Estonian feature orchestra over chamber choir

By Sarah Bryan Miller

POST-DISPATCH CLASSICAL MUSIC CRITIC

11/09/08

If you were touring with one world-renowned, Grammy-winning chorus and one fine, but less famous orchestra, which would you choose to feature?

On Thursday night at the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica, conductor Tonu Kaljuste - who founded both groups, the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra - showed he had a favorite child: He was definitely more interested in the instrumentalists than the singers.

It was a surprising emphasis, and not a happy one for those who came primarily to hear the chorus.

The orchestra performed two instrumentalist-only pieces.  The choir, which is noted for its a cappella work, did no stand-alone singing.  Because the singers were placed behind the players on the church steps, without risers, the instrumentalists dominated the sounds as well as the sights of the performance, too often covering the chorus.

The program was oddly constructed, too.  The first half was all by the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt: one orchestral work, one for male chorus and orchestra, one for female chorus and orchestra, and, finally, one that involved all the forces.

The music was all well-done, and it was great to have the opportunity to hear these unusual works.  the problem is that Part's music is in a mystical-minimalist style that doesn't offer much variety; there was too much sameness to it.

Pärt at his best was represented in his 2004 "Da pacem Domine (Give peace, Lord)," a simple, slow-moving but deep work, beautifully done.  That's as it should be; this won them the Grammy last year.  It would have shown better paired with music that provided a greater contrast.

The second half opened with another Estonian composer, Erkki-Sven Tüür's "Action, Passion, Illusion," for string orchestra.  A "deconstruction of a baroque theme," it was a busy, fascinating piece with surprising Twists and resolutions, brilliantly performed.

Antonio Vivaldi's "Beatus Vir" was a surprising choice for a big finale, and its segmented nature did not show the group at its best.  The blend within sections was imperfect, with individual voices sticking out too frequently for a group of this stature.

It is to be hoped that Cathedral Concerts will bring them back, but with a stronger, more balanced program.

Jitro, Czech Girls Choir Review

Czech girls choir offers beautiful singing

By Sarah Bryan Miller

POST DISPATCH CLASSICAL MUSIC CRITIC

10/30/08

Most of the touring choirs brought to St. Louis by Cathedral Concerts are either all boy (various English groups, the Vienna Choir Boys) or mixed adult. Tuesday, however, was girls night at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis.

The 25 young women of Jitro - the name means "Daybreak" in Czech - are the elite touring arm of a 500-child organization based in the Bohemian town of Hradec Kralove in the Czech Republic. Jitro has an impressive résumé of performances sung and awards won around the world. Based on this performance, they and their director, Jiri Skopal, have earned them.

The girls of Jitro sing with pure voices, remarkable clarity and a near-flawless blend. They're superb musicians.

Their  more conventional pieces, which ranged from an anonymous chant to a Pergolesi "Stabat Mater," were lovely. They nailed the tricky "Jaakobin pojat" (no translation provided). Written by Finnish composer Pekka Kostiainen (b. 1944), it was a wild ride, with unusual vocal and physical effects.

Most of the best moments came in the program's second half. The girls seemed to be energized and having real fun. And well they might, with music to sing like "Liturgicke zpevy" by Petr Eben (1929-2007), a brief, zippy Latin Mass setting with a definite Middle European flair.

An abbreviated version of Benjamin Britten's "A Ceremony of Carols" began with a shockingly idiosyncratic reading of the opening "Hodie;" then Skopal and the choir settled into a fine reading. The unnamed soloist in "Balulalow" did a beautiful job. It would have been nice to hear the entire work.

There was a pre-concert performance by choirs from three local Roman Catholic girls high schools: the Ursuline Academy Chorus, the St. Elizabeth Academy Singers and the Frontenac Voices of St. Joseph's Academy. They stayed to hear Jitro; then all four choirs merged for the concert's finale.

Unfortunately, the piece chosen for that finale, Oscar Peterson's "hymn to Freedom," is a piece of sentimental rubbish, and unworthy of such fine young musicians. It was pleasant to have the massed choirs in the chancel; it would have been better to hear them in a more worthwhile song. It would also have been helpful to have more translations in the program.