunday afternoon.
(Click here to open the concert program in a new window.)
The concert began with a women’s trio taking up a position at the front of the church, along with 6 percussionists. “Sorida” began with the Sacramento Master Singers processing into the church on the side aisles and chanting: basses first, followed by tenors, altos and sopranos building the harmonics of the song. “Sorida” is a musical greeting that was inspired by Africa, though it did not originate there (see the notes in the attached program). Once on the risers, the chorus swayed to the prominent beat of the music, soon adding arm gestures that gave us in the audience to know that we were indeed being welcomed.
The lyrics of “Let the River Run” don’t evoke Africa or the African experience in the American South, but the conga drum accompaniment from 3 percussionists was suggestive of it in this happy, stirring song. It was only when I eventually noticed the lyrics “Let all the dreamers wake the nation./ Come, the New Jerusalem” that I understood this piece as a celebration of the energy that diversity brings to our country.
Take a moment to look at the background for some of the songs in this concert. What you’ll see is an incredible selection of music from many sources. I am always amazed at the freshness and variety in Ralph Hughes’ programming for the Sacramento Master Singers concerts. He seems connected to choruses, directors, composers and arrangers all over the country (or the world, for that matter) when he sources music for SMS. And the result is not just pleasant listening for the audience, but music that is, more often than not, educational, inspirational and ― significant.
Once again, thanks to the excellent program notes, I learned that the gospel song, “This Little Light of Mine,” dates only from the 1920s, but it has often been adopted by later generations as a protest song. This adaptation of that early music, “True Light,” adds a reverential dimension ― at least that’s what I see in it. Take a look at the lyrics and see if you agree. More than that though, this was toe-tapping, happy music. As I watched the chorus sing, the thought crossed my mind, “Can you smile when you’re singing?” Any singer will tell you, “Of course you can!” Because you smile not just with your mouth but with your whole face, and it’s a rare arrangement without rests and the opportunity to let a full smile shine through. Needless to say, I saw a lot of smiles on the risers during this energetic song, and their joyful performance was reflected in the numerous “woo-hoos” that I heard behind me as it concluded.
I didn’t think much about “True Colors” when it came out in 1986, other than that it was a tuneful statement of compassion. Only later did I learn that it became a theme song for LGBTQ causes. As this performance began, it sounded almost like a hymn to me, growing from there with strong solo performances and many added musical “colors.” It seemed to me that the singers were caressing the music, and as it rose to a triumphant sound, I could see that emotion in the faces of many of the singers. In a nice touch, the arrangement ended with the “rainbow” of a cluster chord.
At this point in the concert, the men withdrew from the risers and Assistant Conductor Emily Carbrey took over from Ralph Hughes. “Now Let Me Fly” is based on the gospel hymn “I’ll Fly Away,” which may have been a prisoner’s lament before it was adopted as religious music. This a cappella performance began with a gentle presentation of the first verse of “I’ll Fly Away,” becoming more rhythmic as additional lyrics transformed it into “Now Let Me Fly.” There were many styles and moods as the song progressed, but what struck me was the great spirit and energy with which it was performed.
As the women of SMS withdrew from the risers, Ralph Hughes took the microphone and spoke to the audience about Sacramento Master Singers’ 37-year commitment to advancing the art of choral music in Northern California. If you’ll check their mission statement here, you’ll see that integral to their 4-part mission is “ensuring the advancement of the choral arts through outreach activities for area youth.” Hughes went on to explain that he had called on SMS member and past-President, William Zinn (retired director of choirs at Davis High School) to coordinate the contribution of four high school choirs to this present program. Choirs from Cordova High School and Franklin High School had participated in last night’s concert, and this afternoon we were to hear from the choirs of Pioneer High School and Antelope High School. Hughes introduced Pioneer Director, Tania Lillich-Mannion, and her choir mounted the risers. It was a small group, 15 girls and 4 boys ― a testament to how difficult it can be to recruit choir members in high school. But I understand that Ms. Manion has been in her position for a fairly short time, and it takes time to build any choral organization. As the Pioneer singers began with “Hold Me, Rock Me” they seemed to me to be a little tentative. Who wouldn’t be with an audience like this that included the Sacramento Master Singers looking on from the balcony? But they settled in to a performance with quality a cappella singing that included sharp cut-offs and excellent pitch. Then with the rhythmic music of “Keep Your Lamps!” they cut loose a bit and seemed to really have fun with the piece, and that was reflected in appreciative applause, amplified, I imagine, by the enthusiasm of quite a few parents in the audience.
