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Sunday, April 13, 2008

Opus 7 delivered a powerful message of peace

by Philippa Kiraly
Special to the P-I

MUSIC REVIEW

WHEN: Saturday night

WHERE: St. James Cathedral

Opus 7's performance at St. James Cathedral Saturday night was in perfect harmony with the visit of the Dalai Lama. Thoughtfully designed and titled "Blessed Are the Peacemakers," the program drew on works that explored aspects of peace and reconciliation. Cumulatively through the performance, they built a powerful, moving message.

Thankfulness for peace after war is the theme of Brahms' "Unsere Vaeter hofften auf dich," while Rheinberger's "Kyrie" and "Agnus Dei" express the yearning for calm by those in turmoil. Contemporary composer Jeffrey Van's "The Beatitudes" has a promising structure, but the whole becomes too sprawly, and his angular harmonies don't lend themselves to a peaceful ambience. Charles Ives, whose name is synonymous with unusual harmonies, creates a surprisingly pure, calm atmosphere in "Serenity." French 20th-century composer Pierre Villette's "Attende, Domine" asks for forgiveness, ending in resolution and hard-won peace of mind.

Setting the words of the "Agnus Dei" to Elgar's stately "Nimrod" from the "Enigma" Variations, David Giardiniere's arrangement is straightforward and successful.

Directed by Loren Pontén, Opus 7's excellent performances of these varied and often demanding works were the herald to the main works of the evening, Benjamin Britten's "Cantata Misericordium" and Vasks' "Dona nobis pacem."

The Britten, dedicated to the Red Cross, is the part of the program that most closely related to the Dalai Lama's purpose here. "Cantata Misericordium" tells the story of the good Samaritan, the person who with compassion helps a robbed, wounded man from a different background, after two of the victim's compatriots refuse aid.

Accompanied by orchestra, with the chorus as narrator, tenor soloist Howard Fankhauser as Samaritan and baritone Charles Robert Stephens as victim, Opus 7 gave a stirring performance. Stephens, particularly, brought out the emotions inherent in story and music.

Vask's "Dona nobis pacem" is tranquil, almost chantlike in the voices, with string and harp accompaniment. It's a plea for peace as the only way to begin to restore ecological destruction. The program notes describe it as a searingly beautiful meditation. Indeed it was.

1 April 2000 "All Northwest"

Opus 7's Northwest roots blossom into pure harmony

Imagine an entire choral concert of music written recently in the Northwest, with only a couple written before 1980. Then imagine a large, interested audience to hear it. Unusual, you'll agree.

It says much for chamber choir Opus 7 that it could draw such an audience for its concert Saturday night at St. Mark's Cathedral; and more for its director, Loren Pont�n, that he could bring off in such style a performance with four premieres and 16 composers, 10 of whom were present.

Pont�n's discriminating choices underlined the high quality of choral composition going on here. Virtually all the works performed, many of them for use in church or synagogue, sustained the interest musically, illuminated the text and moved the heart.

Jeff Kunins' effective "Shema Yisrael" (1999), a highlight of the concert, used a soprano solo in a clarion call to prayer, bracketing the spoken word over quiet chorus. Lisa Cardwell Pont�n achieved the high solo confidently. It was simple to listen to, extremely difficult to sing. Her voice was rich, clear, pure and accurate.

Other standouts among this fine collection included Joan Szymko's peaceful "Ubi caritas" (1996), with gorgeous harmonies, a piece that wouldn't work without pure voices and accurate intonation, both of which Opus 7 provided; two of "Three Medieval Lyrics" (1993) by Karen Thomas, one charming and gentle, the other a sensuous color washing (though pitch was temporarily off here); Alan Hovhaness' traditional "A Rose Tree Blossoms" (1971); Michael Young's positive, joyful and well-shaped "Give Glory All Creation" (1991); and, not least, Bern Herbolsheimer's ravishing "David Mourns for Absalom," which, however, substituted a peaceful mode for the anguish in the words.

Opus 7 has instigated a Student Composer Choral Competition for Washington. Its first two winners' works received their premiere performances, and both held their own in this excellent collection.

