PASA REVIEWS

Santa Fe Desert Chorale: Glorious Voices, Sacred Spaces

J O I N U S July 1, Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi

Soaring sounds ’mid scaffolding

I’ve experienced some or all of the Desert Chorale’s repertoires ever
M U S I C W I T H O’K E E F F E since the 1983 premiere season, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard the
group sound better than in this concert — as good, but not better. It was
refulgently sung under guest conductor Simon Carrington, and the few
An Al Fresco Performance Series and blend, diction, and vowel formation problems were noticeable simply
Wine Bar in the Museum Courtyard because they were so rare.
Four guest conductors are vying this summer for SFDC’s open music-
director position; each leads one repertoire with a small group drawn from
The first Friday of every month,
the full chorale. Carrington, Jonathan Willcocks, and Santa Fe New Music
5 – 8 PM . Free Admission.
founder John Kennedy are leading three other reps.
The Glorious Voices repertoire was chosen by general director Don Scott
J U LY 4, 2 O O 8 Carpenter. It ranges from the Italian Renaissance to the 1990s, and its
emphasis on a relatively few big pieces over lots of shorter ones makes
Wayne Wesley Johnson
for good artistic continuity. Carrington, a founding member of The King’s
Classic Guitar
Singers and now a professor of choral conducting at Yale, proved as refined,
relaxed, and controlled a conductor as you could wish.
Sponsored by
Mendelssohn’s Die Deutsche Liturgie revealed that this summer’s ensemble
El Corazon de Santa Fe commands a crisply focused yet warm sound, nicely balanced throughout
the voices. (The group is split equally between veterans with up to 15 years
of experience and first-timers.) The interweaving harmonies passed skill-
Georgia O’Keeffe, Music, Pink and Blue No. 2, 1918.
fully back and forth, and the closing “Heilig” flowered with the same kind
Oil on canvas, 35 x 29 in. Collection: Whitney Museum
of American Art, New York; Gift of Emily Fisher Landau
of stately vocal writing found in the final chorus of Mendelssohn’s Elijah,
in honor of Tom Armstrong. which, like this piece, dates from 1846.
Palestrina’s 1565 Missa Papae Marcelli got a vibrantly reverent reading.
Carrington drew his beats in the air with liquid ease, and the singers
responded with chime-like tones and excellent dynamic control. The only
B R E A K FA S T W I T H O’K E E F F E flaw was a tendency for the sopranos and tenors to sing their “eh” and “ee”
vowels too tightly at high, soft pitches so that the sound cut the ear rather
than drifting into it.
Start Your Day With Art and Coffee The second half opened with “At the Round Earth’s Imagined Corners”
from C. Hubert H. Parry’s 1916-1918 Six Songs of Farewell, a massively writ-
Join us the first Monday of every ten yet flowing multisection work. Carrington led artfully, and the chorale
month for a continental breakfast sang with appropriately stout sound, but it was impossible to follow the
from 8:3O to 9:OO AM, then enjoy John Donne sonnet without referring to the program book. The consonants
a gallery talk from 9:OO to 9:3O. were badly under-served, so the text was all pretty sound and little clarity.
Brahms’ towering Schaffe In Mir, Gott and Messiaen’s feverishly intense
$5. Members free.
No reservations required. “O Sacrum Convivium” were more satisfying.
Herbert Howells’ 1963 “Take Him Earth for Cherishing” — written for
assassinated U.S. President John F. Kennedy’s memorial service — showed
J U L Y 7, 2 O O 8 the same paucity of audible consonants as the Parry, and the singers
Alice Cox dealt with the sometimes chaotic harmonies mincingly. Fortunately, John
Membership Coordinator, Tavener’s gorgeously worshipful “Song for Athene” restored equanimity:
Sierra Club, Rio Grande Chapter it’s a magnificent work, and the chorale and Carrington gave it the insight-
ful reading it deserved.
Generously underwritten by Wells Fargo.
Coffee, tea, and pastries provided by I’d urge you to run to a performance of this rep, except that you might
Santa Fe Baking Company. bounce off the scaffolding filling the rear of the cathedral while ceiling
Todd Webb, O’Keeffe Making Stew, Ghost Ranch New
repairs are underway. So walk instead. The repairs have reduced the
Mexico, 1961. Courtesy, Evans Gallery.
number of full-vision seats available; but if the chorale continues to sing as
it did Tuesday, even limited-view seating will be a delight.
— Craig Smith

‘Glorious Voices’ repeats at 8 p.m. Monday, July 7, and Thursday, July 10. An
217 J O H N S O N S T R E E T SANTA FE NEW MEXICO
Albuquerque performance takes place at 8 p.m. Sunday, July 6, at the Cathedral
O P E N D A I LY 1O A M – 5 P M F R E E F R I D AY E V E N I N G S 5 – 8 P M Church of St. John, 318 Silver St. S.W.; call 988-1234 for tickets.
W W W . O K E E F F E M U S E U M . O R G 5 O 5 . 9 4 6 .1O O O

18 July 4 - 10, 2008