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I must confess to a certain trepidation when I attended the Circle City Chorale concert yesterday. It was the fourth show in two days and by 4:00 PM the weather outside was warm and muggy. (I was having flashbacks to a concert last July in the same building when it was hotter and even muggier and the air considering was broken in the venue--so not fun!) Still, inside it was nice and cool and the Baroness and I had prime seats.
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The show started of with a bang (figuratively) with an scapula rendition of The Star Spangled Banner that was spot on followed by a rendition of Earth Song that literally had me moved to the point of tears because of the sheer beauty and power of the performance. Hark, O The Harps Eternal rounded out a standout section with the group singing unaccompanied in mixed formation. (Non-singers--this is doubly difficult to pull off: doing so successfully is the mark of a particularly-skilled group.) Mi Inspiracion (excuse the lack of Spanish diacritical marks) was nicely presented but I could tell it was a bunch of English-speakers trying to sing in a language they didn't understand: I caught a number of minor pronunciation errors that spoiled the song for me. Singin' In The Rain and They Can't Take Away From Me were crowd pleasers with only a few minor missteps that only a mean old critic would notice. The first section was capped off by a rousing medley of songs from The Lion King (to a recorded track.
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The main choir took a break leaving a dozen or so elite members who make up the Circle City Singers (which IMHO needs to be spelled with three "c"s for symmetry's sake). They kicked of their section with The Tortoise And The Hare, a sprielty tune I'd ever heard. Lots of fun and well presented. Next up were three songs by George Gershwin that were equally well done and had the audience snapping along. After intermission they were back on stage with Sting's Fields of Gold and Viva La Vida (yes, the song by Coldplay) both of which had musical issues (most of which I'm sure the general audience didn't catch). Honestly I don't remember a thing about I Carry Your Heart With Me. Dirait-On, a deceptively sweet and simple tune with a murderous arrangement hat defeats most choirs who attempt the tune. The song started and finished nicely but the multi-layered middle section came apart for me. Still, you gotta give this small group "props" for doing as well as they did--the song is that difficult.
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A medley from Guys And Dolls brought the Chorale back on stage--complete with costumed soloists and choralography! I would be remiss if I didn't single out Chorale President Steve Gold who was a complete hoot on his Sit Down You're Rockin' The Boat solo: who knew the guy was such a total ham. Kristen Potts had the Baroness seething with jealousy (not really but I thought I'd say it anyway) with Adelaide's Lament. (Robyn had her own star turn with her version during the first Coffeehouses On Broadway.) Chery Osborn upstaged herself during her duet on I've Never Been In Love Before but her tone and delivery were quite lovely. Oh, her partner Erick Lange did well too. The Lean On Me/We Shall Overcome mash-up was suitably rousing but Stars I Shall Find didn't seem to fit in with the general tenor of the rest of this program segment. For The Sake Of Our Children didn't work at all for me: I was only able to understand about one word in five--particularly sad since I think it had a really powerful message to deliver. Ride On, King Jesus was nicely performed but personally I'd have rather seen it swapped with the Lion King medley: that really would have given some "pop" to the second half of the show.
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You know it wouldn't be a Ron Review without a few minor quibbles.
- the Star Spangled Banner was done without music and there was a great connection with the audience. The rest of the show was done with folders open and some of the connection to the audience was lost (in my opinion at least.) It would be great if the Chorale would memorize their music.
- there were a few smiling faces among the singers but most of the group looked--serious at best. (A few looked annoyed or unhappy--but maybe they were just tired after a long weekend.) I wanted to see more smiles on the choristers' faces.
- LADIES: if you're wearing flower pins you don't need necklaces. GUYS: consider switching to black shirts. Your current ensemble simply shines a bright, white spotlight on how badly the women outnumber you. That being said, kudos to the entire group for such a good blend. You'd know the men were outnumbered two to one.
- I missed a "wow" moment in this show. I think C3 should consider bringing back Africa as a signature-piece--maybe as an encore.
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'nuff said.
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