Newton Community Chorus – Richard Travers, Music Director. 12/17/2005.

Our Lady Help of Christians Church, Newton, MA

Lesley Chen, Concertmaster; Janet Poisson, Soprano; Melinda Biocchi, Alto; Noah van Niel, Tenor; Stephen Mumbert, Baritone.

Program

Handel’s Messiah, Part I & the Hallelujah Chorus

We went to this concert because our daughter – she has lived in the Boston area since August - sings in the chorus. We didn’t quite know what to expect. The choruses in the oratorio are challenging, but are quite doable with reasonably competent singers. The orchestral part is also within grasp of a good community orchestra. Perhaps the most difficult task is to find soloists whose voices work well with the orchestra.

The church is huge and impressive; its cathedral ceilings reminded me of some European churches I have visited. The interior is bright, no doubt helped by the many lights installed in the ceiling and the light color paint. Mosaics of the apostles adorn the high arches supporting the ceiling. It must seat well over 1000 people; a few hundred people attended the concert, and generally lent a festive atmosphere to the evening.

By and large this was a well performed concert, if one makes allowances for this being a community chorus. The church’s acoustics worked quite well for the orchestra and for the chorus. We were seated towards the back, but still could hear very well. The sopranos had to reach a high B-flat, a challenge for most people. They by-and-large managed the high notes quite well, although at times the sound was strained. The many 16^th note runs were done quite well, although they were a little on the slow side. The orchestra had a nice sound to it, and once it settled down, played with precision.

There were some major shortcomings, though. The chorus’s individual sections were quite competent, but the soprano voices dominated the other three parts, and the tenors and basses were particularly weak. Many amateur choruses don’t have enough male voices to balance the female ones, and the NCC appears to suffer from this problem. The conductor did his job rather mechanically, often evoking the image of a marching band leader. With an amateur chorus, the conductor could help out a lot by providing timely lead-ins. This was particularly evident in “For unto Us a Child is Born.” The tenors and basses could have used more help. My daughter told me he appeared to be better with the orchestra, although I didn’t notice it. He provided precise cues for the endings of phrases, though.

The first two solos were done by the tenor. My impression was while his voice was good and projected well, it lacked maturity and didn’t do justice to the air “Every Valley”. I then read the program notes and found out he must be only around 20 years old! Too bad for tonight’s performance these were the only two tenor pieces. The other soloists’ performances all had something to be desired: how their voices projected over the orchestra, volume, clarity, phrasing, and (especially in the case of the soprano) diction. Perhaps one should also point out these are all young people who will undoubtedly improve with more experience.

As a critic one has to conclude this concert had much to be desired. On the other hand, the more appropriate attitude is to enjoy a great choral piece by Handel during the Christmas season. And as such I enjoyed the concert very much. One could tell the chorus members performed with well-deserved pride at what they accomplished.