As the Pioneer Choir left the risers, they were followed by the Antelope High School Chamber Choir ― 21 singers almost evenly divided between boys and girls. I had actually heard this group perform 4 years ago when it was just one of 7 choral ensembles at that school. Obviously, they are the product of a mature choral program under the leadership of Jennifer Fulkerson. Accordingly, they began with a sophisticated arrangement of “Steal Away,” that required some excellent piano accompaniment ― provided on this afternoon by SMS’ own Heidi Van Regenmorter. After a lyrical start, this gentle piece incorporated a lot of interesting harmonic experimentation, which, it seemed to me, these students handled quite well.
Next up was Moses Hogan’s “My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord.” I know this arrangement, and even the audience could see in the singers’ faces that something big was coming. What they gave us was an authentic, fast-paced performance with a strong rhythmic pulse and good work by the two soloists. Especially fun was the call-and-response section, and when they finished, I felt that they had honored the soulfulness that is so strong in this classic arrangement.
With the SMS chorus back on the risers, Ralph Hughes took the microphone again to emphasize the significance of the next piece of music, “All of Us” ― an epilogue to the concert-length work by Craig Hella Johnson titled, Considering Matthew Shepard. I think that most of us in the audience were well aware that Matthew Shepard was the University of Wyoming student who was tortured and murdered in 1998 for being gay. As you can read for yourself in the concert notes, “All of Us” is “intended to be a jubilant call to remember the inherent value and radiance in every living being… with special attention given to those in our world who have been marginalized, mistreated, or simply not seen.” As Hughes emphasized, it is a vision of a “large tent of the human family” where all are welcomed.
The performance began with a gospel women’s quartet who sang the first two verses of the song. The full chorus then joined, continuing the gospel feel of the music. As I listened, I followed the words in the program, and I was hoping that others in the audience were, too, because they are so inspirational. Check the attached program and see if you’re not uplifted by just reading these lyrics. Then there was a wonderful unaccompanied chorale that began with the words, “Most noble Light, Creation’s face, / How should we live but joined in you….” Before the performance began, Hughes promised that the singing would be “from the heart.” And that’s what the chorus gave us. I felt it ― surely everyone else in the room did, too. And with the inspirational message of this music still resonating with us, it was time for a 20-minute intermission.
The second half of the concert began with the men of SMS assembling on the risers for a piece simply called “Harriet Tubman.” No surprise there because she was the title character of this concert. And the lyrics of this selection provided a summary of her experience. But the music was something else. To the accompaniment of piano and conga drum, the singing was raucous, sometimes more speaking or even shouting than singing. Interwoven were the familiar spirituals “Go Down Moses” and “If I Got My Ticket.” But I had no word to describe the style. Then bubbling out of the dark recesses of my memory was the word, “parlando.” I looked it up later, and Webster’s says it means “delivered or performed in a style suggestive of speech.” Whether or not a musicologist would consider that a proper use of the term in this case, that definition fits my memory of what I heard. And this song certainly set the stage for the picture of Harriet Tubman’s courage, determination, and compassion that we were about to see in detail.
Ralph Hughes introduced “The Journey of Harriet Tubman” by explaining that it is a multi-media presentation with traditional African-American spirituals, arranged by Bakersfield composer Ron Kean, with film by his daughter, Hannah Kean. He added that SMS had worked with Kean 2 weeks earlier in preparing for this performance.
The piece was in 5 movements. Each began with video of background text or quotations from Tubman herself that explained key themes or events in her life, which were then dramatized by wordless, costumed actors in realistic scenery. The video part of the presentation was displayed on a large screen suspended above and behind the singers. The first movement, “Follow the River,” explained a head injury early in Tubman’s life that led to visions, some of which guided her in later life. The brief music of “Follow the River,” was sung by the women of SMS to the accompaniment of two traditional African instruments: marimba and kalimba. It all gave the mystical feeling of a dream that one must “follow the river.”
