Report from Verbier -- July 19th

July 19, 2009

Today was the day of the Collegiate Chorale’s own concert; nonetheless we started out with a rehearsal for Don Giovanni. We had originally been scheduled for the whole three-hour rehearsal, but given that we sing for approximately 30 seconds (women) or a minute and a half (men) the Verbier folks agreed that was a bit much. So we showed up, sang our bits and left. It was lovely to see conductor Manfred Honeck again, and he recalled our concerts together two years ago very graciously. I think he was pleased with our performance today, but he must have a lot of other things on his mind at the moment: three of the principals for the opera—Donna Anna, Donna Elvira, and Don Ottavio—have all cancelled and will have last minute replacements. He’s probably just glad he can be confident that the chorus will do fine without taking up any of his time.

We took advantage of the shortened Don Giovanni rehearsal to go up to the church and rehearse tonight’s program in situ. It’s a long, long, steep climb from La Comba, where the first rehearsal was, to the church, and it took all our lung power (although one of the side-by-side students demonstrated his superiority by running up the hill). It’s a good thing we did get some time in the church, because the space was something of a challenge. It was just barely possible to fit in a piano for Ken, chairs for all the singers, and a podium for Nancy and still leave a tiny spot for the soloists to stand, but it took ingenuity, and it’s a good thing we all like each other. And ultimately the front row had to sit when everyone was singing, or the second two rows couldn’t even see Nancy. On the other hand, it’s a wonderful space to sing in—very live.

The program was based on one that the pros performed last year in Israel. Bob had designed it to show off the versatility of the human voice and the spectrum of music for chorus. It was so spectacularly successful that those of us who heard it felt it should be performed again. So it was nice to see it in another incarnation. The first half was all European and classical. The pros did some motets as a chamber chorus, and there were some small ensembles and solos with chorus, including a segment from Elijah. For this part we wore our regular black concert garb. There were some lovely moments, and the performance was well received.

But it was the second half, which was American music of all sorts, that really took off. We changed into bright colors and cut loose, and the audience loved it. We started with two pieces by the 18th-century composer William Billings. For the second, “When Jesus Wept,” which was performed by the pros alone, the singers moved out to circle the entire church. The piece is a kind of canon, and you could hear it move from place to place around the church. The effect was magical. Several pros sang solo pieces, and we did some popular and theatre songs and a lot of spirituals, ending up with the finale to Candide. Many of the songs were Nancy’s own arrangements, and they were absolutely delightful. She’s so unassuming that I doubt some of us had realized until now how multi-talented she actually is. (You simply must hear her version of “Hit Me with a Hot Note.”)

All the pieces were well received, but I think the spirituals got the most response—European audiences seem to love spirituals. We sang some of Nancy’s own arrangements, and some of Bob’s old favorites. Both of our encores were spirituals, including one I particularly associate with Bob, “Every Time I Hear the Spirit.”

Everyone seemed really on tonight. I can’t single out any individual performance as particularly notable, because I would have to single out every one of them. It’s amazing what resources we have to draw on from within our ranks. Listening to the Collegiate Chorale pros singing one after the other, I was awfully proud. They could hold their own on any stage in the world, and indeed, tonight they did.

I believe we all know how much of this we owe Nancy Wertsch, who stepped in at a very difficult time and gave us exactly what we needed. It is due largely to her that tonight was such a triumph. The concert was a nice way of looking backward and forward at the same time: it was Bob’s concert, and it made us think of him. But it also showed what we can do moving into the future.

Janet Pascal