1. Quintango at the Gala Theatre. This one was a real surprise! We had met several members of Quintango at a Day of the Dead party recently, and they told us about the show. We decided to go, not knowing exactly what to expect. This chamber ensemble is thoroughly professional musically, and fully deserves to be compared in its performance to serious string quartets - the quality was far higher than we expected. In fact, the small ensemble - piano, bass, 2 violins and cello - could hold its own against any of the serious groups in this city. The pianist was sublime in his technique – way past that showy 19th C. crowdpleaser, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, and that says a lot. The addition of two other instrumentalists for a few pieces - a bandurion player and a drummer - were welcome, but actually not critical; Quintango had enough going for it that their absence in much of the program made little if any difference. The program was greatly enhanced by the co-performance of two sublimely talented Tango dancers - their credentials were first-rate, as were their technique and sensitivity to the music to which they danced. Check out Quintango's website - if you like Tango and want to hear it as an artform, Quintago is the group for you. Yummy!
2. Puccini. This was a Washington Chorus production, featuring a substantial orchestra (including four bass fiddles!) the huge chorus that is their trademark, an extremely well-balanced group of soloists, and some of the most hummable music that has ever been sung. It is not so common to have a group of soloists who were as evenly talented as this group was. Almost any of them could have slipped into one of the other roles written for the same voice without any loss of smoothness or artistic production. There wasn't a slacker among them, and the voice quality was uniformly excellent. Some fine acting as well! The performance was sparkling, with lots of arias that persons with any interest in opera would certainly know. The audience left the Kennedy Center positively fizzing with delight.
3. Antiphonal Music through the Ages. This concert, from the Washington Choral Arts Society, was a hands-down winner. Antiphonal music was a new experience for Madame Magpie's husband, if not for her - a former member of the Boston Pro Music Antiqua - and both of us had a rousing good time. Antiphonal music, both choral and brass instrument-oriented, is really exciting stuff. Fundamentally, the music is split up into at least two groups and can go up to as many as eight choruses. Pieces may be call and response, or everyone singing the same music at the same time from different locations around the concert hall, or the music may be polyphonic - different melodies and harmonies sung at the same time from different locations, or in great massive blocks, in two or more locations. The most delightful and unusual experience was to be able to follow a phrase or theme when the chorus was divided into eight groups, with some on the stage and the rest across the first balcony completely circling the concert hall. The theme would appear on one side of the hall and rise then fall, moving around, usually clockwise until the entire concert hall had been traversed. That was great fun, indeed!
As different pieces were divided up into different sized and placed groups, there was a lot of chorus moving; it was something like seeing a living kaleidoscope in action. This was handled extraordinarily well- the logistics involved were equal to those involving the moving of armies over complicated terrain - and the program used the time necessary for carrying out the chorus redeployments exceptionally well by putting on a wonderful antiphonal brass program while the choristers gracefully moved to their new location. Mme. Magpie was particularly taken with two of Praetorius' Dances from Terpsichore, but she must reveal bias in her delight, as one of the Dances was part of the musical prelude program to her wedding forty-two years ago.
An interesting sidenote to an antiphonal concert is how the conductor arranged himself so that his direction could be seen by choral - and brass - members who were not to be found in their customary straight line-of-sight locations. The conductor had to modify his usual technique in order to be seen by musicians to the right and left, as well as a whole tier higher than his head. He solved the problem by conducting from a raised podium right in the center of the concert hall itself. Very thoughtful, very clever, very successful - exactly the right words to describe the concert itself.
The Gabrieli, Tallis and Biebl pieces were the choral highlights of the concert. The Gabrielis were delicious, over the top swooning crashes of pure, sensual sound (if those two adjectives can both refer to the same sense at the same time!). Thomas Tallis is one of the stars of the brilliant Tudor musical scene, and his piece is profound in its meaning as well as its musicality; its deep religious pull is gripping, the words and music combining and turning in a setting that offers sublime musicality. The little Biebl piece was a true charmer. Its composer was unknown to me but won me over instantly because of its sweetness and melodic charm. The Martin piece seemed drier, and was considerably lengthier - not that it was boring, but it wasn't in the same class. The fine Benjamin Britten piece had been written when the composer was very young, but it shone in its beauty like the polished piece it is. Genius show itself early in Britten's case!
Not every hall can accommodate antiphonal productions, but this was a true joy to listen to. If you have access to home theater surround sound, so get CDs of the program and give yourself a spectacular treat!
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