The Vancouver Chamber Choir, under the direction of conductor Jon Washburn, proved themselves champions of diversity by offering an eclectic concert at the Raven's Cry Theatre in Sechelt last Sunday as part of the Coast Recital Society (CRS) series.
When you have been a talented choir for the past 40 years, you can afford to take a few performing risks. There was never a dull moment in this show. The choir chose to sing not only difficult pieces such as the Magnificat by Andrea Gabrieli, but decidedly odd excerpts from A Medieval Bestiary, a piece by renowned Canadian composer R. Murray Schafer.
The Magnificat was composed specifically for the gigantic St. Mark's Basilica in Venice where the choirs are staged on various loggias around the cathedral. To use a smaller venue such as the Raven's Cry, while reproducing a respectable sound quality, is a masterful achievement.
Another piece described by Washburn as "mystically intellectual" and harder to sing than it sounds was The Lamb by contemporary composer John Tavener, a simple lyric set to complex music. Komm, Jesu, komm, a funeral motet by J.S. Bach, was rendered in German with great beauty.
The choir was clearly enjoying themselves playing with music composed by Schafer (who the programme notes described diplomatically as "irrepressible"). The music accompanied texts from medieval natural history notes written by 12th century monks about beasts, real and mythical. Thus the audience learned that the elephant has no wish to copulate and that the mythical manticore eats human flesh. It was certainly food for thought during intermission.
The second half featured Deux Chansons de Paul Verlaine by Canadian composer Robert Ingari, and three Cuban folk songs, a melodic highlight of the concert and brought to Washburn's attention by his pianist wife. The concert closed with familiar British folk tunes such as Barbara Allen that we once sung as children but now seem almost as quaint as the Medieval Bestiary.
Many members of the Vancouver Chamber Choir have gone on to great careers. Years ago Ben Heppner was a member of the choir and he will return to sing with them again at a special show in Vancouver next December. Fans of Beth Buono, formerly of the Sunshine Coast and a graduate of the UBC School of Music, found it a pleasure to see her singing with the other 20 members on Sunday's stage.
The last concert in the current CRS series takes place on Sunday, March 18 when pianist Andre Laplante performs. Single ticket purchases for the concert are often available by calling 604-740-2051.
