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Spiritus concert
May. 8th, 2010 11:43 pmI went to see a choir concert today, and I--well, it's hard to sum it up.
For one, this wasn't just a single choir--it was two choirs, collaborating. That meant that what is normally quite complicated polyphonic harmonies in medieval music are suddenly doubled: you now have eight to ten voices singing, and the texture is so rich. Comparing their sound to a conventional SATB choir is like comparing the thickness (and I apologize for the weird analogy) of a wool sweater to a light cotton blouse. They sang the vespers, as well as the traditional (and I mean "from the 500 AD timeperiod") church services: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei.
Even though the composer was obviously contemporary (seeing as music was mostly within the church anyway), the music was very much medieval, all of the voices moving independently and over and around each other. The choir was good, though, at letting some voices sometimes shine through the medley. They also had the most amazing dynamic contrast I've ever seen: the voices were in perfect unison, sometimes, and other times I felt as though the people outside the church walls could hear and feel the force of sound. I can only imagine how much work was put into all of this...
They sang a few contemporary pieces (and by that, I mean 20th century). Again, they chose the ones with really unusual harmonies--not the perfect and major/minor intervals familiar to the Western ear, but instead a lot of diminished and augmented intervals, a lot of clashing and grating melodies. As well, most of the pieces didn't end on the tonic--often times, since the piece was modal anyway, the listener was left with a: "I know the piece is over but it sounds kind of incomplete" sense, because we're so used to having music finish off in a tidy little perfect cadence.
Anyways, I'm very glad I went, despite the cost ($20 for adults, $15 for students/seniors). I only regret that they could not perform in one of the great cathedrals of Europe: that sort of music belongs in those stone halls.
For one, this wasn't just a single choir--it was two choirs, collaborating. That meant that what is normally quite complicated polyphonic harmonies in medieval music are suddenly doubled: you now have eight to ten voices singing, and the texture is so rich. Comparing their sound to a conventional SATB choir is like comparing the thickness (and I apologize for the weird analogy) of a wool sweater to a light cotton blouse. They sang the vespers, as well as the traditional (and I mean "from the 500 AD timeperiod") church services: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei.
Even though the composer was obviously contemporary (seeing as music was mostly within the church anyway), the music was very much medieval, all of the voices moving independently and over and around each other. The choir was good, though, at letting some voices sometimes shine through the medley. They also had the most amazing dynamic contrast I've ever seen: the voices were in perfect unison, sometimes, and other times I felt as though the people outside the church walls could hear and feel the force of sound. I can only imagine how much work was put into all of this...
They sang a few contemporary pieces (and by that, I mean 20th century). Again, they chose the ones with really unusual harmonies--not the perfect and major/minor intervals familiar to the Western ear, but instead a lot of diminished and augmented intervals, a lot of clashing and grating melodies. As well, most of the pieces didn't end on the tonic--often times, since the piece was modal anyway, the listener was left with a: "I know the piece is over but it sounds kind of incomplete" sense, because we're so used to having music finish off in a tidy little perfect cadence.
Anyways, I'm very glad I went, despite the cost ($20 for adults, $15 for students/seniors). I only regret that they could not perform in one of the great cathedrals of Europe: that sort of music belongs in those stone halls.
