’Tis the Season, Parts I and II (12/12–13/14)

Friday night found me at a concert by the New Amsterdam Singers, Clara Longstreth, Music Director. This was not a freebie, but I was gifted a ticket as an early Christmas present (thank you, Uncle Mark!) The venue was totally new to me, even though it’s a church in my neighborhood. The mostly amateur singers (my best guess) turned in an impressive performance of a variety of music.
 

Jubilate Deo; Giovanni Gabrieli (1557–1612)
And the Song Am I; Abbie Betinis (b. 1980)
Quatre Petite prières de St. François d’Assise; Francis Poulenc (1899–1963)
Sing with the Spirit, from The Garment of Praise; Randall Thompson (1899–1984)
Singet dem Herr nein neues Lied; J.S. Bach (1685–1750)
 – Intermission. –
O Lieber Gott; Heinrich Schütz (1585–1672)
Irish Lullaby for the Christ Child; Gaelic, arr. Steven Sametz (b. 1954)
Nova, nova, ave fit ex Eva; Williametta Spencer (b. 1932)
Seven Joys of Christmas; Kirke Mechem (b. 1925)
Jubilemus deo salutori nostro; Jaako Mäntylärvi (b. 1963)
Christmas Cantata; Quem vidistis pastores, O magnum mysterium, Gloria in excelsis Deo; Daniel Pinkham (1923–2006)

Do NOT expect in-depth commentary on every piece. In addition to the choir, there was an organist (playing a small, portable organ), a harpist, and a brass quintet—a mixed presentation throughout the evening.

The choir sang very well throughout (and there was a smaller chamber choir that performed a few pieces). Soloists were drawn from the choir, and all of them performed well, too. Jubilate Deo was a good opener, exploiting the back and forth of contrapuntal (one group against the other) choir and brass. The brass almost overshadowed, but that’s the norm in these situations—brass sound travels really well; voices (even a group, and this was 60 to 70) not so much. But balances were generally good all evening.

Additional highlights of the first half included the New York premiere of And the Song Am I, mostly a cappella with the brass quintet as commentary/accompaniment, a good choral blend, brief but effective. I liked the Poulenc (for men’s voices), with its French Romantic/Neo-Classical harmonies, as well as being prayer-like without being wishy-washy, plus the full sound of the final movement, even though it was not my favorite. Sing with the Spirit (also the title of the concert) was brief, with a truly American sensibility, though still just as effective as the Poulenc. The Bach, as a finale to the first half, fell a bit short to my ears. The textures were a little bit dense, though the solo quartet (centrally located within the choir) did a fine job.

On to Act II—The Irish Lullaby, for women’s voices and harp, was pleasant and well performed. I particularly liked Nova, nova, since I was familiar with the text, and I enjoyed the re-setting of it. That was my reaction to the Seven Joys, as well, since it included updated re-settings of
Din don! Merrily on high; Joseph dearest, Joseph mine; Patapan; and Fum, fum, fum! The inclusion of a Japanese traditional song/carol was an added bonus. The Pinkham Cantata seemed very familiar to me, especially movements two and three. I suspect it’s because I’ve sung them at one point or another, but they’re not familiar enough that they would have been multiple performances. Thank you, Uncle Mark; and thank you New Amsterdam Singers.

Saturday found me at Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts’ Holiday Songbook. Songbook is a series that features new and up and coming Broadway/theater composers and lyricists. Holiday Songbook takes that a step further by creating new holiday songs, in this case mostly composed for this concert. This year’s version had eleven songs; I enjoyed each, on some level.

Evicted for Christmas had a bit of a country/rock feel and a touch of humor. The title sort of says it all—a New Yorker ends up {gasp} having to move back in with his parents. The First Time was upbeat, in terms of lyrics, and really positive without being sappy.

One Lucky Guy was a very funny presentation of the eternal Christian/Jewish dichotomy of a family holiday. The Streets was a ‘what-if’ song about a person in search of the ideal Christmas. It was a little bit static and a little bit sad, but a little bit of sadness at this time of year is also OK—it happens, and we have to work through it. Just Ain’t Christmas was an unabashedly black comment on the perceived white Christmas. It was a Motown soul duet summed up by, “I don’t get along with you most of the time, but … it Just Ain’t Christmas … without you here.” Here was a lovely ‘you complete me’ duet.

Holiday Zombie took us in a totally new direction—it had humor (and choreography!) and was written by a deaf composer. Yep, you heard me right. Jay Alan Zimmerman progressively lost his hearing beginning (or from) 2004 yet he continues to write theater music, including this very funny piece.

A Christmas Pageant. Oh my, where to start? It’s not your normal Christmas pageant, with kids in bathrobes portraying Mary, Joseph, the Magi, et al. Oh no, this is your host, Dick Blizzard (backed up by two comely chorines), presenting Santa, Frosty, Jesus, Christmas Tree (with flashing lights for the ‘talent’ competition), and Billy Zimmerman, all competing in A Christmas Pageant. When Billy, a child of wonder, is declared the winner, he turns the tables by declaring that we are all the winners, “So celebrate us all!”

Twas the Night Before Christmas was a very effective contemporary pop setting of the traditional text. A Child’s Dream will Light the Way proved to be a great ‘11 o’clock’ number, powerfully performed by Tony Award–winner Lillias White (even with a slight lyrics flub). Celebrate Christmas (With Me) was a pop romp with piano, a (single) maraca, sleigh bells, kazoo, guitar, one of those air-powered-keyboard-thingies, and a mini-glockenspiel. Does that say Christmas or what? It did to me!

ConcertMeister