The simple pleasures of music were perfectly celebrated by the Connecticut Master Chorale in its 13th annual Holiday Prelude Concert last Sunday at St. Rose of Lima Church in Newtown. Not at all superstitious, music director and conductor Tina Johns Heidrich used tried and true programming (and her good luck dress) for an uplifting jump-start into the holiday season.
They opened with a glorious "Christmas Processional" by Mack Wilberg, as CMC gave The Morman Tabernacle Choir a serious run for the money. Keyboard accompanist extraordinaire Joseph Jacovino Jr. filled the church with music from his powerful organ. We're not in Utah anymore. Trumpet and snare drum rolls provided just the right accents for Craig Curry's arrangement of "O Come, O Come Emmanuel."
A new piece by John Rutter, "Carol of the Magi," worked magically using beautiful harmonies, with each chorus developing progressively without any elaborate orchestration. The sound of the chorale was at its best when singing a cappella or with Jacovino's piano. The small CMC Holiday Brass ensemble joined in for a more complex arrangement of Rutter's "Wells Jubilee."
David Jurman's fine voice added strength to Brian Kay's update of the 16th century hymn "Gaudete." The first portion of the concert ended with Stephen Chatman's medley of "Christmas Joy," with the sopranos soaring in " Good King Wenceslas." Clever segues connected all the carols, but the unvarnished a cappella parts had the purest sound.
Following a brief intermission, Claudia Mickelson's clarinet added some hot jazz a la Bourbon St., NOLA with the Dixieland tune "'Tis a Wonderful Thing," by Randy Vader & Jay Rouse. Taking another break from singing in the alto section a little later on, Mickelson's clarinet cooled things down with the soothing Hebrew supplication for peace -- "Ose Shalom" by Joel Leavitt.
Alto Amy Hannequin and soprano May Steinberg picked up their flutes, adding south of the border flavor to the Mexican carol "A La Ru." Steinberg's flute mixed well with the clip-clop-whip-crack percussion for a happy Swedish sleigh ride in "Ritsch, Ratsch, Filibom!"
Manny Mast has become a CMC must-have on steel drums, man. This year Heidrich mined some calypso for Mast, composed by upstate New York music professor Glenn McClure, who must have taken a vacation or two down to the islands. "Sanctus" and "Joy to the World" from "A Caribbean Christmas Mass" generated some good vibrations for all.
Unaccompanied voices can totally command attention. With hushed harmonies, the men were haunting in Randall Thompson's score for the Robert Frost poem, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening." The women gave a sentimental rendition of "Merry Christmas, Darling" popularized by The Carpenters.
Heidrich knows how to end her shows on a high note, and was rocking out for the Southern Gospel hymn "Every Light that Shines at Christmas." The CMC Brass was loosened up for a few reprises at the encore, and Jacovino was smoking on the piano. I think I'm almost ready for the holidays.
