Posted by April 30, 2007 11:12 AM
Who Performed: The 80-member Birmingham Concert Chorale, breaking out from its association as the official chorus of the Alabama Symphony, sang music by Brahms and Morten Lauridsen. A chamber orchestra, consistingly mostly of ASO musicians, accompanied April 29 at the spacious Bluff Park United Methodist Church.Luscious sounds: The lilting harmonies and gently rocking rhythms in Lauridsen's "Lux Aeterna" make it ideal for large volunteer choirs such as BCC.
The Mark Ridings-led voices swelled and ebbed in masses of sound, shaping the music especially nicely in the a cappella "O Nata Lux." Lauridsen's score, however, grows weary after 20 minutes or so or lush romanticism and little else.
Waltzing to Brahms: In chamber choir mode (40 voices), the choir's rendition of Brahms' "Liebeslieder Waltzes" was generally undistinguished.
Except for some well-defined, nuanced moments toward the end of the 11 waltzes, the singing was sleepy and unfocused, and often covered by the piano accompaniment.
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