Thursday. March 15. 2012
7:30 pm . Westwood Mennonite Church
Special Event
Canada’s foremost professional chamber ensemble, this choir has built an international reputation known for the unique beauty of their sound and has set the standard for all choirs!
One performance only!
REVIEW
They came, they sang, they captivated us. The Elmer Iseler Singers performed on March 15 before a near-capacity audience at Westwood Mennonite Church. The Singers came from Toronto for a 12-day tour of ten BC cities. Their Prince George performance was part of the Prince George Symphony's annual concert series. The professional chamber choir consists of 20 voices led by Director Dr. Lydia Adams. The choir is internationally renowned for its unique sound and a repertoire spanning 500 years of choral music. The choir has commissioned and performed many new works since its debut in 1979.
The evening began with Six Motets for Double Choir (Opus 79) by Felix Mendelssohn. The motets are arranged according to the church year with texts from the Psalms and the New Testament. Mendelssohn wrote the motets between 1843 and 1846 for an eight-voice mixed chorus without accompaniment. On Thursday night the Singer's complement of 20 voices provided depth and richness to each motet and kept the audience spellbound.
Stanchen (D. 920) by Franz Schubert is a light-hearted piece composed in 1826 for mezzo-soprano and four-part men’s chorus. Mezzo-soprano Andrea Ludwig, the male chorus and a fast-moving piano accompanist created a smooth, flowing crescendo of melodies that delighted the listener. As she sang, Ludwig shared her smiling gestures toward the audience and the chorus as if to say, “ I want you all to enjoy each others’ friendship!”
The full ensemble then sang Silent Dawn by Canadian composer Timothy Corlis. In this short meditative piece the male voices provided a strong foundation for the women’s voices, which rose to ever-increasing heights above the bass line. Three spirituals completed the first part of the program, with soprano Rebecca Whelan and baritone James Baldwin singing the solos.
The second half of the program consisted of three hymns, Abide With Me, Precious Lord, and Amazing Grace. The choir followed with a suite of seven traditional Scottish airs. Audience members paid rapt attention to the Scottish airs and several listeners appeared ready to get up and sing along with the choir.
The second-last set of songs consisted of Derek Healey’s Salish Song and Inuit Hunting Song. Healey is a composer, organist and teacher with a long history of musical accomplishments in Canada and beyond. The Singers then positioned themselves among the audience for an ancient Mi’kmaq Gathering Song replete with animal and bird calls. The suite of Canadian songs ended with Tout Passe, a haunting lament marking the expulsion of the Acadians from Nova Scotia in 1755.
To end the performance seven Prince George choirs joined the Singers in a massed choir of 100 voices. Youths, adults and seasoned professionals sang together in stirring renditions of Ave Verum by Mozart and Here’s to Song, an anthem for singing and friendship by Nova Scotia songwriter and folklorist Allister MacGillivray. It was a moving end to an evening of disciplined, polished, often emotional music that demonstrated the variety, power and beauty of the human voice. The audience demanded more with a well-deserved standing ovation. The Singers responded with Shenandoah, a popular favourite.
Prince George was fortunate to be able to benefit from the musical wealth of the Elmer Iseler Singers during their BC tour. Special thanks must go to all the local sponsors who made this outstanding performance possible.
by Anne Hogan
Anne Hogan has been listening avidly to live music around Prince George since 1973.