Retro confection: “Fruitcake” is yummy 12/24/2009

By Megan Browne Helm Tue, Dec 08, 2009

It was “two, two, two concerts in one” at the Folly Theatre in Kansas City. The Heartland Men’s Chorus looking polished in blue vests, bow ties and boutonnieres sang a traditional carol program in the first half, followed by….wow. Keep reading. Never having been to a HMC concert before, I wasn’t sure what to expect.

The first half was pleasantly predictable. Sounding a bit like the Harvard glee club, the all male chorus, accompanied by cello, harp and grand piano presented well sung traditional arrangements of songs for the season. The Morten Lauridsen piece Ave Dulcissima Maria was particularly lush and well blended and the Three Hanukkah songs arranged by Charles Baker sounded strong and heroic.

The Holly and the Ivy was “conducted” by Bobbi Schreiber who had the highest bid for the honor at the HMC annual fundraiser, A Dinner of Note. In a stunning, sparkly red shirt, she waved her hands in an adorably inaccurate two pattern, confusing the Chorus in a delightful way. Conductor, Dr. Joesph P. Nadeau had better luck with this group he so expertly prepared. Special mention must be given to sign language interpreter, Rick McAdams who uses his hands, face and body in an engaging, musical way.

Concocting the fruitcake from a special recipe for holiday cheer, Julia occasionally sipped from an oversized wine glass. The tasty piece Fruitcake by Hageman and Leka, was a fascinating mix of musical ingredients sung by the different sections of the Choir, overlapping in cannon. Sung together with Christmas is Delicious and It’s the Most Fattening Time of the Year, I ate it all up with a spoon.

It wasn’t until the second half, when the scrim descended and a cozy living room complete with chandeliers and fireplace was projected, that I realized I had been transported into a 1970′s Christmas Special.

The Very Special Christmas Special was a clever amalgamation of some of the weirdest retro Christmas variety show moments. Narrator, Tom Lancaster, played the surprisingly well adjusted Bernard. Growing up in Los Angeles, the product of a Hollywood divorce, he spent too much time watching old Christmas Specials on VHS while drinking mint juleps with his screenwriter mother. This premise links all of the wonderfully silly pieces that make up the second half.

Who but the Heartland Men’s Chorus could assemble 12 people capable of recreating the voices of John Denver and the Muppets so perfectly? Standouts from this half included Miss Piggy (Anthony Francisco), Bing Crosby (Keith Wiedenkeller), and Princess Leia (Kelly Marzett).

The oddest part was hearing Handel’s Alleluia Chorus sung over fuzzy footage of Dynasty divas Krystle and Alexis, as they beat the bejeebers out of each other. Explained as, what happens when you try to tape the Mormon Tabernacle Choir over an old episode of Dynasty, the effect was surreal. Maybe that was pushing it a little far but I appreciate artists who aren’t afraid to take risks.

Overall, the concert offered audiences the best of both Christmas worlds, traditional and wacky retro. I wish I could go back for a second helping. Fruitcake never tasted so good.

Kirkby and Baird-The Bell Tolls for Thee 12/21/2009

I’ve got to get this off of my chest and I don’t care who hates me.  Emma Kirkby, Julianne Baird, if you can hear me… it’s time to pass the torch to younger sopranos.

It pains me to say those words.  I love them both.  I really do.  If it hadn’t been for Emma Kirkby coming to St. Louis when I was a girl and singing, Messiah, with Christopher Hogwood, I never would have been exposed to early music.  I love the stuff.  But…I also review performances and what I heard last year wasn’t good.

I caught Emma Kirkby’s performance in late October 2009 and she has adjusted her repertoire to sit in a lower part of her register.  She was accompanied by Lute and I had to wonder if the lower keys were due to the limitations of the instrument or her voice?  She sat to sing throughout most of the performance. This provided a sort of folk-like feeling to the recital.  Her voice had more of a soft silkiness than her former piercing purity.  The high notes were lovely, but not stellar.  There was more vibrato, which is inevitable.   The volume of her singing was so soft I doubted the audience beyond the first few rows could hear her at all.  It was a bad, dry theater space completely inappropriate for early music, so that was forgivable.  Kirkby is 62 now, and as sweet as she is, her voice isn’t the same.

Julianne Baird is the soprano who led the American early music movement.  She has had a stellar career as well but at 58 she doesn’t thrill.  Her voice is good, pleasant and pretty but she sounds very much like the very good soprano who sings in the Symphony chorus with me.  Nothing extraordinary about her voice. Nothing memorable to me. 