Deborah Kelley (a senior at Mount Rainier High School in Des Moines) created in her "Jesu Dulcis Memoria" a work that uses deceptively simple rhythms and open harmonies with sophisticated use of the voices. The music mirrored the text's straightforward, pure prayer.

Kristin Gordon, a graduating senior at Gonzaga University, composed a well-structured, jubilant setting of "Regina Coeli."

I haven't space to mention individually each of the remaining works, deserving though they be, by composers Gerald Kechley; Peter Hallock; Diane Thome (whose work, chosen from a trilogy, seemed truncated); John Muehleisen, who wrote a fine tribute to the late Roy Cummings; David Asplin; Robert Scandrett; William Bergsma; and David Dahl, whose contribution was four short organ works, performed by himself.

Philippa Kiraly, Special to the P-I

April 3, 2000

June 2000, from The Stranger Guide to Seattle

The ensemble-in-residence for the imposingly towered St. James Cathedral offers a fine reminder that whatever excesses Christians of all stripes have committed in the name of God, they've also made possible some lovely music. Dedicated to religious works, naturally, but specifically to music of the 20th century. And the group admirably manages to avoid the over familiar; there's Britten and Tavener, to be sure, but not necessarily the pieces you'd expect. If God is in the details, then director Loren Pont�n has done full service to his deity--the group sings beautifully to a member, no matter what is set before them. Always a service worth catching; too bad about those uncomfortable pews, though.

Typical Programming: Mostly tonal (were any of the Darmstadt gang into God?), but some aggressively modern pieces are fit in (and performed wonderfully) as well.

6 December 1998 "A Celebration for the Feast of St. Nicolas"

Difficult Britten pieces flow together with help from many sources

More than any composer of this century, Benjamin Britten mixed his performing groups and made dramatic use of sacred space.

As he intended, his cantata "Saint Nicolas" was performed Sunday night by a professional choir and soloist, children's choir, child soloists, church choir and professional musicians, all under the baton of Loren Pont�n and using the spatial resources of St. James Cathedral.

It took a well-organized conductor to keep all those groups musically together, and under Pont�n, the different sections dovetailed as smoothly as the drama of the music unfolded.

Opus 7, the resident ensemble of 23 singers at St. James Cathedral, performed the often musically difficult and intensely dramatic parts, with the children of St. James Cathedral Schola Cantorum singing folklike narrative carols with a medieval tinge.

Soprano Jeffrey Aquino sang the small role of the boy Nicolas. Tenor Howard Fankhauser, undertaking the core of the work, sang Nicolas as young man, holy man, bishop, prisoner and at his death. His clear voice, secure pitch, and sense of drama made his performance gripping, moving and sincere.

Britten was a master of tone painting, and his music for the small orchestra playing underneath and around the singing is extraordinary: springtime and storm, calm sea and wild, serenity and trouble. Percussion has a major role, expertly realized by Matthew Kocmieroski and Rob Tucker, as does solo violin, well played by John Pilskog.

Pont�n and Opus 7, which he founded six years ago, have grown in stature. Opus 7 is now an important a cappella choir and Pont�n a young choral director worth watching.

Also heard was Britten's early cantata, "A Boy Was Born," sung by Opus 7 and the Prime Voci group from The Seattle Girls' Choir. It was a pleasure.

Philippa Kiraly, Special to the P-I

December 8, 1998

28 March 1998 "Benedictio"

Music Review

Opus 7's Lenten concert a rich one

"Opus 7, the suburb a cappella vocal ensemble in residence at St. James Cathedral, often ties its programs to significant events in the Christian calendar."

"The program at St. James . . . ranged all over the Western universe, with Ave Marias, for instance, by Bruckner, Stravinsky, Verdi and Holst."

"In addition to a fascinating program of considerable breadth, Opus, capably led by its director Loren Pont�n, sang with its customary polish, handsome balance and keen sense of pitch."

"C. Hubert H. Parry's "My Soul, There Is a Countrie," opened the concert. Immediately, one could hear the beautifully clear, perfect blend of human voices. The noble sound admirably crafted by Pont�n, drifted through the cathedral.

