By Robin McKee Williams
On Monday, December 21, the virtuoso choral group Chanticleer sang their “Chanticleer Christmas†concert at the Carmel Mission. The concert opened with singers entering in a procession down the aisle singing the plainsong Hodie Christus Natus Est. From the first note it was evident that this concert promised to be an outstanding evening of singing, musicianship and entertainment. The concert spanned nearly eight centuries of music, from Josquin Desprez and Giovanni Maria Nanio to Mendelssohn, Arvo Pärt, and Hugo Distler, to spirituals arranged by Joseph Jennings. The New Yorker has called Chanticleer, “the world’s reigning male chorus,†and Musical America has named Chanticleer as “2008 Ensemble of the Year.†This Grammy award-winning ensemble is now in its 32nd season.
The opening candlelit procession was spectacular. Every detail of the process — candle holding, stage presence, synchronized phrasing, and beautiful singing — was lovely to hear and to watch. The soprano voices clearly understood the nuances of plainsong and the bass section delightfully shaped the sustained pedal tones. Josquin Desprez was sung flawlessly with superb diction and artistry.
Hodie Nobis Caelorum by Giovanni Maria Nanino (c.1543-1607) was sung antiphonally. The choir members communicated their changes of duple, triple and compound meters with slight synchronization of body movements. A slight upward head movement from one of the singers would seem to exactly start and stop each contrasting phrase. Every singer understood the placement of notes within the chord giving the right emphasis for suspensions, dissonances and consonances.
Santa Maria Yn Ilhuicac Dios Italaçonantzine by Don Hernando Franco (1532-1585) was accompanied by intricate and highly percussive rhythms on the tambourine, which dramatically framed the long arching melodic lines. These same long melodic lines were heard in Est ist ein Ros Entsprungen by Hugo Distler (1908-1942). Moving abruptly five centuries ahead, old forms and genres were sung with great understanding of word painting and long melodic 20th century ideas. The choir’s musicianship was especially impressive as the singers went from four to eight parts.
Arvo Pärt’s (b.1935) Sieben Magnificat-Antiphon demonstrated great contrasts of style. There were opportunities for operatic singing followed by a smooth blended choral technique. The soloists’ various timbres were used for contrast and expressiveness, and the use of abrupt harmonic modulations kept the listener always alert. One of the sopranos went ever so slightly sharp in a complex chord and very quickly the entire choir tuned to the sharpening of pitch.
Toward the end of the program the ensemble sang the traditional Angels We Have Heard on High arranged by Edward Shippen Barnes. This very familiar carol was sung with fresh beauty and considerable clarity. A change of language was a linguistic surprise when the flow of long pure Hispanic vowels of Spanish Carol began. As the choir members proceeded down the aisle of the mission, their perfectly precise movements had both meaning and intensity. There was also experimentation with the use of extreme vocal dynamics — full fortissimos (although the Chanticleer singers were careful never to force their voices) quickly followed by sudden pianissimos.
A final medley of Christmas Spirituals ended the program with a feeling of lightness and joy. Throughout the evening, the concert showcased the extraordinary talents of the individual singers, whose combined voices in perfect ensemble made an awesome impression. This was truly a wonderful evening of music.
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Robin McKee Williams has directed musical theater at the Forest Theater, Carmel Ballet Academy has been the youth musical director at Western Stage. She presently teaches voice privately in Pacific Grove, Santa Catalina, Stevenson School and Hartnell College. She is credentialed from the McClosky Institute of Boston as a voice specialist.
