Camerata Singers

The Camerata Singers of Monterey County presented their annual December concert "Radiant Light" this past weekend at St. Paul's Episcopal in Salinas and Cathedral San Carlos in Monterey. Director John Koza displayed his gift for programming once again using the theme of light to tie in such diverse concepts as the star of Bethlehem and the Feast of Lights. It was a treat to hear traditional Chanukah songs in with the traditional Christmas mix.

The concert never lagged for even a minute, as Koza deftly constructed the program in a way as to provide variety of texture, style and content. Choral concerts can easily become tiresome, but this is rarely a problem for the Camerata Singers. The concert opened with the haunting strains of Egil Hovland's "The Glory of the Father,"which begins appropriately with the text from the John's gospel "The word was made flesh." The piece itself begins sparely, with the women alone on a primeval sounding open fifth. As it progresses, the other voices gradually enter and fill out the harmonies in a glorious fashion, as if the composer were describing creation itself.

This was immediately followed by a contrasting pair of settings of "Hodie Christus natus est" ("Christ is born today".) The first was the well known double chorus setting by the late Renaissance composer Giovanni Gabrieli, which was sung with joy and clarity by the group. Koza managed to provide the antiphonal effect without having the singers change position, which was a welcome relief from the practice of many choruses.

The tone of the concert did an about face with Javier Busto's setting of the same text. Full of exotic harmonies and Latin dance rhythms with a tambourine accompaniment, the piece was bursting with excitement and energy, and the singers gave a spirited performance.

The next set featured the carols "Away in a Manger" and "Un flambeau, Jeanette, Isabelle." Although the text of the former was familiar, the tune and setting were quite unusual, again featuring open and gentle modern harmonies against a charming melody. The middle section was very effective with the men providing a soft pedal effect in imitation of the lowing of the cows at the manger. Stephen Hatfield, the arranger of the French noel used the familiar tune, but incorporated a lush, flowing texture that sounded almost like a string section.

The set ended with a Chinese carol called "Pengyou, Ting!" or "Listen, friend to this good news!" The pentatonic melody evoked visions of the far east, and the singers changed their sound from mellow to reedy to communicate the different character of the piece, which was most effective.

The highlight of the concert followed. Donald Kendrick's gorgeous setting of the "Magnificat" for women's voices starts with chant and gradually builds, adding intensity through the addition of vocal lines, simple but interesting harmonies and rhythmic figures. The blend of the Camerata women was absolutely beautiful, and it was obvious that they were singing from their hearts. It was truly a moving experience.

This segued seamlessly into one of Anton Bruckner's settings of "Ave Maria." At first it seemed as if it was only to be the women again, but then the men came in and grounded us once again. It was a wonderful contrast. Being Bruckner, the piece was full of dynamic extremes, ranging from the very soft to the very loud in true Romantic form, and the singers made the most of it. Koza again provided contrast to end the set with the quiet and lovely "O lux beatissima" ("O most blessed light") by Howard Helvey.

Just as we were starting to get lulled into complacency with heavenly music, Koza brought us back to earth with the rousing 16th century Spanish carols "E la don don" and "Riu, riu, chiu." These pieces featured percussion, hand clapping and individual solo verses sung by an assortment of the men in alternation with surprisingly complex but energetic refrains. The enthusiasm of the Camerata Singers was infectious, and more than one person in the audience was tapping feet and swaying along to the music.

The first half ended with a delightful setting of "O come, all ye faithful" by Jackson Berkey. Yes, it was the tune we all know and have heard a thousand times, but the arranger put in a number of twists and surprises that gave the work a fresh hearing.

The second half opened with a set called "The Light of Heaven" featuring two chorales by J.S. Bach and an anthem by Olaf Christiansen. Koza led the group directly from "Brich an" ("Break forth thou beauteous heavenly light") to "Wie schoen leuchtet" ("How brightly shines the morning star") and finishing with "Light everlasting." The German diction in the Bach was quite good, and every word was distinct.

The next set featured soprano Julia Turner as soloist in the spiritual "Behold the star" by William Dawson. Ms. Turner has a strong, vibrant voice, and she easily filled the church with her breathtaking rendition. Koza followed this relatively simple setting with the most complex work of the evening, Jonathan Dove's "The Three Kings." This piece was mysterious and dense, with rays of light shining out here and there. It was by far the most "modern" work of the evening, and the singers managed the difficult harmonies with aplomb.

Koza changed the mood once again with the next set. As Chanukah had just begun, he selected three popular songs for the Feast of Lights. "S'vivon" and "Y'mei Chanukah" were both sung in Hebrew, and "Ocho Kandelikas" was sung in Ladino, which was the Yiddish equivalent for the Sephardic Jews in Spain. That last song was the hit of the evening with the audience, as three of the singers stepped forward to strum along on guitars while the percussionist, Kristen Thompson played the castanets. Even Koza himself looked like he was going to start dancing off the podium to the invigorating beat of the party song.

The concert ended with a more subdued feel, with Cesar Carrillo's setting of "Silent Night" in Spanish called "Noche de Paz," a sweet, simple piece "In silent night" and finally the traditional singing of the first verse of "Silent Night" with the audience and performers joining together.

All in all, the concert was rich and varied, and the technical and musical achievement of the Camerata Singers was very high indeed. More importantly, though, the singers had clearly internalized the meaning of the music, and were able to communicate the spirit of it with their demeanor and stage presence. It was truly magical.