ROBERT KNUPP, ORGANIST, and the MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE SINGERS, JAMES MEADERS,
DIRECTOR, IN THE AGO 17TH ANNUAL CHORAL-ORGAN FESTIVAL AT NORTHMINSTER
BAPTIST CHURCH, FEBRUARY 23, 2003

The program opened with Mark Wilberg's vigorous setting of "Come Thou
Fount of Every Blessing" which featured a capella sections interspersed
among accompanied ones - always risky, but not a problem here - 
that when the organ rejoined the ensemble everyone was on pitch. Next
was the John Rutter "Gloria", with choir, organ, and a brass group
with Darcie Bishop, Mark Jones, David Ware, and Don Mullen, trumpets;
Will Jayroe, Steve Jones and Joseph Newman, tenor trombones; Wade
Rackley, tuba; and Anne Berthold and Greg Mitchell, percussion. Balance -
always a concern with this much instrumentation - was not a problem;
first of all the choir has a powerful sound, and although the brass
occasionally matched the choir's volume, it never dominated it. Second,
while these players are not a formal group, they have performed
with the Singers before, and this experience contributed to their
solid and responsive playing. The "Gloria" was a very satisfying
performance. Next organist Robert Knupp played Maurice Durufle's
Prelude, and the choir sang Ernani Aguiar's Salmo 150, which had
a distinctive rhythm. Morten Lauridsen's "O Nata Lux" followed,
a capella, and was my favorite choral work. It began and ended vary
softly, with a contemporary but listenable sound. Knupp continued
with more Durufle: the lighter Sicilienne, followed by the monumental
and athletic toccata, played effortlessly. The choir sang Rene' Clausen's
setting of the plain chant "Ubi Caritas" (from which Lowell Mason derived
the tune Hamburg, used for "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross"). Here, as
in the Lauridsen, the choir ended pianissimo, a welcome but difficult
manouver requiring considerable rehearsal. This practice has been
missing from many (but not all) local choral performances in the last
decade or so, and I am happy it is returning. The festival closed with John
Ness Beck's setting of Psalm 46, using Luther's hymn "A Mighty Fortress,"
sung mightily by the audience at one point, a great move for which I
thank Director Meaders. 
                                                      - Glenn A. Gentry