The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge sings a varied program with organ accompaniment this Wednesday night in Overture Hall
Leave a Comment
IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
The new season of the popular Overture Concert Organ series, sponsored by the Madison Symphony Orchestra and curated by MSO organist Greg Zelek, begins this Wednesday night, Sept. 11, at 7:30 p.m. in Overture Hall.
All single tickets are $20. (A subscription to all four organ concerts is $63.)
The opening program features the world-famous Choir of Trinity College Cambridge (below), on tour from its home in the United Kingdom.
Adds Zelek:
“Our season opens with the amazing Choir of Trinity College Cambridge, named by Gramophone Magazine as one of the best choirs in the world.
“Conducted by the choir’s music director Stephen Layton (below top) and accompanied on the mighty Klais concert organ (below bottom), this 25-voice choir will present a program of music spanning many centuries that will display its beauty of tone and depth of feeling. These rich voices will make this varied program soar through Overture Hall and leave everyone in the audience breathless.”
Here are some sample reviews:
Virtuoso is the right word. I, for one, can’t immediately think of any more appropriate way of describing singing of such staggering accomplishment. – BBC Music Magazine
Sitting front and center at a recent Trinity Choir of Cambridge concert at Grace Cathedral was, sonically speaking, a heavenly experience. -The New York Times
Here is Wednesday night’s eclectic program:
William Byrd | Sing joyfully
William Byrd | O Lord, make thy servant, Elizabeth
Thomas Tallis | Salvator mundi
Henry Purcell | Thou knowest, Lord
Arvo Part | Bogoroditse Djévo
John Tavener | Mother of God, here I stand
Vasily Kalinnikov | Bogoroditse Djevo
Robert Parsons | Ave Maria
Eriks Esenvalds | The Heavens’ Flock (You can hear a different Esenvalds work, “Only in Sleep,” sung by the Trinity College Choir, in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Morten Lauridsen | O magnum mysterium
Jaakko Mantyjarvi | Stuttgarter Psalmen
Herbert Howells | Take him, earth, for cherishing
Herbert Howells | Trinity St. Paul’s
For more information about the Overture Organ Series, detailed background about the Trinity College Choir and how to purchase tickets, call (608) 258-4141 or go to: https://madisonsymphony.org/concerts-events/overture-concert-organ-performances/ or https://madisonsymphony.org/event/organ-trinity-choir/
Tags: #ArvoPärt, #AveMaria, #BBCMusicMagazine, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CambridgeUniversity, #ChoirofTrinityCollegeCambridge, #ChoralDirector, #ChoralMusic, #ConcertOrgan, #DepthofFeeling, #EnglishComposer, #EriksEsenvalds, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #GraceCathedral, #GramophoneMagazine, #GreatBritain, #GregZelek, #HenryPurcell, #HerbertHowells, #HomeWebsite, #JaakkoMantyvari, #JohnTavener, #KlaisOrgan, #KlaisOrgelbau, #LIturgicalMusic, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MortenLauridsen, #MotherofGod, #MusicDirector, #MusicReview, #NewMusic, #OMagnumMysterium, #OrganMusic, #OvertureCenter, #OvertureHall, #OvertureOrganSeries, #RobertParsons, #SacredMusic, #September11, #StephenLayton, #SubscriptionConcert, #SubscriptionTicket, #TheNewYorkTImes, #ThomasTallis, #TonalBeauty, #TrinityCollege, #UnitedKingdom, #VasilyKalinnikov, #VocalMusic, #Wednesdaynight, #WilliamByrd, #World-famous, #YouTubevideo, accomplishment, amazing, Arvo Part, audience, Ave Maria, BBC, BBC Music Magazine, beauty, best, blog, breathless, Cambridge University, cathedral, Catholic, centuries, Choir, Choir of Trinity College Cambridge, choral director, choral music, Classical music, classicalmusic, composer, concert organ, curate, depth, depth of feeling, describe, detail, director, Earth, eclectic, England, English, Eriks Esenvalds, everyone, experience, Facebook, famous, feeling, flock, forward, God, grace, Grace Cathedral, Gramophone, Gramophone (magazine), Great Britain, Greg Zelek, heaven, heavenly, Henry Purcell, Herbert Howells, Home, information, Jaakko Mantyvari, John Tavener, Joy, joyful, like, link, liturgical, liturgical music, Lord, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Morten Lauridsen, Mother, Mother of God, Music, Music director, music review, new, New Music, night, O magnum mysterium, opening, organ, organ music, organist, Overture Center, Overture Concert Organ, Overture Hall, Overture Organ Series, performer, popular, post, posting, program, Protestant, psalm, reader, review, rich, Robert Parsons, sacred music, savior, Season, Sept. 11, September 11, series, servant, share, sing, singer, Singing, single, Sleep, soar, sonic, St. Paul, staggering, Stephen Layton, Stuttgart, subscriber, subscription, tag, The New York Times, Thomas Tallis, ticket, tonal beauty, tone, tour, Trinity College, U.K., UK, United Kingdom, Vasily Kalinnikov, video, virtuoso, vocal music, voices, Website, Wednesday, William Byrd, world, YouTube
Classical music: Is Royal Wedding cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason the next Yo-Yo Ma?
5 Comments
By Jacob Stockinger
If you watched the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and American Meghan Markle – who are now known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex – you were probably impressed by many things.
