By Lyn Bronson
Kym Amps, Angus Davidson, Robin Doveton & David van Asch
A capella, choral singing unaccompanied by instruments, is not exactly a stranger to the Monterey Peninsula. In the past ten years we have heard barber shop quartets, the Vienna Choir Boys and the Yale Whiffenpoofs (their great encore is that old 1920’s favorite, “My cutie’s due at two-to-two. She’s comin’ in on the big choo choo“). We even once heard Edlos, “The Bad Boys of A Capella,” whose program opened on a candle-lit stage with four robed monks intensely intoning a Gregorian chant. This all too fleeting moment of magic was rudely interrupted by the monks beginning to snap their fingers rhythmically, whipping off their robes and launching into a “Doo Wop” routine.
Well, compared to all of this, the Carmel Music Society’s presentation of “Voices of London,” was a pretty straight-laced and conservative presentation of predominantly Renaissance songs in French, Spanish and Italian on the first half of the program, with English songs on the second half. The four singers, countertenor Angus Davidson, soprano Kym Amps, tenor Robin Doveton and bass David van Asch, are superb musicians. They are also quite witty and entertaining, as revealed by their verbal program notes during the concert. These concert notes were especially necessary on the first half of the program, since all of the songs were in languages few in the audience could understand.
