Classical Concert Reviews Cinci

@mayfestivalcincy celebrated the art of communal music making with a rare treat gracing the stage of @musichallcincy – a full concert by the May Festival’s choruses in collaboration with the @cincyboychoir. With a program of mostly contemporary music, including a world premiere commission, it was wonderful and moving to see this new artistic partnership come together for the first time.
@cincyboychoir, in various combinations of voices, brought a well-rounded, gracefully shaped sound to their set (including works by Jacob Narverud, Joseph M. Martin and Pinkzebra) even if their sound occasionally didn’t carry as well in the space as might be expected.
The May Festival Youth Chorus under @jasonalexanderholmes brought a refined, effervescent sound to their set, including a fairly new, socially conscious work by Kyle Pederson and a very unique arrangement of Joni Mitchell’s Big Yellow Taxi.
The May Festival Chorus was in excellent form, as always, under the leadership of its new Director of Choruses, Matthew Swanson and the organization’s newest conducting fellow, Andrew Miller, who led a sensuous reading of Salutation by Latvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds. The main highlight of their set was an exhilarating performance of Jonathan Dove’s choral suite The Passing of the Year. Performed here with an expanded accompaniment of two pianos and percussion, the chorus’s sound was exuberant, incredibly lush and evenly paced without feeling rushed. Maestro Swanson is an amazing conductor, knowing how to get the desired sound out of any ensemble that will leave the audience in awe, and he certainly delivered that today.
All three choruses then combined to present the world premiere of Inspiration: At the Golden Gate of Song by Cincinnati-based composer Howard Helvey, setting a short poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar. Dividing into three choruses spaced out across the stage and balconies with two-piano accompaniment, their sound was bright and sunny without feeling forced. Having been a huge fan of Helvey’s music for years, it left me so happy to see his newest work being performed by such a fantastic organization as the Cincinnati May Festival!
Bravi tutti!