The sound of women’s voices working in concert is like nothing else in music – ghostly and transcendent in the hands of the right composer.
Concentus Women’s Chorus joined the Spectrum Women’s Ensemble for a concert on Sunday April 21 titled “Sing in the Spring.” Concentus is a Rochester-area women’s choir featuring Kara Juszczak ‘03. According to a description provided by Concentus, the group is dedicated to performing a “wide variety of classical choral music.”
Both groups performed separately, but came together on two pieces. The collaborations included a premiere of local composer and lecturer of English Glenn McClure’s “Beatrice in Paradise.”
Spectrum stands out as one of the best choirs on campus, both for the strength of its talent, and the consistent quality of the music chosen by professor of music Gerard Floriano, its director.
Spectrum opened the first half with a rendition of “O Frondens Virga” by Hildegard von Bingen. The group began the piece in the audience, and slowly mounted the stage while singing, though the clacking of the performers’ shoes broke the spell a little. Still, it was possibly the best piece for the group, full of dark harmonies and yearning lines.
Another first-act highlight “Midsummer,” from the contemporary composer Eleanor Daly, drew on many of these same qualities, but cast them in almost unrecognizable English. The short piece featured a constant, keening vocal drone that burrowed underneath each melody. Simply put, male voices can’t make sounds like this.
After a brief intermission, Concentus took the stage. While its reduced size – 14 of its 17 members to Spectrum’s 40 – resulted in a thinner sound, the group took advantage of it. Concentus’ pieces were airy and piercing in comparison to Spectrum’s fuller sound.
Concentus’ performance of movements from Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s “Stabat Mater” illustrated this point. The small group staggered its entrances and built its voices cacophonously.
But by far the most celebrated performance of the night belonged to McClure’s “Beatrice.” Based on one of the final cantos of Dante’s Divine Comedy, McClure explained that its description of a “celestial rose” had been filtered “through the image of American culture” to “our primal rose: Africa.”
The piece, which featured a solo by sophomore John Turner, as well as multiple percussionists, had gospel overtones and drum grooves – even a small gospel solo. It was accomplished and entertaining, and McClure visibly beamed as he saw his work come alive for the audience.