Classical Concert Reviews Cinci

Whaat a spectacular debut performance by Ensemble O2, Cincinnati’s newest professional choral/chamber ensemble in the architectural and acoustical beauty of the Wyoming Fine Arts Center’s Masonic Theatre.
Under the direction of Turkish-born conductor Ömer Aziz Kahyan, this debut concert served as a proof of concept of the group’s potential to build its reach among audiences, arts patrons and donors in the city, with a focus on music by contemporary composers. Maestro Khayan built this evening’s musical selections around Frank Martin’s Mass for Double Choir, composed in secrecy between 1922 and 1926 but not premiered until 1963, nor published until 1972.
Ensemble O2’s performance of this masterpiece, surrounded by shorter works by Kevin Puts, Pauline Oliveros, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Gabriel Jackson made it a mesmerizing experience. The assembled performers sang with austere grace, effervescent power and a sense of hidden beauty that is hard to match in other groups outside of the Queen City, achieved with only 18 singers divided across no more than 10-12 parts. This was most effective in the use of a solo quartet of singers separate from the rest of the ensemble in the sumptuous final Agnus Dei.
Fine chamber performances were also provided by pianist Caleb Hixon, flutist Valentina Arango Sanchez and violinist KayCee Galano in works by Eugène Ysaÿe, Arvo Pärt and Tōru Takemitsu. The finest contemporary choral treats beyond the Martin Mass came in Takemitsu’s Cherry Blossoms (Sakura), an adaptation of the eponymous folk song written in 1979, a sweeping Swedish opener by Susanna Rosenberg titled Pust (written in 1998) and a score by Christopher Theofanidis setting words of the Persian poet Rumi from the suite Messages to Myself (written for the Houston Chamber Choir in 2007).
It’s fair to say that Ensemble O2 will definitely go places as an choir with an excellent base of support to begin this new journey, one which I hope will be talked about among choral artists, directors and music lovers throughout Cincinnati in the months and years ahead.