It’s a brave choir that attempts a full program of Samuel Barber choral works, which tend to be craggy, tough, and harmonically edgy and dry, sparing of “prettiness” and light-hearted emotion. But college choirs are by nature braver than most, and this one completes its task respectably for a young, amateur ensemble. However, there are two significant problems with the performances that prevent a solid recommendation. One concerns the intonation, which is generally okay but succumbs to bothersome just-under-pitch singing at various times in the upper three voices (Sure on this shining night and the Ascension Day chorale are obvious examples). The other concern is the singing style–measured, insistent, with shapeless phrases and a choral tone that lacks warmth and varied dynamic expression–which is almost uniformly applied to every piece.
The Coolin’ is sung at one volume and with absolutely no understanding of the text–no tender, romantic scene here; they may as well be singing about a trip to the mall or washing clothes, or whatever. Similarly, the motets Let Down the Bars, O Death and Heaven-haven, arguably among the most finely-crafted works on the program, are sung with no discernible emotion–and the Agnus Dei, Barber’s torturous arrangement of his Adagio for Strings that even the best choirs fail to sing perfectly, is here (advisedly) taken at a healthy clip that at least ensures these singers get through in one solid piece, even though it’s at the expense of any expressive content.
Yes, it’s nice to have all of this music under one roof–and much of it is rarely heard anywhere these days, including the spooky A Stopwatch and an Ordnance Map (for male chorus and timpani) and the two choruses from Barber’s opera Antony and Cleopatra. I only wish the voices (and conducting) had shown a true feel for style, an interpretive sensitivity and flair that would have given these text-driven works their proper presence. And the very reverberant sound only helps to enhance the unrefined character of the singing. Neither does it help that the producers were “unable to reprint the song texts.”
