Capital Region Performance Gallery

by Dick Frantzreb

Fair Oaks First Baptist Church was full of holiday spirit on this Sunday afternoon in anticipation of the third of River City Chorale's three 2018 Christmas concerts. There were no fewer than 7 Christmas trees, 2 large wreathes on the walls and numerous strings of lights that ran from the altar to the back of the sanctuary. Then there were two large screens with animated snow falling and announcing “Caroling, Caroling” as the name of the concert. As I waited for the performance to begin, it occurred to me what an excellent venue Fair Oaks First Baptist Church was for a choral concert: carpeted, comfortable seats in a wide arc, each giving a good view of the spacious altar.

A few minutes before the scheduled start of the concert, the members of the River City Chorale filed in — the women in black dresses, with multicolored light jackets and sparkly orange cloth necklaces; the men in tuxedos with red bow ties and red cummerbunds. Presently Artistic Director Richard Morrissey made his way to the front of the stage, greeted by welcoming applause. The afternoon's program began with a greeting by First Baptist's pastor, Randy McWhorter, who asked us to keep in mind “the reason for the season.”

(Click here to open the program in a new window.)

The first musical selection was Mark Hayes' arrangement of a medley of 5 Alfred Burt carols, and it would be hard to imagine a more festive start to the concert, especially “Caroling, Caroling,” the first part of the medley. “Such a pleasant choral sound” was what I wrote in my notes at this point, and I noticed people around me swaying to the music. These Alfred Burt carols were probably unfamiliar to most in the audience, but they made a diverse set of music that was clearly full of holiday spirit. And the sometimes unfamiliar words came through because they were well articulated by the chorus. I noticed the mouths. Excellent singers will over-accentuate their pronunciation and sing with mouths open wide. That's what I saw in so many cases as I scanned the risers, and that's why the lyrics came through clearly. I have to add that one of the highlights of this opening medley was Greg Meyer's solo in “Some Children See Him.” Singing from memory, he gave an excellent performance, causing me to note that he had “a true solo-quality voice.”

The members of the Golden State Brass were in place for the next selection, Kevin Memley's “Gloria in Excelsis Deo” (from the “ordinary” of the mass). They began playing forte, and when the brass play forte, it sets you back in your seat! That accompaniment (with help from the timpani, snare drum, and keyboard) made the first statement of this piece very striking indeed. With the beginning of the “adoramus” text, the character of the music changed — the first of many different musical textures. This was contemporary music to accompany the traditional Latin text. It was also challenging music for the singers, while at the same time a satisfying experience for the audience. In fact, it felt like a whole concert in a single piece — with a level of difficulty that could only be tackled by a fine choir. At the conclusion, Morrissey was clearly pleased with his singers' effort. “Awesome” was his comment on their performance — praise intended only for them, but just loud enough for us in the audience to hear, and our applause showed that we agreed.

“A Celtic Silent Night” was a lovely setting of this traditional, much-loved carol. And what made it particularly distinctive was that it was presented in 3/4 time. Then the following song couldn't have been more contrasting: a boogie woogie setting of “Winter Wonderland” that was pure fun for singers and audience alike. Then Craig Courtney's arrangement of “Carol of the Birds” began with an intriguing, almost mysterious piano accompaniment, that just became more interesting as the piece progressed. For his outstanding work on this and the previous selections, accompanist Dean Mora got a special bow and enthusiastic approval from the audience.

At this point in the concert, 12 more instrumentalists entered, and we were treated to “Welcome Yule.” It began with furious bowing by the string players that got everyone's attention. It was an interesting, sophisticated piece, full of extraordinarily tricky rhythms that the chorus handled with confidence and accuracy. Maybe this is the time to give a shout-out to the percussionist, Jim Nakayama. I couldn't tell whether everything he did was written in the musical score or perhaps specified by Director Morrissey, but the many bits of incidental percussion throughout this concert really enhanced the experience for all of us.

