THE SALT LAKE CHILDREN'S CHOIR; Directed by Ralph B. Woodward; in concert at Abravanel Hall, May 14, 1997. One performance only.
For music lovers, the bargain of the week was at Abravanel Hall on Wednesday night. There, the Salt Lake Children's Choir was singing songs for about 20 cents apiece.Under the direction of Ralph B. Woodward, the choir presented nearly three dozen numbers, covering half-a-dozen eras and just as many continents. And Ralph Woodward isn't one to water down the hard stuff. Singing the music of Schubert ("An die Musik"), Schumann ("Mondnacht" and "Ins Freie"), Grieg ("Greeting") and Bach ("Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring"), while also moving through several languages (Portuguese, Spanish, Latin, German), the 80-voice choir showed impressive range and sensitivity. All the pieces were done from memory. Except for a cappella numbers, all were professionally accompanied by Craig Jorgensen and Carolyn Parrish.
But then more than a dozen years at this has given Woodward a knack for quality. He has a talent for drawing out mature tones from the tiniest singer, while getting beautiful fluted headtones from the older kids that would be the envy of most choir directors. Good vowels and a strong sense of pitch are apparently a given with this group as well.
The choir numbers 80, though Woodward has divided them into two groups of 40, with the first group handling the bulk of the program.
But from both groups there were some very nice moments. Opening with "The Star Spangled Banner" (not listed on the program), the chorus showed a nice sense of simplicity in William Blake's "Little Lamb." That was a high point. As were the two Brazilian folk pieces near the end and a haunting version of the Robert Frost poem, "Come in."
After a full 90 minutes of singing, the choir sang a straight-forward "Our Mountain Home So Dear" to honor the pioneers, then Woodward brought his well-known father (and namesake) on stage to conduct the choir in the final number "Onward, Ye Peoples."
For an encore, he had former choir members come on stage to help with a reunion sing-in.
It is a group full of tradition and propriety, offering a program that is high-minded, earnest and very tasteful. Almost relentlessly so. In fact, I - for one - found myself longing for a little humor. An old music hall number perhaps. Or some Gilbert and Sullivan. Children have a natural sense of play, and it could be put to worthy use.
After all, even the Vienna Choir Boys don a costume from time to time to wring a few laughs our of some bit from comic light opera.