She, too, sings with more vibrato than I ever expected.  It’s a fact. When a voice gets older and more mature, vibrato happens.  It’s still possible to tighten up the chords and sing the straight notes but it doesn’t occur as naturally.  Flexibility is still there but the vibrato is necessary to  support her intonation in the middle to lower registers.

There are so many FANTASTIC young singers I would pay to hear on stage with Parthenia, or any other really good consort.  

1. Stefanie Moore

2. Keira Duffy

3. Abigail Lennox Haynes

It is time for them to get representation and take center stage. They should be celebrated for their clear, clean, soaring soprano sounds.   It’s just a shame that the only early music sopranos touring these days are well past their prime, while the clock is ticking ever louder for the younger ones.  I hope they get recognized soon… before the bell tolls.

Straight No Chaser 12/20/2009

Taking holiday spirit to a new level
By Megan Browne Helm Tue, Dec 15, 2009

Straight No Chaser bounded onto the stage of the Lied Center in Lawrence, Saturday night with the energy of a spirit squad. With fingers snapping, knees bending, and backs arching, I half expected them to make a three person high pyramid complete with basket tosses. Hearing them at the University of Kansas somehow completed the College connection.

Their music is quintessentially “a cappella”. And I’m not talking about the brand of classical unaccompanied vocal music we hear in Kansas City by groups like Octarium or Musica Vocale. No, this is the Glee club variety of a cappella based on drinking songs at the fraternity mixer.

They re-arrange popular tunes to fit their voices, add high energy “choral-ography”, and rapid melismatic endings to songs. It all results in a crowd pleasing, highly marketable, brand of entertainment perfect for the whole family. It is known as “a cappella” and I’m not ashamed to say…I like it. It can be cheesy, yes, but sometimes a little cheese tastes good with a dry white wine.

Collegiate a cappella is a big deal. Thousands of students all over the country meet every year in American Idol-esk competitions for top honors and bragging rights. It’s like a spectator sport that’s driven by high quality talent, imaginative choreography and the power of personality. Straight No Chaser is the a cappella group that carried on after graduation to critical acclaim.

Part of their success can be attributed to their social media savvy. Discovered, by chance, on YouTube by Atlantic Records, they allow the audience to freely photograph them during the performance, knowing full well the pictures will be posted and spread around the internet. They, in turn, photograph the audience so that they can “tag” themselves right from the Straight No Chaser Facebook page. The idea seemed kind of smarmy to me at first but I appreciate its genius. Not everyone will be able to adopt this idea without seeming like a copycat. SNC was one of the first.

With adoring fans packed to the rafters of the Lied center, it was evident that Straight No Chaser had a loyal following in Lawrence. Audience members from 5 to 95 packed the house for a high energy musical review. Singing everything from Bebop to hard rock and a smattering of holiday tunes, the group had something for every generation. They announce the pieces periodically throughout the show but relied heavily on the audiences’ previous knowledge of the iconic pieces. Everything was familiar but sounded fresh when given the SNC treatment.

The group got its start at Indiana University in Bloomington over ten years ago. They still have their boyish charm and youthful optimism but their sound is fuller and more mature. The school of music at Indiana fields some of the finest talent in the United States, so it isn’t surprising that the group has chops. Throughout the performance, their voices become drum sets, electric guitars, keyboards and basses. They wail back-up vocals that rival the Beach Boys and even the Supremes. Grinding and winding their harmonies as they modulate, the group would unexpectedly change tempo and styles with ease.

What is surprising is that they have managed to stay together and still have fun. Their comedic jabs and jokes between songs attested to their long friendships and the audience became part of their exclusive clique. A particularly entertaining portion of the show was their TV Theme Show medley. Pointing their microphones into the audience during key verses of songs we all knew by heart, they turned the piece into a retro sing-a-long. They even scolded us when we couldn’t come up with a line in the Cheers theme.

With their special shaken, not stirred, mix of pop tunes and Christmas carols, Straight No Chaser is easy to swallow: smooth and full with a bass kick at the end.

Choral vs Orchestral 12/15/2009

I have to admit, I’ve never really sat through an entire episode of Glee.  There are some shows on the air, American Idol being one of them, that cut a little too close to home.  I cringe at the A.I. contestants and I get a little creeped out by the chorus director character in Glee.  But vocal music has always had an edge over instrumental music and I’m not exactly sure why. 

The human voice is an instrument everyone is born with.  We use it everyday.  There is an intimacy about a persons voice, a sonic signature.  Hearing my husbands baritone through my cell phone still makes my knees a little weak.   Musical instruments are a little like false voices.

But that isn’t really fair.  Instruments are ”super” voices.  They can reach notes the human voice can’t. They can imitate sounds in nature, in factories and in an orchestra they can affect more tone colors than the rainbow.  