The next piece was not in the printed program: “Sleep Little King” by Nancy Price and Don Besig. With a calypso beat, it was a sweet song with a delightful flute part from Vicki Schaevitz, and it was easy to lose oneself in the rich, lulling choral harmonies. Then the last selection before intermission was “The Christmas Song,” informally known as “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire.” Certainly one of the highlights of a concert full of highlights was to hear this much-loved favorite performed with a full orchestra.

After an intermission, there was a special treat for those of us in the audience: a performance by the 5-member Golden State Brass. They had been part of the full orchestra when it accompanied the first half of the concert, but now these players took center stage. Their first selection was “The Twelve Days of Christmas” in an arrangement for brass sextet by Andrew Kazdin (adapted for the Golden State Brass by member Christopher Jones). First, what is it about brass instruments that fits the Christmas holiday season so well? We were treated to some truly impressive playing in this arrangement, which was in itself something of a masterpiece. For one thing, each of the twelve verses had to sound different, and not only that, it seemed to me that the instruments were imitating the gifts of the song’s individual days of Christmas. I couldn’t figure them all out as they flew by, but I’m sure I heard the sounds of the “six geese a-laying” — and many of the other animal sounds, as well. This virtuoso performance got cheers from the audience as it concluded.

The next selection was introduced as “We Three Kings, 3.0” — a jazz version of this classic that included amazing (and exhausting?) work by tuba player, Julian Dixon (see the program for the names of the other players). When the music concluded, there were many standing in the audience as they applauded, and we could see from the interactions among the players themselves that they felt a great sense of accomplishment for having successfully pulled off these two extraordinarily difficult pieces.

At this point, the 17 singers of the River City Chamber Choir took the stage. Their first selection was a work by Bach, “Gloria in Excelsis” from his Mass in B Minor. In this piece they were accompanied by the orchestra, and I couldn’t help but notice how much joy the singers were expressing. What serious singer doesn’t love singing Bach?

Next was a setting of the text “O Nata Lux” by Guy Forbes. This elegant 2006 piece, so appropriate for the season and so reverential, sounded like it could have been composed a century or more ago. It was followed by “A La Nanita Nana,” a delicate, lovely song that brought Hispanic culture into the diverse offerings of this concert.

Although the previous 3 pieces were full of challenge for this select group of singers, the arrangement of “Deck the Hall” required an even higher level of skill from them. For a start, although the words were traditional, the music was not. Performed from memory, it had impossibly tricky rhythms — but to my ear, no “fa” nor “la” was out of sync. Perhaps it was because of the sense of accomplishment they got from mastering this piece, but I found myself focusing on the many singers whose faces were just radiating the joy of singing.

The full River City Chorale returned to perform Mark Hayes’ “Christmas Suite,” with orchestral accompaniment. It began with a medley of “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” and “The First Noel” in a performance that brought out both the joy and the exuberance of the season. As I listened to the next part of the suite, “Bring a Torch, Jeanette Isabella,” I felt this beautiful traditional-sounding arrangement had to be immensely satisfying to those seeking a renewal of cherished holiday memories. Then the music culminated in a performance of “O Holy Night” that brought out all the drama and fervor of that much-loved song, while maintaining a good balance between chorus and orchestra. At its conclusion, the audience made their feelings known through whoops that accompanied the sustained applause.

I see a concert like this as a gift to an audience — a gift of the director who plans the music, a gift by the volunteer staff who attend to all the necessary arrangements, a gift by the performers through their conscientious preparation and focused attention during the performance — and finally a gift of their my-heart-to-your-heart smiles.

In this concert that lived up to its title — truly filled with Christmas carols — we shared the final three carols as audience and chorus sang together. Then when we thought it was all over, our genial host, director Richard Morrissey, announced an encore: a performance by orchestra and chorus in a delightful arrangement of “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas.” The audience’s appreciation, which had been rising throughout the concert, culminated at the conclusion of this last piece in cheers and a standing ovation. As I thought about it later, it occurred to me that if you had a recording of this concert, it would be the one you played year after year as a sentimental favorite for celebrating the holiday season.

Keep abreast of coming concerts by the River City Chorale by visiting their website:  www.rivercitychorale.org.