South Florida Classical Review » » Seraphic Fire ranges widely in delightful Christmas program

http://southfloridaclassicalreview.com/2017/12/seraphic-fire-ranges-widely-in-delightful-christmas-program/[1/3/2018 11:18:37 AM]

James K. Bass conducted Seraphic Fire in the opening concert of its annual Christmasprogram Wednesday night at St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Miami.

If this is December, then it is time for Seraphic Fire’s annual Christmas concert. While this year’sprogram looked less ambitious on paper than previous editions, the 80-minute performance proved anunalloyed delight Wednesday night at St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Miami.

With James K. Bass providing strong leadership, the 13-member choir was in top form in an appealingmix of holiday favorites, Renaissance classics and new and recent works. While not all the music wasdirectly related to Christmas, Bass noted that the selections each suggested, in different ways, theideals of “love, gift, acceptance and mercy.” With the sanctuary adorned with a Christmas tree andholiday lights, the intimate atmosphere was perfect for the varied musical menu.

Hodie Christus Natus Est by Healey Willan, the program opener, demonstrated the group’s corporateflexibility with a play of huge harmonic and dynamic contrasts. The original chant version of AdesteFideles found the male voices singing in focused tones devoid of vibrato. This was followed by “OCome All Ye Faithful,” the most familiar variant of this ancient melody. Here the choir’s simplicity ofutterance made this timeless favorite sound new again.

From the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, selections by Hildegard von Bingen, Tomas Luis deVictoria and William Byrd offered a rich choral tapestry. Bass called Victoria “our residentcomposer” since the Renaissance master’s works have been staples in the choir’s repertoire. Hisfamous setting of O Magnum Mysterium radiates beauty in a long, expansive arc of seemingly endlessmelody. The purity of the female voices and strength and impeccable intonation of the male contingentcoalesced to beautiful effect. Victoria’s florid Regina Caeli, laetare was no less memorable. Bassmasterfully blended the voices with the final uplifting cries of “Alleluia” ringing the sanctuary.

The thousand-year-old Caritas Abundat by Hildegard von Bingen, a Benedictine nun, soundedremarkably modern with its trancelike aura. Byrd’s motet Lullaby My Sweet Little Baby begins with Marysinging a lullaby to the infant Jesus before turning darker with a description of Herod’s slaughter ofinnocent children. The measured phrases of the austere lullaby were beautifully voiced and there wastragic weight appropriate to the text in the sections describing the atrocities.

Thu Dec 7, 2017at 12:41 pmNo Comments

Seraphic Fire ranges widely in delightful Christmas program

By Lawrence Budmen

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South Florida Classical Review » » Seraphic Fire ranges widely in delightful Christmas program

http://southfloridaclassicalreview.com/2017/12/seraphic-fire-ranges-widely-in-delightful-christmas-program/[1/3/2018 11:18:37 AM]

“Gaudete” from Piae Cantiones by that most famous of composers, Anonymous, offered a festival ofjoyous rhythms. Sara Guttenberg’s high soprano, Angela Smucker’s deep alto, Brad Diamond’s plianttenor and Kyle Ferrill’s firm bass formed the felicitous vocal quartet.

Maurice Duruflé’s Ubi Caritas is a favorite of church choirs but few choral ensembles can surpassSeraphic Fire’s velvety rendition of this beautiful melody. The exquisite soprano voices of Brenna Wellsand Molly Quinn adorned the haunting Balulalow by Matthew Culloton, a contemporary Minneapoliscomposer. The female voices held long notes while the males sang a spare recitative line in choraldirector Craig Hella Johnson’s Gitanjali Chants. The vocal roles are then reversed in this wonderfulconflation of ancient and modernist musical elements.

Two recent works were especially rewarding. The catchy tune of Spotless Rose by Norwegiancomposer Ola Gjeilo was matched by a varied dynamic palette, displaying Gjeilo’s affinity for choraltextures. Jason Burke’s new setting of O Magnum Mysterium brimmed with entrancing melodicmaterial in a manner both contemporary and accessible. A bright and lively final section capped thisfine addition to the holiday choral literature.

Among more familiar offerings, the Seraphic Fire standard “Jesus Christ the Apple Tree” by ElizabethPoston was given a surround sound rendition with Sarah Moyer and Guttenberg’s unadorned sopranosolos enhanced by the choral singers on each side of the sanctuary. William Dawson was a master ofthe contemporary spiritual and two of his works were well contrasted. Guttenberg’s gorgeous timbretook wing in “Mary Had a Baby” and the high-spirited, toe-tapping “Ain’t that good news” really rocked.

A sprightly “Joy to the World” was followed by Stephen Paulus’ imaginative reinvention of the “WassailSong” in which the choir’s superb articulation of Paulus’ spiced up harmonics riveted attention. TheHugh Martin-Ralph Blane classic “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” sounded freshly minted inPeter Gritton’s arrangement. Bass told the audience there was no money for an orchestra so thechorus sang the instrumental parts in Jeff Funk’s witty and ingenious version of Tchaikovsky’s “Danceof the Sugar Plum Fairy,” with the singers bobbing up and down.

Seraphic Fire artistic director Patrick Quigley’s arrangement of “Silent Night” began softly in German;then switched to a full voiced English version before returning to softness as the choir exited thesanctuary carrying candles. For an encore Bass led a lilting “Carol of the Bells,” the dynamic rangegoing from extreme quiet to vociferous abandon.

There is no better musical presentation of the sounds of the season than A Seraphic Fire Christmas.Eight remaining performances will take place throughout South Florida.

A Seraphic Fire Christmas will be repeated 7:30 p.m. Thursday at St. Phillip’s Episcopal Churchin Coral Gables; 7:30 p.m. Friday at First United Methodist Church in Coral Gables; 7:30 p.m.Saturday at All Souls Episcopal Church in Miami Beach; 7 p.m. Sunday and 7 p.m. December 12at All Saints Episcopal Church in Fort Lauderdale; 7 p.m. December 14 at VanderbiltPresbyterian Church in Naples; 7;30 p.m. December 15 at St Gregory’s Episcopal Church inBoca Raton; and 4 p.m. December 17 at the South Miami-Dade Cultural Center in CutlerBay. seraphicfire.org

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