Yet, stereotypes and prejudices still pervade.  Each section of the orchestra, each instrument of the orchestra has an identity.  Violas are the ugly step sister to the glittering violins.  The brass players are loud and obnoxious, second only to the dull drummers.  I see kids gravitating to instruments based on their stereotype.  Middle schoolers love to identify with inanimate objects.

Even as an adult I see the dividing lines.  The  symphony chorus, is a chatty, social bunch.  Put them on stage with the orchestra and we are in the land of the dull, over tired, underpaid, technicians who drag themselves to rehearsal and proceed to measure each minute.  I can’t imagine the players in the orchestra ever getting together over drinks and getting “wild” but I hope, for their sakes, that they do.

Which brings me to something I’ve been thinking about  a lot.  Which group is actually in a stronger financial position right now?  Is Choral music growing? or Orchestral? 

If I were to make a guess, based on enrollment at the high school level, I would say choral music but is it true at the professional level?  

Our school district doesn’t have a string program at all but we have three choirs.  Instruments are costly and opportunities to perform the different vocal genres makes singers more marketable but am I mistaken?   Major metropolitan cities don’t usually boast about a paid professional chorus the way they tout their orchestras. 

I know for certain more people in the world sing for pleasure than can play an instrument, but that doesn’t make them vocal music aficionados willing to buy tickets to performances. 

Just based on the numbers I’ve witnessed at the Christmas choral concerts I’ve been to in the last two months, I would say that choral music is filling the houses.  Whether that is because there are twice as many people IN the choirs brings family and friends to see them, or because its Christmas, I’ll wait to decide. 

Choruses are significantly less expensive to maintain and they are light on their feet.  My unprofessional Cost/Benefit analysis says, choruses are good business.

Ludwig will wait 12/06/2009

December is a great month to put off pet projects.  I’m going 100 miles an hour until January.  So…writing fiction, dressing  up like someone in the 1800′s and singing Sacred Harp music, and listening to Beethoven will have to wait.  I only have enough energy to attend to the immediate consumer needs of the family. 

Some cockamaimie ideas I’ll contemplate are…

1.  the Padwan Boys choir complete with lightsaber choralography and little Luke Skywalker suits. 

2.  Interviewing more journalists who are uncovering interesting stories.  Stories about stories?  This American Life and Story Corps do it.

3.  Interview my folks for the Story Corps project.

4.  Get the new Wooden Arms MP3.  Have my Kinders make more instruments.  Record them.

5.  Study for Social Studies Praxis to pad my license in the event that my teaching job in Fine Arts dies.

6.  Figure out how to coach something so I could find a job teaching Social Studies.  (get a sex change operation.)

7.  Stay focused.  Put on the blinders.  Ignore the naysayers.

WoO WoO! 12/01/2009

Oh dear. What have I gotten myself into? Just figuring out which of the gazillion pieces Beethoven either wrote or didn’t write is getting to be a headache.  It would seem that a number of catalogs exist to sort out his works. 

• Opus numbers appear on the works published in his lifetime and Op. posth. Identify those published after he died.  THE RUB:  He often wrote pieces years and years before they were formally published so Opus numbers aren’t an accurate reflection of his growth as a composer. 
• Shortly after Watson and Crick discovered that the form of DNA was a double helix, Kinsky and Halm re-cataloged Beethoven’s works using WoO (works without opus numbers) to identify the previously uncataloged pieces.  They also made an appendix to list pieces that were attributed to Beethoven but were in doubt. Many have since been authenticated and are listed with Anhang numbers.   THE BIG IDEA:  If Crick, Watson, Kinsky and Halm had gotten together they might have decided that cataloging Beethoven’s works in the shape of a double helix would unlock the secrets of the universe.  
• As Kinsky and Halm were furiously sorting through piles of Beethoven, so was a nice Swiss musicologist named Willy Hess.   His collection includes fragmentary works and 66 doubtfully attributed pieces.  He uses both WoO numbers and A.  UGH.
• Then came the piece de resistance, the Biamonti Catalogue.  Here was an idea whose time had come.  In 1968 Giovanni Biamonti CHRONOLOGICALLY listed all of the published pieces, all of the works from Kinskey and Hess and previously uncataloged fragments.  849 ENTRIES IN ALL!

Since I’m already familiar with the popular reperatoire, the stuff with opus numbers, I’m going to focus my listening on the WoO.  Beginning with his first published piece from age 11.  Maybe the little boy Beethoven will tug at my heartstrings.  I’m a sucker for misunderstood prodigies.