Review of Taylor Festival Choir


Robert Taylor, Conductor


March 3, 2009 8 pm


by Aaron Adair, PhD



          When considering the wide spectrum of musical tastes, terms like “classical” and “folk” usually belong at opposite ends. One might have better luck getting both parties of Congress to agree on a budget than to try to program these varied types of music within an evening of performance.  But in the case of the Taylor Festival Choir’s concert at First Christian Church of Durant on March 3, 2009, not only was an agreement reached, but the two different styles blended to create a choral performance that gave this reviewer pause to wonder why more choirs don’t take risks like this in their programming choices.
          The concert was presented as a preview performance of the Choir’s two concerts during the 50th Annual American Choral Directors Association  Convention in Oklahoma City on March 7.  The Taylor Festival Choir, based out of Charleston, South Carolina, boasts 27 singers (that easily sound like 50) from around the United States.  Three of its members are based in Oklahoma, including Durant native Aprill Raines, a music educator in the Durant Public Schools, soprano in the First Christian Church Adult Choir, and keyboardist at First United Methodist Church. 
          As the first half of the program began, it was apparent from the physical arrangement of the choir that Director Robert Taylor was confident in the talents of his performers.  The configuration strayed from the traditional positioning of similarly-voiced singers standing near one another, and thus the mixed voices created a near-perfect acoustic sound throughout the evening, demonstrating each singer’s individual strengths of pitch, blend, and balance.

To begin, the bold choice of Ralph Vaughan Williams' arrangement of "O Clap Your Hands," featuring Richard Jobe on organ, was full of good phrasing, dynamics, balance, and a swell (pun intended) compliment to the organ.  The second piece, “Deutsche Messe,” (German Mass) by Johann Nepomuk David, was performed a capella, and included the “Kyrie” (Lord have mercy upon us) and “Gloria” (glory to God in the highest) portions of the Mass in a beautiful organum sound that combined traditional Latin text with German language.  The vocal basso continuo and haunting dissonance created excellent dynamic contrasts throughout, and the sopranos in overtone-like pitches showed the vocal dexterity of the group and demonstrated its incredible range in both sound and literature. 

A more reflective piece followed with Brian Galante’s “On Meditation,” featuring soprano Kristi Galante.  To preface, Director Taylor remarked that the text offered spiritual advice from both Western and Eastern philosophies, and stated that piece seemed to reveal that, "in order to be fulfilled you have to stop trying to be fulfilled."  With that, the Choir began the tone poem that posed a series of questions on human nature, each beginning with "Can you...?” in a style reminiscent of the twentieth century American composers Samuel Barber and Aaron Copland.  The harmonies included a Naval chorus and included beautifully deconstructed ending, removing all of the voices one by one until Galante's soprano timbre posed the final question. 

“Poemas de Amor,” by Stephen Paulus, continued the program with a syncopated beat congruent with the Spanish text and Latin rhythms.  Though no marimba was available, the piano was a suitable substitute for “Sonaba,” the first “love poem”.  In “Si lo dicen,” (if they say it), a jazz fusion piece with harmonies that included some Madrigal chords mixed in with 9th and 11th chords, one could detect a subtle, chant-like rhythmic progression throughout the song.  This reviewer imagines that if Palestrina were alive today he might have composed it, and in keeping with the sacredness of his works, a 4-3 suspension (or “Amen” chord progression) provided a fitting conclusion to the work. 
The finale of the first half was an exquisite arrangement of “Shenendoah” by James Berg, offering a magnificent example of restraint and vocal eloquence by the singers.  In taking a beloved Southern anthem, Berg and the Taylor Festival Choir turned the song into a prayer to the old Antebellum South.  As the piece concluded, one could not help but notice audible sighs coming from the audience.
The transition from “classical” to “folk”—now made effortless thanks to “Shenendoah”—began with songs from traditional Celtic and Irish origins.  The first selection was a trilogy of Folk Songs by Nova Scotian composer Allister McGillavray, featuring Richard Jobe on piano.  The pieces included sounds of hymns with sea shanty rhythms (albeit with a lullaby tempo in ¾ time), male choruses with a baritone soloist who gave an Irish tenor lilt, a countertenor and alto soloist who told beautiful story songs full of longing and regret.

