Classical Concert Reviews Cinci

@cincinnatifusionensemble prssented its annual spring program in memory of Sandy Sanborn Martin in the beautiful acoustics of Clifton’s Calvary Episcopal Church under the leadership of artistic directors Howard Helvey and Brad Caldwell.
Joined by guest organist Mitchell Miller, a native of Cincinnati, evening’s program skewed heavily toward sacred anthems that have become mainstays of the choral repertoire over the last fifty years, including some of Helvey’s own compositions and works by Elaine Hagenberg and Jane Marshall, with slight detours into spiritual arrangements by Moses Hogan and William Henry Smith.
The singers assembled for this performance gave sensuous, passionate and invigorating performances, as was to be expected of this ensemble.
While a small handful of pieces on the program have appeared in past Fusion Ensemble concerts (including Marshall’s anthem My Eternal King, four newer works stood out from the rest of the pack, Hagenberg’s O Love (with guest cellist Susan Marshall Petersen), California composer Craig Phillips’ extended setting of the Song of Zechariah, the regional premiere of Marianne Forman’s anthem Safe To The Land and Howard Helvey’s anthem And Now, Beloved Lord, Thy Soul Reigning. Great opportunities were given to spotlight soloists from the ensemble in Smith’s arrangement of Ride the Chariot (soprano Christina Mancheni) and two of Helvey’s anthems (Ethan Neal and Kate Gardin).
Organist Miller provided excellent readings of solo repertoire by Johann Sebastian Bach, Charles-Marie Widor and Robert Schumann on Calvary’s 1927 E.M. Skinner pipe organ in advance of his competing in the 2026 American Guild of Organists National Young Artists Competition in St. Louis.
The icing on the cake for tonight’s concert though, had to be a resounding performance of Moses Hogan’s Elijah Rock. While the technical demands of this piece would be formidable for any chamber choir, this group pulled it off wonderfully.
What a joy it is to hear both old and new friends come together to make wonderful music in a group as fabulous as Cincinnati Fusion Ensemble. Looking forward to what awaits this coming fall.