The department of music presented the Spectrum Women’s Ensemble and the Geneseo Chamber Singers in Doty Recital Hall on Sunday April 27. The choral concert began with the Spectrum Women’s Ensemble singing “Cantique de Jean Racine, Op. 11” by Gabriel Fauré. The piece was directed by professor of music Gerard Floriano and accompanied by pianist and adjunct lecturer Beata Golec. Spectrum sang a slow, but pleasant song that introduced their beautiful, melodic voices.
For the group’s second song, senior Paul Pedziwiatr took Floriano’s place as a student conductor. Pedziwiatr conducted a Canadian folksong, “The False Young Man,” arranged by Donald Patriquin. The strong harmonies of the choral group really shone through in this piece.
Spectrum’s harmonic power continued to impress in its next piece, “Angelus ad pastores ait.” Student director senior Benjamin Durland directed this song composed by Juan Blas de Castro. The Spectrum singers filed off the risers into a semicircle in front of the hall in order to fully convey their a cappella abilities.
Durland also directed the next piece, “Farewell to the Highlands,” an arrangement by Joachim Kelecom. Spectrum displayed the strength in all its voices along with the ability to hit a wide range of notes.
For its final piece of the night, the group sang “Psalm 13, Opus 27” by Johannes Brahms, which was a powerful and momentous closing song.
After Spectrum left the stage, the Geneseo Chamber Singers began their program. Also directed by Floriano, the choral group sang four four-part songs by Franz Joseph Haydn. These songs included: “Die Beredsamkeit,” “Alles hat seine Zeti,” “Der Augenblick” and “Abendlied zu Gott.” Accompanied by pianist Linda Boianova, the Chamber Singers displayed their capabilities of beautifully blending their voices together, with both staccato and lengthy notes.
The group next performed “O vos omnes” arranged by Pablo Casals. Much like in Spectrum’s set, the group spread out into a semicircle and sang the piece a cappella.
In their third piece, the Chamber Singers sang “A Stephen Foster Medley” arranged by Jon Washburn. In what was the most entertaining piece of the performance, the group covered a variety of Foster songs, including hits such as “Oh! Susanna” and “Camptown Races.” Throughout the arrangement, different soloists emerged and had no trouble making their powerful voices ring loud and clear throughout the entire recital hall.
For its final song, the choral group performed “I Will Trust in the Lord,” an arrangement created by Undine Smith Moore, which showcased several soloists. This final piece flaunted the vocal strength of all members in the group. After they finished, the Chamber Singers received an encore and ended the recital with a captivating rendition of “Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho.”
The choral recital exhibited the talents of the Geneseo Chamber Singers and Spectrum Women’s Ensemble to the fullest extent, leaving the audience in applause well after the last song had finished.