BY JEFFREY CHARLES PALMER, UNITED STATES CORRESPONDENT
Chanticleer
Princeton University Chapel, Princeton, New Jersey, 7 December
Named after the clear singing rooster made famous by Geoffrey Chaucer in his 14th-Century Canterbury Tales, Chanticleer has become one of the most popular and lauded a cappella male vocal ensembles in the world since its founding in 1978.
Consisting of six countertenors, three tenors and three basses, Chanticleer’s repertoire has always been firmly rooted in the Renaissance but has expanded over the years to include pop, gospel and jazz pieces, along with a commitment to regularly commissioning new works and arrangements.
Ten years ago, I had the opportunity to attend a vocal workshop and sing with some of the members of Chanticleer in their homebase of San Francisco, California, so it was a definite thrill to see some familiar faces and hear their trademark sound in the majestic Princeton University Chapel for their seasonal concert of Christmas music.
The chapel, which seats 2,000, was just about full as the lights were switched off and we were plunged into near-complete darkness just before the concert began. As our eyes slowly adjusted to the dark, allowing us to just make out the graceful Gothic arches which seemed to be floating miles above our heads, the opening strains of Guillaume Dufay’s ‘Ave Maris Stella’ sweetly cut through the silence from the back of the nave. Faint candlelight bounced off the stone columns as the singers of Chanticleer began to slowly process up the centre aisle, candles in hand, whilst chanting three additional 15th– and 16th-Century settings of this early Christian hymn comparing the Virgin Mary to the ‘star of the sea’ by John Dunstaple, Alexander Agricola, and Tomás Luis de Victoria. By the time the singers had reached the steps leading up to the quire and blown out their candles, they had masterfully set the sacred tone for the rest of the evening and had the audience in the palm of their collective hand.
After the stunning opening quartet of Marian hymns, Chanticleer began to do what they do best by performing a trio of early English carols arranged in three different centuries: a 21st-Century arrangement of ‘This endris night’ by Sarah Quartel, ‘Now make we joy’ lifted right out of the 15th-Century Ritson Manuscript, and a 20th-Century arrangement of ‘Make we joy now in this fest’ by William Walton. It was a joy indeed to hear these fresh perspectives on Renaissance pieces, simultaneously respectful to their essence while presenting new and exciting ways to listen to them.
The haunting 15th-Century English carol ‘Ther is no rose of swych vertu’ came next, flowing seamlessly into Sir Benjamin Britten’s arrangement of the same text from his glorious A Ceremony of Carols. Another personal favourite of Britten’s carol arrangements, ‘Bulalow’, followed, along with a beautiful setting by Lance Wiliford of the traditional Welsh lullaby ‘Suo Gân’.
As we moved into the middle section of the concert, we were given pieces ranging in diversity from the 15th-Century English carol ‘Nowell sing we’, to a joyful arrangement of the ‘Noel Canon’ by Steven Sametz, to a somewhat melancholic and incredibly dynamic rendition of ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’, arranged specifically for Chanticleer in 2022 by Amanda Taylor. We were also treated to Franz Biebl’s lush setting of ‘Ave Maria’ – a piece which has become one of Chanticleer’s signatures and to which their fans look forward to hearing each holiday season.
After a few more contemporary arrangements of traditional Christmas carols including the ‘Wassail Song’ and ‘Tomorrow shall be my dancing day’, we moved into the final portion of the evening’s programme, focusing on the American tradition. A particular highlight was an arrangement by Tim Keeler, the current music director of Chanticleer, of the traditional Appalachian carol ‘And the trees do moan’. Harmonically fascinating with words that draw a parallel between the Christmas evergreen tree and the tree of the cross, its’ haunting tone was similar in feel to the more famous Appalachian carol ‘I Wonder As I Wander’. It also featured a truly stunning solo from countertenor Cortez Mitchell.
The final pieces of the evening were arrangements of two Christmas spirituals, ‘(Everywhere I go) Somebody talkin’ ‘bout Jesus’ and ‘Oh, Jerusalem in the mornin’ by Chanticleer music director emeritus Joseph H. Jennings — a joyful ending to the concert which brought the audience to their feet. After two curtain calls, the singers of Chanticleer took the steps at the front of the nave once more to give us another Jennings arrangement – this time of the cosy ‘Christmas Time Is Here’ by Vince Guaraldi from the 1965 A Charlie Brown Christmas television special.
Shortly before the encore began, bass Andy Berry thanked us all for joining him and his fellow singers that evening and reminded us that coming together to share in familiar song during the holiday season not only brings us joy but can also serve as a reminder that no matter what may be happening in the world, light can always be found in the darkest places. This holiday season, may we all carry a little of that light with us, strive for peace on earth and show good will towards all.
Images supplied. Credit Alexis Branagan, Princeton University Concerts.
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