Recently when a student of mine casually announced she had to miss some piano lessons because she had choir rehearsals, I thought, “Uh huh, a likely excuse. You just haven’t been practicing enough lately…” Accurately interpreting the skeptical look on my face, she said, “No, really, we’re giving some concerts here in Hoboken. You can come hear us. We’re actually pretty good.”
To humor her, I said, “Okay, if I have time, I’ll go.”
I honestly figured “a local choir group” meant something akin to “a local Bingo group,” but I thought that out of courtesy I should at least go lend my support.
I was in for quite a surprise.
The Cantigas Women’s Choir, directed by its multi-talented founder/director, Joan Isaacs Litman, at St. Joseph’s Church on Saturday, May 20 in Hoboken, clearly brought together some of the finest voices around. In sacred and secular works by Bernstein, Pinkham, Copland, Gershwin and others, the singers amply demonstrated that they are a wonderfully balanced blend. A compact, gifted instrumental group provided lively accompaniments and virtuoso solos.
The group delivered meticulously defined phrases, crisp rhythms, vocal clarity, and exemplary choral discipline. The multi-cultural choir, dressed in black with green scarves, followed Ms. Littman’s direction with close attention.
One of my favorite pieces, Leonard Bernstein’s “Mass,” was excerpted on the program with the “Gloria Tibi.” While critics at its 1971 premiere found this work derivative and even tasteless, audiences loved it.
Bernstein’s affinity for his public and for the age in which he lived enabled him to brilliantly score his Mass with a vibrant mix of contemporary and ancient modes – rock, jazz, electronic music, Gregorian chant – and give it a place somewhere between Broadway and opera.
Another personal favorite was Lauridsen’s “Dirait-On,” a musical setting of a Rilke poem. I was very recently introduced to the music of Lauridsen when a friend sent me a CD of some of his choral music. I found it stunning, haunting, passionate, and could listen to it all day, that is, when I am not singing it myself. As I sat there listening to music spanning several centuries, I remembered how much I, too, had once enjoyed singing in a choir. In high school, I mostly accompanied the choir and provided instrumental interludes.
Memories
When I sang I insisted on being part of the soprano section, which I discovered later, was not in my voice range. I am, if nothing else, a card-carrying mezzo.
I sang loudly, forcefully and with such abandon that inevitably one day the conductor politely informed me that unless I toned down I was to be placed on vocal probation.
By the time college rolled around, I was fortunate enough to be taking voice lessons with a wonderfully patient man and virtuoso singer who, I am convinced, could have coached a frog to a starring tenor role in a production of a Verdi opera at the Met.
The main thing about singing in a choir, he told me, is to blend.
And blend Cantigas did.
Under Joan Isaacs Littman’ expert direction, Cantigas achieved a remarkable and seamless ensemble sound, cohesive in its weave and conveying a palpable sense of passion and mission.
A highlight of the second part of the program was the young Madeline Stern, winner of the Cantigas Young Women’s vocal competition, singing a lovely, lush, soulful version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”
The 40 voice Cantigas Women’s Choir, now in its fourth season, is a significant locally based embodiment of the idea that choral music is one of the oldest and more timeless, as well as vibrant, of musical mediums.
If you love to sing, and even if you don’t love to sing, unhesitatingly go hear them next time they perform in Hoboken. – Pamela Ross
Hoboken resident Pamela Ross in an actress and pianist. Comments on this piece can be sent to: current@hudsonreporter.com.