I should say first of all that we were introduced to Coro Allegro through T. and J., friends of ours from the Obama campaign. We were lucky to catch a ride with them to Manchester, N.H. on election day for the final get-out-the-vote door-knocking. We hit it off almost immediately and spent much of the rest of the day together, meeting up at the Joshua Tree to watch the returns and then to celebrate a terrific victory. Germany and choral music were among the interests we had in common, beyond a burning desire to elect a Democrat as president. T. & J. sing tenor and baritone, respectively, in Coro Allegro, Boston's "not-for-profit classical music organization composed of members and friends of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities and dedicated to the performance of significant choral works for the enjoyment of all." Enjoyment indeed! We have attended four concerts so far and have loved every single one!
This Sunday's concert was no exception. Coro Allegro's normal venue is the Church of the Covenant, adjacent to Newbury Street and not far from Copley Square, but this time the concert was held at Sanders Theatre in Harvard's Memorial Hall, a striking brick neo-gothic building at the north end of Harvard Yard which was originally erected as a memorial to Havardians who had died in the Civil War (now half of it is a dining hall). M. and I had passed by the chapel many times but had never entered prior to this weekend -- it is quite beautiful inside, reminiscent of Princeton's Alexander Hall.
The featured piece of this year's fall concert was Robert Stern's Shofar, a modern work featuring orchestra, chorus, and four soloists. The narrative of the piece centers around the interaction between God, Moses, and the Jewish people as Moses received the law from God on Mount Sinai (and as the Israelites fashioned an idol down below). The four movements explore a very interesting (and, in a novel fashion, quite anthropomorphic) interpretation of God's evolving relationship with his people. This was Coro Allegro's second performance of Shofar; Robert Stern enhanced the original score with additional parts for chorus and orchestra. Though I never heard the original version, I appreciate the additions, for I liked the orchestral and choral components the most. The soloists were all very good; M. and I agree in our approbation for the bassists, Donald Wilkinson (Moses) and David Kravitz (God). I didn't particularly care for the soprano, Teresa Wakim, but M. thought she was super. (I recognize that she has a beautiful voice, but I thought she didn't project very well. Maybe I am going deaf, or even tone deaf.) On the other hand, I liked the singing of tenor Jason McStoots; M. not as much. (Lest anyone accuse of high-brow cultural snootiness, some of our criticism is decidedly adolescent: the soprano's proofy-busty dress was a rather unfortunate choice, and the tenor's pants were too short.) But ignore our nitpicking -- it's just to fill space. Shofar was superb.
Perhaps even a bit better, to my ears (which are somewhat conservative), were the two other pieces of the concert: Ralph Vaughn Williams's Five Mystical Songs and Gabriel Faure's Cantique de Jean Racine. Definitely more traditional arrangements, they were simply beautiful and very moving. Sanford Sylvan, who had been scheduled to solo for Five Mystical Songs, canceled due to flu, but no matter -- Donald Wilkinson filled in and was phenomenal. M. and I both absolutely loved the singing of the soloist and the chorus. The Coro Allegro singers and their artistic director, David Hodgkins, always put on a terrific show.
When the venue is the Church of the Covenant, we always look forward to mingling with the chorus over juice and cookies after the concert. Unfortunately, the space at Memorial Hall doesn't really allow for that. But we still had the opportunity to eat dinner with T. & J. afterwards, which is always a blast.
Good friends and great singing: Coro Allegro concerts are definitely our favorite musical events in Boston. We are already looking forward to the next one!
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