The second movement, “Steal Away” began with the men of the chorus. The lyrics were those of the familiar spiritual, but their a cappella singing was in the style of a work gang. The idea was to dramatize the growing idea for Tubman that she must escape her slavery. As the men sang, the video presented photos or drawings that dramatized slave life. Soon the women of the chorus took over singing with beautiful harmonies for the traditional melody of “Steal Away” that culminated in a fine solo.
Guest soloist for this piece was Bay Area soprano, Danielle Marie, who has developed a reputation for her excellent work on “The Journey of Harriet Tubman.” She began movement 3, “Go Down, Moses,” which embodied Tubman’s resolve to act on the idea of escaping. The lyrics included most of the traditional lyrics of “Go Down, Moses” and “Wade in the Water,” and going beyond them, the music carried a spirit of defiance, and, as Hughes wrote in his notes, “the apprehension, gravity and urgency of the escape.” Listening to this, it seemed to me that every phrase, maybe even every note of this music, was carefully crafted by Hughes and his singers.
Well before the start of “The Journey of Harriet Tubman,” Ralph Hughes had told us that we would be participating in the singing of Movement 4, “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” and he led us in two run-throughs of the familiar melody of the spiritual. When it was time for Movement 4 to start though, it all began with the chorus putting down their music scores and performing a bit of body percussion, tapping shoulders and thighs, while they sang a more complex arrangement of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” interspersed with a reprise of “Follow the River.” Then at one point, without breaking the flow of the music, Hughes turned to the audience and led us in singing the familiar melody twice through. Meanwhile the soloist sang an obbligato part above us, ending the piece with “I’m free! Lord, I’m free! Free!”
Movement 5, or the “Epilogue/Follow the River,” brought a mixture of emotions. In the music I could hear the burden of the slave’s life and the hope in a higher power, along with snatches of several spirituals. Then the visuals showed the pictures and accomplishments of one prominent woman after another ― mostly black, but far from all, and many from modern times. This presentation became, not just an appreciation of Harriet Tubman, but a celebration of women’s achievements in many fields. This 25-minute journey of learning and inspiration concluded with singing that grew in intensity, accompanied by more body percussion, and ending with the words: “And before I’d be a slave, / I’d be buried in my grave, / And go home to my Lord and be free. / Carry me, carry me, carry me home, my Lord!” With that, every person in the audience was immediately on their feet, giving possibly the longest ovation I’ve ever heard at a choral concert. Let me add that nothing could match the experience of listening to this music from a live chorus, especially one as accomplished as SMS, but you can find a video of a full performance, with visuals, at this link.
The concert could have ended at this point, and everyone would have gone home happy and fulfilled, but there were more stories to tell. One was that of abolitionist John Brown. Hughes gave us a bit of his history and the setting of “Dan-u-el,” which was adapted from an unfinished opera by Kirke Mechem. The lyric and melody of the spiritual “Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel” were the basic inspiration of the piece, but it ranged well beyond that simple foundation. In my notes I wrote “serious music,” alluding to the sophistication of the composition and the elaborate piano accompaniment, brilliantly played (as always) by Heidi Van Regenmorter. More than “serious,” this was happy, energetic music that featured an extended solo by Ian Tillman. Listening to his outstanding performance, it began to occur to me that he wasn’t just singing the music, he was playing the part.
At the conclusion of “Dan-u-el,” the student choirs joined the SMS singers on the risers, and Hughes turned over the conducting to William Zinn. Zinn took the opportunity to urge us to consider how important choral music and arts education in general are to a complete high school education. Then he proceeded to direct “Ise Oluwa,” described in the program notes as “the most widely known African religious song in the world.” It began with the women singing and swaying in unison. Then they added arm movements that were obviously symbolic. Soon the men joined in the movements, and eventually all were singing. It felt like an authentic cultural experience.
The capstone of the concert was Moses Hogan’s arrangement of “Ride the Chariot.” Again under Ralph Hughes’ direction, the 90-member combined chorus produced a big sound, and I wrote in my notes, “How could you not smile hearing and seeing this spectacle.” It was the conclusion of an afternoon of joy, learning, and reflection ― one that will not soon be forgotten by anyone who had the good fortune to have been present.
Dick Frantzreb is past editor of the Sacramento Choral Calendar and co-founder and past President of the Sacramento Valley Choral Coalition. He currently edits the Placer Performance Calendar and the new Capital Region Performance Gallery. He has been loving live performances in the greater Sacramento area and writing about them since 2012.
