The Jackson Choral Society at Trinity Presbyterian Church, November 18, 2008
"An American Tapestry" contained varied music, all from America, some
deliberately composed, and some arranged. Daniel Gawthrop's "Sing a Mighty
Song", with piano accompaniment, was the first, a vigorous piece with
counterpoint (always nice to hear individual sections). It was followed
by Aaron Copland's "Zion's Walls" (an American folksong), and
"The Promise of Living". There was some very soft and very
effective singing here, a portent of further delights, and always in
perfect balance with the piano. Next was "God Is Seen" (from Columbian
Harmony, an 1825 Tennessee tunebook), arranged by Peter van den Honert.
Here was the first
of several a capella works, with a very polished sound. After that
was Mack Wilberg's arrangement of "Saints Bound for Heaven" (from
Southern Harmony, 1835, a popular southern tunebook which had sold
more than 600,000 copies by 1867), a vigorous piece with a piano duet (Celia
Lymberis and Medoro Carr) as accompaniment. The Shaker song
"Followers of the Lamb" (arr. Edwin Ferguson) followed, a lively tune
with a lively accompaniment. Three a capella spirituals were
next, "Old Time Religion", "In His Care-O", and "I Got Shoes", arranged
by Moses Hogan, William Dawson, and Robert Shaw/Alice Parker,
respectively. After these, there was a dramatic contrast, with the
"Gloria" and "Sanctus" from Carol Barnett's "The World Beloved: A
Bluegrass Mass". Director Nancy Osman Moore read aloud the text of
the "Gloria", a celebration of the world and all that is in it,
including humanity. It was accompanied by Gary Brooks (Banjo), Wayne
Smith (Mandolin), David Baker (Guitar), and Bill Ellison (String Bass;
you may remember him from Public Radio). I am always apprehensive
when I see microphones at a public concert, because the sound is often
deafening, but here - though necessary - they were used very
appropriately (although the sound seemed to come from above, while
the players were off to the left - not a real problem, however), and the
excellent balance noted earlier between choir and piano was maintained.
The music was - as billed - in bluegrass style, with the beat
provided by the bass and the guitar, and varied melodic passages
from the banjo and the mandolin. It was very effective, and was
followed by some typical bluegrass music by the band alone, with
singing by the instrumentalists. Perhaps my favorite of the
evening was next, Norman Luboff's arrangement for choir and piano
of "Tender Love", a Cajun folksong. It began quietly, continued
quietly, and ended quietly, never becoming as loud as mf. There
was a time, a decade or so ago, when choral performances rarely
got any softer than mf. One of the reasons for this
is that it is very difficult to sing very softly and to do it well.
Over the past few years, however, soft choral singing has slowly
but surely been rehabilitated, and this piece was a beautiful example.
The last selection on the program was "Clap Yo' Hands", by George
Gershwin, from his opera "Porgy and Bess", a rousing finale (or so
we thought!). The real finale was an encore by the bluegrass band,
"I'll Fly Away", with the choir and audience joining in on the
chorus, an enthusiastic close to a remarkable evening.
- Glenn A. Gentry