One could hardly think of an evening of folk music with Irish melodies without thinking of “Danny Boy.”  With Robert Taylor’s wife, Mary
Taylor, on violin, this unusual polytonal arrangement of the most familiar Irish song of them all included variations such as a mournful,
cello-like quality to the violin accompaniment, along with several instances of open fifths in the choral arrangement that created a
chant-like feel to the piece.  The next piece, another traditional Irish tune, “She Moved Through the Fair,” featured Andrea Horath,
soprano, and did much the same with a traditional a capella opening transitioning to more contemporary choral harmonies that,
nevertheless, retained elements of Irish and Celtic influence in the modern arrangements.  Finally, the familiar Scottish folk song,
“Annie Laurie,” featured Aprill Raines, who had beautiful lyric soprano coloring and just enough lilt to give the arrangement a great
deal of authenticity.
          The selection for the conclusion of the folk song set and finale of the concert couldn’t have been better than “The Coolin/Fionnghuala,” a medley of two Irish songs arranged by Director Robert Taylor, with Joe Ford, guitar, and Mary Taylor, fiddle.  “The Coolin,” a traditional Irish ballad, was brief but poignant, and its companion piece, “Fionnghuala,” was a Gaelic tongue-twister with exciting foot-tapping appeal.  As sung by Taylor himself with impressive vocal dexterity and guitar and fiddle accompaniment, I suddenly longed for a pint of Guinness at my favorite pub and wondered if I could make it there before closing time.

 The Taylor Festival Choir’s concert presented a challenge to the audience to reconcile some of its most difficult classical pieces with the more accessible folk song arrangements.  Not only did the audience of March 3rd respond well, one could imagine the success future performances will bring to this terrific ensemble.  For this reviewer, it was a chance to experience what is expected to be a wildly successful concert in front of music educators and aficionados from around the United States gathered in Oklahoma City.   But for one night, Durant had this group all to itself with the great fortune to experience this diverse, complex, and dynamic array of choral musicians in an intimate setting with an unforgettable evening of blended music.  

---

 This is Thy Hour, O Soul - CD

 Richard Jobe, organ; Taylor Festival Choir/Dr. Robert Taylor

Centaur 2773 – 67 minutes 

The Taylor Festival Choir is a top-notch ensemble of around 20 professional singers who gather every June in Charleston, SC for the Taylor Music Festival. This unique happening combines classical choral music and Celtic music, and this choir is the flagship ensemble for the festival’s choral end. Here we have a winning and varied array of 20^th-Century and contemporary choral gems (some a cappella, others with organ) recorded in 2003 and 2004. 

Among the featured composers are emerging choral writers Brian Galante and Trevor Weston, who have recently served as the festival’s composers-in-residence. Galante’s contributions here include ‘On Meditation,’ an ecstatic setting of an ancient Chinese text. ‘A Clear Midnight’ gives wondrous wing to a nocturnal poem from Walt Whitman; its opening line, “This is thy hour, O soul,” serves as the album’s title. His serene ‘Ave Maria’ setting ends the collection on a lustrous and gentle note.  

Weston, one of Taylor’s fellow professors at the College of Charleston, has a special affinity for sacred music – especially in its Anglican guise (he grew up singing in NYC’s legendary St. Thomas Choir). His settings of the classic ‘Magnificat’ and ‘Nunc Dimittis’ texts are achingly lovely as well as spiritually potent, conveying a radiant sense of holy mystery and wonder. 

Tribute to the English masters comes with Benjamin Britten’s reflective, then jubilant ‘Festival Te Deum’ – one of his sacred masterpieces. Organist Richard Jobe shines here, as elsewhere. Then there’s Ralph Vaughan Williams’ radiant and imploring ‘Prayer to the Father of Heaven,’ setting a 16^th-century supplication by John Skelton. Brazilian composer Ernani Aguiar’s stirring Salmo 150 recalls the music of his homeland’s colonial period.    

American standout William Schuman is honored via his three Carols of Death – also Whitman settings. Despite the often bleak and fatalistic tone of the texts, this is appealing material. ‘To All, to Each’ – the last of the three – is an especially touching song of comfortable resignation to one’s mortality. Another domestic classic is Aaron Copland’s exuberant early motet, ‘Sing Ye Praises.’ 

Two of the most exciting and original items are from Eric Whitacre, one of today’s true choral superstars. A few of the world’s leading chamber choirs have recorded Water Night andCloudburst – both treating texts by Nobel laureate Octavio Paz. The impact of Cloudburst can be particularly stunning. Both numbers employ cunning tone-clusters and startling effects, requiring the kind of needlepoint intonation and vocal transparency that only a very accomplished choir can pull off. 

And this terrific bunch is fully up to such demands. I’ve heard a certain top English ensemble perform these pieces with marginally better precision, refinement and tonal purity – but also with a typically English sense of what I call “celestial sterility.” While that approach certainly works for this music, Dr. Taylor’s singers engage the music’s emotions more deeply, while bringing a warmer, more robust sound to bear.  

