Give a sensitive artist a finely tuned instrument, and excellence results. That's what happened Monday night when guest conductor Dale Warland led the Utah Chamber Artists in a concert featuring Mozart's "Vespers" and a collection of American folk songs.
The evening began with "Vespers." The performance was everything you'd expect from this group -- clean, excellent and with attention to detail. Particularly notable was the sublime "Laudate Dominum," the most well-known and well-beloved piece from this work, featuring soprano Julie Wright-Costa. Laura Garff Lewis, Lawrence Vincent and Eric Glissmeyer also sang solo parts in "Vespers."The second half of the program featured American folk music taken from The Dale Warland Singers' compact disc, "Blue Wheat." The combination of the choir's clean, non-vibrato sound with Dale Warland's sensitive leadership resulted in a sheer, delicate sound. Many of the arrangements used open harmonies, and the choir's unique style created a pastel wash of sound, with exposed melodic lines and light texture.
While the Utah Chamber Artists Orchestra played with the choir for "Vespers," the folk songs were mostly a capella with occasional harp accompaniment from Tamara Bischoff Oswald.
Some of the folk songs were humorous and rhythmic, such as "Buffalo Gals" and "Skip to My Lou," but many were more melancholic, such as the plaintive "He's Goin' Away" and "Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier." The choir also sang some well-known favorites, like "Shenandoah" and "The Water Is Wide."
Warland handled the choir with warmth and finesse. Said choir member Melou Stewart-Cline, "(Dale Warland) was warm but very professional to work with. He has a way of centering us; he helped us polish and fine-tune our sound."