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| VOCES8 (photo: Andy Staples) |
It is eleven years since VOCES8's previous concert tour of
Israel. It was time to hear the unique London a-cappella group of five male-
and three female singers once again and take flight into "STARDUST" -
choral music celebrating regeneration. This writer attended the event at the
Jerusalem International YMCA on May 9th 2022.
Introduced by different ensemble members, the works performed
at the Jerusalem concert ranged from Renaissance pieces to those of the 19th-
and 20th centuries, to jazz standards and to contemporary pieces commissioned
by the group...a huge, diverse assortment of pieces that seemed to come
together as a cohesive whole. VOCES8's performance of sacred works is
convincing, sincere and devotional. Following the "shooting stars" of
William Byrd's jubilant, scintillating setting of Psalm 150 "Laudibus in
Sanctus'' (Celebrate the Lord most high in holy praises), "O Sacrum
Convivium" (O sacred banquet) by US composer Kevin Allen (b.1959), its
Renaissance-type purity and vocal writing interwoven with just a few harmonic
surprises, ensues with smooth spontaneity. Shifting fluidly and expressively
through the contrasts of Heinrich Schütz' antiphonal "Selig sind die
Toten" (Blessed are the Dead), the singers highlight its luminous timbres
and its message of much-needed consolation. (The motet was written at the end
of the Thirty Years’ War, one of the bloodiest conflicts in European history.)
In addition to the clean, open sounds of the ensemble's restrained yet
exuberant singing of Palestrina's "Magnificat Primi Toni", the almost
seamless flow of melodic lines of the Kyrie from Josef Rheinberger's Mass in
E-flat (also for double choir, alluding to the late-Renaissance splendour of
Venice’s cori spezzati), intuitive and subtle, offered small solos, these
crowned by Andrea Haines' mellifluous forays into the upper soprano register.
And then there were two homophonic hymns: "Be Still My Soul" from
Jean Sibelius' "Finlandia", to a text of Katharina von Schlegel (a
notable woman of the Pietism revival), in which Voces8's performance of the
mystical piece emerged unmannered, lush and moving; and 20th century Icelandic
composer Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson's strophic, modal setting of the 13th-century
hymn "Heyr himna smiður" (Hear, Smith of the Heavens) to words by
chieftain/poet Kolbeinn Tumason, performed in a refined, devout and uncluttered
manner, and with flawless vocal control.
As to the wonders of nature, the ensemble gave expression to
the word-painting, tranquility and nocturnal mood of "The Evening Primrose" (words: John
Clare) from Benjamin Britten's "Five Flower Songs", this coupled with
Swedish composer Hugo Alfvén's delicate arrangement of "Aftonen" (Evening), evoking
pastoral voices echoing in the mountains (he was also a watercolour painter).
In contemporary British composer Jonathan Dove's heavily-anchored yet
articulate setting of "Vertue" (words: George Herbert), its text and hues shifted between glimpses of fresh nature scenes and evocatively
loaded autumnal harmonies, the latter reminding us that death is never far
away, the piece finally rising to triumphant, bright tones representing "a
sweet and virtuous soul". US composer Taylor Scott Davis (b.1980) has
created a ravishing setting of Clairel Estevez's love poem
"Stardust"; its fragility, sensuousness and waves of emotional energy
cloaked in Davis's evocative palette of harmonies. "Stardust" was a
commission for VOCES8 and it fits the ensemble like a silk glove!
One hallmark of VOCES8 is its enterprising programming, this
challenging concert audiences to experience a huge variety of new and
seldom-heard repertoire…Take, for example, "Timshel", the vivid and
uplifting double-choir setting by the group's arranger-in-residence Jim
Clements of a song of Mumford & Sons, the lyrics extolling the greatness
and glory that lie in man’s free will and the ability to choose. Or the
decidedly conventional writing of "Hope is the thing with feathers",
(lyrics: Emily Dickinson) by American composer Christopher Tin (b.1976), a
critical statement on man's impact on nature.
VOCES8 signed out with a number of favourites from way back
- songs of Nat King Cole, Jerome Kern, Jimmy Van Heusen, Bart Howard and Harold
Arlen…of memories of Frank Sinatra's greatest hits. Jim Clements' arrangements are
as subtle and delightful as the singers' performances of them, the ensemble's presentation of these evergreen songs abounding in good humour, the beauty of vocal timbres, jazzy rhythms, gentle
percussive effects and some genial solos. Eight outstanding musicians, eight superb
voices, Voces8 singers listen, blend, balance
and communicate, their polished performance never overstepping the
bounds of good taste.
