Review: THEN SINGS MY SOUL at Choral Artists Of Sarasota

Sarasota is a city blessed with so much talent from ballet and opera to theatre, live music, dance and beyond. One of our treasures is Choral Artists of Sarasota, formerly known as Gloria Musicae. This year is their "Season of Celebration", marking 40 years of bringing exquisite choral music to our city. It is also the 10th anniversary being under the baton of Maestro Dr. Joseph Holt who was recruited from Washington, DC. Their program states they have commissioned works, traveled to Europe, and partnered with other cultural organizations in Southwest Florida such as the Sarasota Orchestra, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, Sarasota Contemporary Dance, State College of Florida, The Master Chorale of Tampa Bay and Sarasota Young Voices. Their upcoming season proves to be yet another showcase of favorite hymns, a vocal version of the Nutcracker, and classics such as Handel's "Coronation Anthem" and Braham's "A German Requiem". An upcoming concert with the Sarasota Orchestra and Key Chorale titled "Peace and Joy" will be Conductor Anu Tali's final concert closing her 6-year tenure as music director of the Sarasota Orchestra.

The program offered today in the beautiful setting of Christ the Redeemer church titled "Then Sings My Soul, Expressions of Faith in Music", was an homage to Christian, Jewish and Islamic beliefs. This concert brought people of different faiths together to celebrate our differences, draw closer to our faith and extend a hand of humanity to something we all have in common, the need for love and peace.

The program notes state the concert is intended to highlight three religions of the world that share a common ancestry. Judaism Christianity and Islam each descend from the prophet Abraham. In Judaism, "Abram" is the prophet who convinced God to make a covenant with the Jewish people so they would multiply and continued to prosper. In Christianity, Jesus Christ is a direct descendent of the prophet Abraham. In Islam. "Ibrahim" is the prophet who cleansed the people from paganism and idolatry and who is a direct link to Mohammed.

The opening prayer before the performance set the tone of acceptance and inclusiveness, regardless of one's religious convictions. The opening song "Thine is the Glory" enveloped us with a peaceful surrender and inherent understanding that we were in a safe place. Hymns to follow such as Louis Lewandowski's "Hallelujah", and Charles Wesley's "O For A Thousand Tongues", with a beautiful flute arrangement by flautist Betsy Traba were inspiring, A heavy organ accompaniment beckoned the audience to sing using the supplied words in our program to "Praise, My Soul, The King of Heaven" by John Goss. It appeared most people did not know the melody and merely glanced at the provided words and were very happy when the choral singers took over to finish the original arrangement.

A highlight of this concert was the musical language of 3 religions where the choral group performed the Christian hymn, Lowell Mason's "Nearer, My God, To Thee", with a soulful cello arrangement played by cellist, Nadine Trudel, an Islamic hymn "Prière", sang in Farsi, with a elegant guitar accompaniment by Dr. Jonathan Godfrey, and a Jewish hymn, "T'filah", Prayer for the State of Israel, with a delightful piano accompaniment by Michael Stewart. Each piece like the belief system it represented was so unique and so beautiful.

One of the things I like about Dr. Holt's productions is he does his homework. His explanations woven between songs are interesting and come to life as he directs his choral group to stay true to original versions, they way they were written to be performed. One such hymn was "A Mighty Fortress is Our God". Unlike the church anthem we are used to hearing, this version was riveting and even unnerving, using brass and a loud clanging, iron on iron, beat to tempo. The timpani provided by Jeff Ridgeway and brass section was so dramatic. Although it was written 500 years ago, the original hymn sounded like a it was written today, with a new and updated style. It was lush like a Christmas score and regal.

Shaker Song, "Simple Gifts" featured a flute and piccolo (Carmen Bannon) accompaniment whereby the flute echoed back to the higher pitched notes of the piccolo and gave this piece patriotic overtones. A Turkish hymn "Zikr" was one of the most stirring pieces of the concert. The choral group blended beautiful vocals to this song that started out slow and grew into a "whirling dervish" as Dr. Holt described it. It was sung in Urdu and there was careful attention in the program to provide its touching translation. A Hebrew song "Ein Keloheinu" was also sung with compassion and a loving translation of praise to God.

It feels a bit sacrilegious to call two beloved hymns a mash-up so I'll just say the weaving in and out of the words and melodies of "Gather At The River" and "It Is Well" was glorious and made perfect with a simple piano accompaniment. The last two songs of the concert, "Amazing Grace" and "How Great Thou Art" are iconic church standards that were presented with joy and reverence. Anne Stephenson-Moe shined on the organ. The audience stood for a very long, standing ovation in gratitude.

Outside the music sometimes over riding the hymns so you could not understand the lyrics, the audio was fine. I was disappointed in the staging of the concert. One thing people like to see when they go a concert is the singer's faces, their expressions and emotions. Unfortunately the male vocalists positioned on the left, faced the female vocalists positioned on the right. Only the first 2-3 sides of faces could be seen in any given row. It may have been organized this way to allow for the large-scale instruments used for accompanists, however when I go to see singers, I want to actually see them and connect with them.

And please do "Carmina Burana" again. It was impeccable last year!

To learn more about Choral Artists of Sarasota and their upcoming concert season visit www.choralartistssarasota.org.