Songs of praise, spring and love comprised the substance of the Salt Lake Vocal Ensemble's June concert, without descending to a trite or common number in the lot.
Indeed, since its inception perhaps 10 years ago, this small, select group has an unblemished record for diving deep and coming up well laden with a wealth of unexplored part songs from many musical eras. Something to sing and the ability to sing it musically, tastefully and intelligently places this group a cut above the rest in interest and musicianship.Heavier matter aside, the most ingratiating program entries were songs of spring and love from the Renaissance, the romantic era and the 20th century. A fleet madrigal by Marenzio, whose music described April's many charms, was followed by William Byrd's "Sweet and Merry Month of May," a sprightly bit of polyphony for six well-blended voices.
From Mendelssohn came ideal harbingers of spring, "The Lark's Song" and "The Primrose," songs of lyric beauty, smoothly and affectingly sung, and for Brahms' "O Lovely May" the singers found the right, rich, yearning quality.
Benjamin Britten's mellow and melodic mood was well-interpreted in "The Succession of Four Months," Robert Herrick's celebration of April through July; and Britten's "Evening Primrose" was as reflective, soft and gentle as its mystic poem by John Clare. Paul Hindemith proved quite the romanticist in a luscious setting of "Printemps" by Rilke, and the chorus closed with "Nightingales," a lovely nocturnal sort of tone poem that greeted with considerable emotion the coming of dawn.
To his setting of the Mass, Thomas L. Durham added a Credo and Sanctus this year, under commission from SLVE; and the singers preceded these two movements with the previously composed Kyrie and Sanctus. The contrast among movements indicates a composer in interesting developmental transition.
The Kyrie displays a nice mounting up and unfolding of themes, tipping in and out of conventional harmony, and the Gloria proceeds quite directly through its text, with intriguing thematic ideas and rhythms. The Credo is a most interesting movement, its vocal lines very densely entwined horizontally, with harmonies often in tone clumps rather than chords, the voices sometimes separated only by semitones. Equally challenging is the Sanctus, featuring almost chantlike recurring solos for soprano and tenor, atonal harmonies and overall, an almost golden choral effect.
The singers opened with J.S. Bach's motet, "Lobet den Herrn" (Praise the Lord), handling its florid canonic difficulties in clear, resonant voice and rising joyously to its lively Halleluiah.
Soprano Barb McInvaille soloed in Claudio Monteverdi's mini-opera, "The Nymph's Lament," basically an aria about love's sighs and torments, bracketed by sympathetic comment from the male chorus. McInvaille brought a lovely, full, affecting vocal quality and good command of the polyphonic style to a commendable interpretation.
Completing the program were three chansons of Charles d'Orleans set by Debussy - songs not far removed from the madrigal mode, actually, with a Gallic twist and folklike bent. Especially amusing was "Winter, you're nothing but a rogue," a quick, irreverent complaint about the indignities of the cold season.