Their singing more than satisfies elsewhere in the album, too – with exceptional tonal range, excellent diction and sensitive phrasing: all hallmarks of Taylor’s several excellent choirs in the Charleston area. The only place where pitches sound a bit off is in the fearsome broken chords of the Britten Te Deum’s fast section – having sung the piece, I know how hard it is to nail some of those notes. 

Sonic characteristics are variable, owing to the different recording venues – but

Centaur’s engineering delivers mostly warm, clear sound. The booklet is useful, with interesting notes and near-complete texts (only those for the Schuman pieces are missing). In all, fans of modern choral music will find much to enjoy here. And it’s a shining tribute to the director’s late father, Bob Taylor (also an exceptional choirmaster), to whom the album is dedicated.     

Lindsay Koob

Former Choral Critic

American Record Guide  

---

 

The Taylor Festival Choir was one of only two domestic professional chamber choirs chosen for the American Choral Directors Association 2009 National Convention. This particular convention, always the nation’s largest choral gathering, served as ACDA’s 50^th anniversary celebration. Invitations, therefore, were particularly competitive, and the Taylor Festival Choir’s selection signals their position as one of the nation’s finest choral ensembles. The Taylor Festival Choir (TFC) is the “professional choir-in-residence” at the College of Charleston. It is comprised of 27 singers, over half directly associated with C of C: 9 undergraduates, 3 graduate students, 5 C of C alumni, and 1 faculty member (Art Bumgardner). The choir is inspired by the life and career of his father Bob Taylor (1935-1997) a noted high-school choral musician and pedagogue. Since its inception in 2001, the Taylor Festival Choir has been heard in prestigious venues and festivals throughout the US, and has garnered a reputation of excellence among critics and choral specialists alike. Their second compact disc recording, This is Thy Hour, O Soul, was recently released on the Centaur label, and has been hailed by critic Lindsay Koob as "Fabulous...Tremendous…Taylor’s singers engage the music’s emotions deeply, while bringing a warm, robust sound to bear."

 

Comments on the Taylor Festival Choir performance at National ACDA:

“Your choir showed a diversity of repertoire that highlighted the group's ability to sing diverse languages and styles.  All of it was performed with exquisite style, sensitivity, and nuance.  My favorite was probably Brian Galante's "On Meditation," a work that featured the choir' rich voices and broad range of sound. Hope you are proud of it . . . you did a superb job.  I really loved the program and didn't realize the Gaelic piece was your piece until the end . . . really good stuff! All very well done!  You should be very proud and so should the group.”

Dr. Philip Copeland, University of Alabama-Birmingham

“Thank you for that magnificent performance. Everything was great—tone, intonation, phasing. Thanks also for doing the Gaelic “mouth-music.” That is my heritage, and I was so gratified and appreciative you guys brought that style to the convention. No one else did anything like it. I am not sure I have ever heard anything like it at ACDA convention, in fact.”

 

Dr. Caroline Carson, University of New Orleans 

 

Just wanted to drop a line and tell you again how much I enjoyed your group at ACDA. It was an elegant performance – what a wonderful rich sound you get from the ensemble – really great! I liked your arrangement – send it to me and let me see about getting it published!! But only if Mary promises to play with all performances! I’m very proud of what you have accomplished there in Charleston.

 

Dr. Kenneth Fulton, Louisiana State University and Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra

 

“Rob, your choir sang with such a rich, velvet tone!! Bravo!

 

Dr. Jerry McCoy, University of North Texas and ACDA President-  Elect

 “I heard a lot of really positive comments. Jo Michael Scheibe (Univ. of Southern Cal), Jerry McCoy (Univ. of North Texas), and several other choral luminaries really loved your performance. I had people I had never met before coming across the room to tell me how much they loved your performance of my piece. Thanks…fantastic job.”

 

Dr. Brian Galante, Pacific Lutheran University

“Awesome! The Paulus! The Paulus!”

 

Dr. Lisa Fredenburgh, University of Central Missouri

“Wow! Wow! Wow! Unbelievable. Y’all are our heroes!”

 

A group of Charlotte high school choral directors

“What a group. What a privilege to hear.”

 

Dr. Robert Sinclair, VanderCook University

“Incredibly well prepared performance.”

 

Scott Whitfield, Little Rock Central High School

 

---

 "What a splendid, outstanding concert!!!!!!! I enjoyed every bit of it and particularly liked your arrangement of the Irish piece…the Vaughn Williams was exceptional."

Dr. John Erwin, University of Central Arkansas