Not the least of them was the performance by the young Afro-British cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, who performed three pieces: “After a Dream” by Gabriel Faure; “Ave Maria” by Franz Schubert; and “Sicilienne” (an ancient dance step) by Maria Theresia von Paradis.
The young player acquitted himself just fine, despite the pressure of the event, with its avid public interest in the United Kingdom and a worldwide TV viewership of 2 billion.
But that is to be expected. He is no ordinary teenage cellist. Now 19, he was named BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2016 — the first black musician of African background to be awarded the honor since it started in 1938. A native of Nottingham, even as he pursues a busy concert and recording schedule, he continues his studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
So it was with great anticipation that The Ear listened to “Inspiration,” Kanneh-Mason’s new recording from Decca Records, which is already a bestseller on Amazon.com and elsewhere, and has topped the U.S. pop charts. (There are also many performances by him on YouTube.)
Unfortunately, The Ear was disappointed by the mixed results.
The cellist’s playing is certainly impressive for its technique and tone. But in every piece, he is joined by the City of Birmingham Orchestra or its cello section. The collaboration works exceptionally well with the Cello Concerto No. 1 by Dmitri Shostakovich.
However, so many of the other works seem too orchestrated and overly arranged. So much of the music becomes thick and muddy, just too stringy. The Ear wanted to hear more of the young cellist and less of the backup band.
One also has to wonder if the recording benefits from being a mixed album with a program so full of crossovers, perhaps for commercial reasons and perhaps to reach a young audience. There is a klezmer piece, “Evening of the Roses” as well as a reggae piece, “No Woman, No Cry” by Bob Marley and the famous song “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen.
In addition, there are the familiar “The Swan” from “The Carnival of the Animals” by Camille Saint-Saens and two pieces by the inspiring cellist referred to in the title of the recording, Pablo (or Pau in Catalan) Casals (below).
A great humanist and champion of democracy who spent most of his career in exile from dictator Franco’s Spain, Casals used the solo “The Birds” as a signature encore. Played solo, it is a poignant piece — just as Yo-Yo Ma played it as an encore at the BBC Proms, which is also on YouTube). But here it simply loses its simplicity and seems overwhelmed.
Clearly, Sheku Kanneh-Mason is a musician of great accomplishment and even greater promise who couldn’t have wished for better publicity to launch a big career than he received from the royal wedding. He handles celebrity well and seems a star in the making, possibly even the next Yo-Yo Ma, who has also done his share of film scores and pop transcriptions
But when it comes to the recording studio, a smaller scale would be better. Sometimes less is more, and this is one of those times. (Listen to his beautiful solo playing and his comments in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
To take the full measure of his musicianship, The Ear is anxious to hear Kanneh-Mason in solo suites by Johann Sebastian Bach and concertos by Antonio Vivaldi; in sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert and Johannes Brahms; in concertos by Antonin Dvorak and Edward Elgar; and in much more standard repertory that allows comparison and is less gimmicky.
Did you hear Sheku Kanneh-Mason’s live performance at the royal wedding? What did you think?
And if you have heard his latest recording, what do you think of that?
Do you think Sheku Kanne-Mason is the next Yo-Yo Ma?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #Afro-British, #AntoninDvorak, #AntonioVivaldi, #AveMaria, #BBCProms, #BBCYoungMusicianoftheYear, #BobMarley, #CamilleSaint-Saens, #CelloConcerto, #CelloMusic, #CelloSonata, #CityofBirminghamOrchestra, #DeccaRecords, #DmitriShostakovich, #DukeandDuchessofSussex, #EdwardElgar, #FranciscoFranco, #FranzSchubert, #GabrielFaure, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #KlezmerMusic, #LeonardCohen, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MariaTheresiavonParadis, #MeghanMarkle, #PabloCasals, #PauCasals, #PopChart, #PopMusic, #PrinceHarry, #PublicInterest, #RecordingStudio, #ReggaeMusic, #RoyalAcademyofMusic, #RoyalWedding, #ShekuKanneh-Mason, #SoloSuite, #TVaudience, #TVviewership, #UnitedKingdom, #UnitedStates, #Yo-YoMa, #YoungAudience, #YoungListeners, accomplishment, Africa, African, Amazon, amazon.com, American, ancient, arranged, arrangement, Arts, Bach, Baroque, BBC, BBC Young Musician of the Year, Beethoven, bestseller, bird, birds, black, Black people, Bob Marley, British, career, celebrity, Cello, Chamber music, Classical music, commercial, Compact Disc, comparison, composer, Concert, concerto, dance, Decca Records, dictator, duchess, duke, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Faure, film, gimmick, gimmicky, Hallelujah, humanism, humanist, inspiration, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, klezmer, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Meghan, Meghan Markle, Music, Nottingham, Orchestra, orchestrated, poignant, pop, Pop chart, pops, popular, Prince Harry, publicity, recording, repertory, royal, Royal Academy of Music, royal wedding, schedule, score, solo, Sonata, song, Spain, star, step, studio, stufies, Suite, Sussex, technique, Television, tone, transcription, TV, U.S., UK, United Kingdom, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, wedding, weekend, Wisconsin, worldwide, Yo-Yo Ma, YouTube
Recent Comments
 | welltemperedear on What do you think of the… |
 | Scott on What do you think of the… |
| welltemperedear on Yunchan Lim’s Chopin etudes ar… |
 | bratschespeilerin on What do you think of the… |
 | MARVIN P WICKENS on Yunchan Lim’s Chopin etudes ar… |
The Well-Tempered Ear 