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REVIEW: Chamber Singers deliver strong, ambitious performance

02-25-2008 | Music

By Hillary Foster

Singing to a nearly full audience in Clapp Recital Hall yesterday, the Chamber Singers of Iowa City presented a strong performance of works by Gustav Holst and Ralph Vaughan Williams. Led by conductor Dr. David Puderbaugh, the choir has begun to earn a reputation of presenting interesting and ambitious programs at an incredibly high level. Sunday afternoon’s concert was no exception.

The Chamber Singers opened with two movements from “Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda, Op. 26” and the “Short Festival Te Deum” by Holst, ending the program with Vaughan Williams’ stunning “Mass in G Minor.” Offering a short interlude between the Holst and the Vaughan Williams, Cor Musica (a local early music sextet) sang a selection of 16th century songs.

The choir presented a strong opening with the movements from the ‘Choral Hymns.” It was clearly the piece that the choir was most prepared to perform, as it presented a unified, strong sound with the cleanest diction of the concert. It was an impressive opening and captured the audience with its unique sound, derived from Hindi literature and Sanskrit.

One thing to mention that sets the Chamber Singers of Iowa City apart from other choirs is the commitment to presenting challenging, relatively unknown works much like the opening Holst. The second movement “Hymn to the Unknown God” showcased the choir’s range of dynamics, presenting vibrant softs and full, rich louds, especially in the male sections. Concluding the Holst works, the “Festival Te Deum” seemed like a less-prepared “filler” piece, as a few of the entrances seemed to take various sections by surprise.

Cor Musica was a nice change of pace between the two larger works by the Chamber Singers. This sextet was stylistically spot on; their period ornamentation and closing bars were lovely. This group’s attention to detail, as a whole and within individual voices, was apparent. There were many beautiful moments, especially from Amandine Mothershed (soprano) and Doug Smith (bass), who solidly anchored the ensemble. At times, ensemble members needed cleaner attacks and sopranos, in particular, had a shrill tone, but otherwise a strong effort from this local ensemble.

The highlight of the concert was the Vaughan Williams’ mass, written for double mixed a cappella choir and four soloists. The tonality throughout is reminiscent of old church modes of the 16th century. As described in the program notes penned by Puderbaugh, “at times the texture is as thin as two-part imitative polyphony; at other times, Vaughan Williams creates large blocks of sound as the two choirs and solo quartet respond to each other antiphonally.” With this wide range of styles, the mass showcased the stylistic, dynamic and emotional range of the choir. The choir performed brilliantly. Soloists Kristen Kufeldt, Matthew Walker, Zack Durlam and John Muriello were equally strong, although perhaps Durlam needed to turn the volume down as he overshadowed some of the other singers. Kufeldt was especially stunning on her high notes.

Puderbaugh made a gutsy move, choosing music just on the cusp of the abilities of the choir, but it was performed brilliantly and the choice paid off, as the audience was left in a still silence after the final cut-off. Despite the community status of the ensemble, the Chamber Singers of Iowa City is a well-rehearsed, highly professional ensemble that Iowa City should be very proud of. Don’t miss their final concert of the 2007-2008 on Saturday, May 31 as they present George Frederic Handel’s “Israel in Egypt.”