Classical Concert Reviews Cinci

Cincinnati Fusion Ensemble, under the direction of Howard Helvey with pianist Brad Caldwell, presented its annual Mary Slade Rust Martin and Louis Henry Martin Memorial Program, a varied mix of choral and organ selections with an emphasis on contemporary composers, including some of Helvey’s own compositions as well as Alice Parker, David Hurd and Elaine Hagenberg.
Highlights included a sweetly-voiced new setting by Helvey of words from the Book of Proverbs, “Trust in the Lord”, a set of evening canticles heavily influenced by the music of Herbert Howells, and John Ireland’s masterpiece of choral literature Greater Love Hath No Man.
The Fusion Ensemble’s tone throughout was vibrant, majestic and soulful, particularly in selections by Alice Parker, Robert DeCormier and Elaine Hagenberg.
Guest organist Isabelle Demers, professor of organ at McGill University in Montreal, returned for her fourth appearance with the Fusion Ensemble, bringing in spectacular solo performances of the chorale fantasy ‘Hallelujah! Gott zu loben’ by Max Reger in honor of the 150th anniversary of his birth, and freshly created organ transcriptions from Sergei Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and Juliet. Demers returned to provide an encore, a rarity for a Fusion Ensemble concert, playing the Big Ben Fugue from a set of Twelve Short Pieces by the late Canadian composer Rachel Laurin.

Winton Woods High School Varsity Ensemble returned for its yearly collaboration with the Fusion Ensemble, singing arrangements of the spiritual Death came a-knocking’ and the Haitian folk melody Peze Kafé. Their sound was bright, smoky and incredibly joyful, receiving an enthusiastic reception.

The program officially concluded with a spirited and stirring performance of Mack Wilberg’s arrangement of the hymn Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, with both featured choirs combing to generate a massive wall of sound across Calvary Episcopal Church in Clifton.

Eagerly looking forward for the next performance opportunity Cincinnati Fusion Ensemble will bring to this gorgeous space.