Performers don’t often begin a program with a work of encore-style dazzling virtuosity and humor–but that’s exactly what the Gregg Smith Singers do here, and from the very first note you know this is going to be a treat. You also soon realize that the reason for the rousing beginning is that nearly all of the pieces are of this caliber–most are recorded here for the first time–and by the end you’ll either be charmed, amused, and uplifted or just worn out (probably both!). That first piece, Kurt Weill’s Ho, Billy O!, from a “vaudeville” titled Love Life that premiered in 1948 (with lyrics by none other than Alan Jay Lerner), opened the second act of the show and apparently moved one critic to describe it as “a socko opener”. Indeed it is. It’s “the story of an American marriage from 1791 to 1948” and the two collaborators held nothing back in the snappy wit of the words or in the lively and clever vocal writing. Departmental, Robert Frost’s “parable and spoof of bureaucracy and governmental busy-ness”, originally carried the subtitle “Or, the Death of My Ant Jerry” and composer Robert Ross couldn’t resist setting it to music. It really does tell the story of the death of “an ant on the tablecloth” who “ran into a dormant moth”, and, well, you get the idea. Perhaps best of all is Rick Sowash’s Philosophical Anecdotes, three short pieces set to anecdotes about Diogenes–yes, Diogenes–that show the composer’s playful and very skilled (and humorous) manipulation of musical devices to convey texts such as “The philosopher Diogenes lived in a tub in the market place.” Sowash has great fun with the name Diogenes and keeps things moving through the philosopher’s “search” for an honest man and his walk to a “country fair”, where he sees lots of things he doesn’t need, including “finimbruns”.
Although the singing is invariably outstanding–impeccable intonation, abundant energy and expressive character, vocal and ensemble technique to die for–the writing isn’t always top notch. The Scherzando of Irving Fine’s The Choral New Yorker is strained, awkward, and unidiomatic–an ongoing problem throughout this technically challenging four-section work. Some listeners will remember Jack Gottlieb’s Presidential Suite, settings of seven texts that in the composer’s words, “celebrate America’s priceless heritage of liberty. . .inspired by the wisdom and whimsy of some of our most colorful presidents.” It was premiered by the Gregg Smith Singers in 1990 and gets a vibrant reading here. The program is rounded out by two madrigals by George Gershwin, Gian Carlo Menotti’s Moans, Groans, Cries, and Sighs, Or a Composer at Work (commissioned by the King’s Singers), several pieces by Gregg Smith himself, and concludes with a most bizarre little trifle by Charles Ives titled Vote for Names, the composer’s “unique” commentary on the election of 1912. The sound is very clear, resonant, and well-balanced, allowing us to hear every detail and to feel as if we’re right in the middle of all the fun. [8/2/2001]
