by Kevin T McEneaney
Last Saturday afternoon at Trinity Church in Lakeville, Christine Gevert directed a program of Baroque Christmas music and song that flowed more sonorously than your favorite woodland stream. The musical ensemble played with tight unity, and a chorus of about fifty singers projected their voices with delightful harmonies. The songs were in German and Latin with program translations.
They opened with “Welcome, Savior of the Earth” by Jeremias Du Grain (c. 1700-1756), in which bass-baritone Douglas Williams excelled with clear diction and genial reception. Nathan Whittaker on violoncello delivered exciting intonation. Paul Perfetti and Brian Kanner on trumpets resounded with acute acclamation and finesse.
“Star Light, Star Bright” by Emily Drum, a contemporary composer and arranger of the award-winning acapella ensemble Amplified, offered a madrigal in rounds that created a pleasant echoing effect in the church sanctuary. Here, choir sections meticulously wove an airy garment.
“Soar Skyward” by Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707) featured Gene Stegner’s smooth, resonant tenor voice in this New Year cantata. In ritornello episodes, the violins of Concertmaster Edson Scheid, Jeremy Rhizor, and Emily Hale delivered exuberant excitement.
Three Latin versions of evangelist Luke’s Magnificat poem were performed. Many commentators cite this poem in Greek as the most beautiful-sounding passage in the New Testament. Luke was inviting all contemporary female goddesses (Aphrodite, Enea, Anna, Danu, Dianna, etc.) cult worshipers to join the new universal religion of Christianity. The first version was an arrangement by Emily Drum and MaryAnne Muglia, the second by Johann Rosenmüller (1617-1684), and lastly, the Canadian composer Christine Donkin where Mezzo-soprano soloist Jordan Rose Lee soared with satisfaction above the cloud sound of ten other high-pitched singers.
“Open the gates wide,” a cheerful Advent cantata by Johann Schelle (1648-1701) who advanced Protestant liturgy in Leipzig, supplied an Advent chorale that featured multiple soloists wherein celebrated soprano Paulina Francisco of Les Florissants delivered her silvery voice and renowned countertenor Nicholas Tamagna showcased his magnificent voice.
“Let honor to you, God, be sung” by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was the fifth part of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio (1735). The libretto highlights the superstitious, fearful nature of Herod Antipas. The violins of Edson Scheid, Emily Hale, Job Salazar, and Jessica Troy propelled the driving rhythm enhanced by the percussion of Ben Harms. Significant highlights included the oboes of Alison Gangler and Owen Watkins who were superb with bassist Guinevere Fridley. The soaring solo violin of Concertmaster Edson Scheid played a vital role. On console organ Juan Andrés Mesa rounded out the collective sound.
The Finale was “The Word Made Flesh” by Phillip Heinrich Erlebach (1657-1714) which is one of Phillip’s surviving cantatas. (He wrote over 1,000 compositions, of which only about a hundred have survived.) Gaiety and gravity went together with operatic color where the viola players Madeline Stewart and Jessica Troy added wonderful texture as bassoonist Allen Hamrick provided eloquent foundation while the trumpet blasts of Brian Kanner and Paul Perfetti resounded with deep emotion.
While individual instrumentalists and soloists excelled, it was the massive choir that sculpted impressive ambiance and articulate chorale resonance that imparted the spirit of Christmas joy to those who attended this magnificent concert under the sure direction of Christine Gevert.
