Sunday evening, I attended a concert that was part of the Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concert series, a series of free concerts in all five boroughs under the auspices of Carnegie Hall. I almost talked myself out of going (it’s a bit of a trek up to 187th Street on the West Side for a concert beginning at 5:00 p.m.) but I’m glad that I went. Cantus is an all-male a cappella ensemble that sang a program of mostly modern and contemporary classical music. It’s sort of a take on the King’s Singers, except in the case of Cantus there are no countertenors. The group consists of five tenors, two baritones, and two basses. I’ll concentrate on the highlights, since they sang seventeen (mostly short) pieces.
The concert kicked off with But Beautiful (1947), by Jimmy Van Heusen, a close harmony piece that reminded me of groups like the Modernaires. Performing without a conductor, Cantus’ vocal blend and control of phrasing and tempos is quite good, if a little odd. Individual singers tend to gaze at one another to achieve unity. It works—it’s just a little odd. Ludwig van Beethoven’s Abschiedsgesang (1814) followed. It opened with a trio, followed shortly by a section for a sextet, before concluding with all nine singers.
When I Would Muse, from Housman Songs (1982), by Richard Peaslee, was next. It was a straightforward setting of text in a solid choral setting, with a few modern harmonies. The choral setting referenced above is sort of like an English choir school sound—not necessarily total straight tone singing, but very little vibrato so that the chords and various individual lines ring true, if that makes any sense. That was the style of many pieces on the program, and it’s one that I happen to like a great deal. An Arnold Schoenberg piece, Verbundenheit, Op. 35,
No. 6 (1929), was sung by just four of the singers. Par for the course, it was very modern sounding, with some jarring harmonies that periodically resolved to clear, tonal locked chords.
All nine were back on stage for a very touching Last Letter Home (2006) by
Lee Hoiby. The text was by United States Army Private First-Class Jesse Givens (1969–2003), and ended with, “Do me one favor, after you tuck the children in, give them hugs and kisses from me. Go outside and look at the stars and count them. Don’t forget to smile. Love Always, Your husband, Jess.”
Interspersed throughout the program were a few folk songs, including two by
A. R. Rahman. Wedding Qawwali and Zikr, both arranged by Ethan Sperry (2004) were accompanied by guitar, drums (one similar to a bongo and one a simple hand drum), and a three-pronged tambourine-like shaker—just the metal shaker parts. Both were energetic, with Zikr revving up with several tempo changes. The guitar was also used in a nice novelty number with close harmonies, Little Potato (1983), by Malcolm Dalglish. It alternated a tenor soloist with the group in various smaller sections. Sometimes just a few and sometimes all eight parrying with the soloist.
A trio of sacred songs was also included—Sim Shalom, from Two Hebraic Prayers in Memory of Solomon B. Freehof (1991), by Joseph Willcox Jenkins; Seigneur, je vous en prie, from Quatres petite prières de Saint François d’Assise (1948), by Francis Poulenc; and a shape note hymn, What Wondrous Love Is This. Also heard were pieces by Bobby Troup, Michael McGlynn, Eric Whitacre, Maura Bosch, and Ysaye Maria Barnwell.
A pseudo doo-wop song, Those Clouds Are Heavy, You Dig? (1995), by
Kurt Elling, was interesting and amusing, and I’m using both of those words literally. The text is based on a Rainer Maria Rilke short story, How the Thimble Came to Be God. The previously mentioned Zikr closed out the early evening performance. I’ve been to a few Carnegie Neighborhood Concerts at Our Savior’s Atonement Lutheran Church and, as noted by one of the hosts, this was definitely the most well attended that they’ve sponsored and that I’ve been to. And it was a very appreciative audience, as well. Cantus is based out of Minneapolis, so I don’t know whether I’ll have an opportunity to hear them live again. Their website is cantussings.org, if you want to check them out for yourselves.
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