In drafting the program, Pont�n not only wanted to call attention to the musical richness inspired by Lent but to draw attention to the similarities and differences of those riches. Carlo Gesualdo, from the High Renaissance of Italy to 37-year old Urmas Sisask, from Estonia, were the chronological bookends of the concert.

In between there were major musical lights such as Orlando Gibbons, Zolt�n Kod�ly, Karol Szymanowski, Charles Ives and Franz Lizst.

The four Ave Marias were among the most intriguing works of the evening in part because they were so unrepresentative of the composers who wrote them, especially the Bruckner and Verdi. Among the most striking moments of the night was Ives' "Serenity," in which Opus sang from the organ loft and the solo piano (Matthew Wilkins) was at the opposite end of the church. How beautiful, how haunting.

John Muehleisen's "The King of Glory," a highly effective and sometimes moving work, was given its premiere in an excellent performance."

R.M. Campbell, P-I Music Critic

March 30, 1998

15 December 1996 "The Great 'O' Antiphons"

Music Review

St. James' Opus 7 rings crisp and clear with 'Antiphons'

"On Sunday night, Opus 7 widened its horizons and moved across eight centuries. The illuminating concert focused on various settings of the seven "Great 'O' Antiphons," Gregorian chants meant to be sung during Advent."

"The centerpiece of the concert was the premiere of John Muehleisen's "The Great 'O' Antiphons," in which the seven medieval chants, in Latin, are paired with the composer's chants set to the same text, sung in English. The result was fascinating, underscoring the relevance and suitability of some contemporary music to the church. Nearly always the work is compelling, aided, of course, by St. James' remarkable acoustics."

"Muehleisen's palette is varied and rang tellingly throughout the church. Individual voices are given welcome prominence along with the full ensemble of some 16 singers."

"Opus 7 is an excellent, highly disciplined ensemble with keen ears, marvelous balance and ardent musicality."

R.M. Campbell, P-I Music Critic

December 17, 1996

April 17, 1996 "Early Music in Seattle and How it Grew"

"What Seattle's early music community also has, and has always had, is a collaborative attitude in which everyone helps each other. Today, singers such as tenor David Stutz, soprano Lisa Cardwell Pont�n, baritone Vernon Nicodemus, and many others can be heard in some or all of such choral groups as Loren Pont�n's Opus 7 . . . "

Philippa Kiraly, Seattle Weekly

April 17, 1996

March 29, 1996 "From Captivity to the Holy City"

Music Review

"Titled 'From Captivity to the Holy City,' the program was devoted to words of those going, or returning, literally or figuratively, to Jerusalem and thus home to God's abode. Some words came from the Psalms, some from such 17^th-century poets as Paul Flemming and John Donne – words of praise, distress, faith, sorrow, prayer, anxiety, agony. Together, they were a powerful collection."

" . . . the group's sound was glorious, and its intonation well-nigh impeccable."

"Nothing was insecure in the way Opus 7 tackled an extraordinarily difficult work, "De Profundis," commissioned for the occasion from John Muehleisen (a composer for whose works Opus 7 has an affinity).

Full of dissonance and variety, with many lovely resting places and spine-tingling moments, this is a major choral piece. It will be hard, for instance, to forget the amazing musical line 'Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy,' sung without flaw by soprano Lisa Cardwell Pont�n."

"The expressiveness was present [both] in the new . . . and the older [music]"

Philippa Kiraly, Special to the P-I
April 1, 1996

December 16, 1995 "Noel through the Ages"

Seattle Weekly Music Pick

"In a distinctly different Christmas concert, the 14 professional singers of Opus 7 under Loren Pont�n perform a mostly 20th-century program of unaccompanied music by Hugo Distler, mystical composer John Tavener, and Northwest composer Robert Scandrett, among others. Also featured will be the world premiere of Christmas Hath a Darkness, written by another Northwest composer, John Muehleisen. This is a contemplative piece, and eight-part unaccompanied work set to a haunting text by poet Christina Rossetti."

Philippa Kiraly, Seattle Weekly
December 13, 1995