I have been set with the task of writing a review on the University Chorus and Concert Choir’s performance on April 30, 2005 of Gabriel Faure’s Requiem. Let me first start off candidly and admit that my concert-viewing experience is quite limited–especially with chorus concerts. The only recent memories I have of seeing someone physically singing are sorrowfully limited to the dreadful impromptu talent in Fox’s American Idol, the obligatory ballgame anthems, and of course, the garish perennial SuperBowl halftime shows. So although I may not have the requisite expertise and experience to make what would be considered a thorough and informed review of Saturday’s URI chorus concert, I will give it an honest effort and commit this task to the best of my ability.
Let me first start of by making note of the key figures of Saturday’s concert. I have already mentioned the two chorus groups: the Univerity Chorus and the Concert Choir. The directing of the night’s performance was shared by Carolina Flores and Mark Conley, and the man-on-the-piano (for lack of a better term), was Eric Mazonson. All of whom, performed quite aptly—at least I think so. Let me put it this way, if there were any mistakes, they were expertly inconspicuous.
The chorus also performed quite well and I was very much impressed at the talent. I would like to share a small comment on the piece sung by the Univerity Chorus called “Now from the World (The light of God is Gone)â€. This piece had a musical accompaniment with Michelle Gorgone playing the clarinet. Although Michelle did an excellent job with her part, I felt the piece as a whole sounded a little awkward with the clarinet. The unsteady dynamics of the clarinet (which I assume were unintentional) made the steady vocals drift in-and-out of hearing.
The mood set by the concert was—to say the least—melancholy. I understood very little of the lyrics when they were being sung by the chorus, but the melodies from each of the songs were mellifluous and pleasant to the ear. The final piece, Requiem Op.48 was also quite enjoyable to listen to. And you’ll have to excuse my more summary-like analysis of this concert. The different pieces seemed to mix together so fluidly, and the tones all sounded so similar, that it is a little hard to focus on individual pieces so much as the concert as a whole.
So on that note, let me just say that in summary, I quite enjoyed my experience in attendance at the URI Chorus Concert of Faure’s Requiem. I found the whole thing to be quite a successful display of vocal talent, and from my observations of the other spectators watching the concert—they seemed to enjoy it as well. Well done!