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EARLY MUSIC REVIEW
June 3, 2005
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By Kaneez Munjee
The Pacific Collegium boldly describes itself as a chamber ensemble with the aim of bringing “exceptional vocalists together with period instrumentalists in adventurous exploration of the marriage of text and music, the meeting of the natural instrument with the artful.” Founded and led by Christopher Kula, this young ensemble ended its first concert season this weekend with a program of sacred French music from the time of Louis XIV.
In an area that boasts a number of top-notch period ensembles – many of whom are extremely innovative in their programming, and nearly all of whom offer Bay Area listeners rarely-heard works – another period-instrument group performing non-run-of-the-mill repertoire might make little impact. But this is not the case with The Pacific Collegium. It sets itself apart by offering something otherwise lacking in this region: an ensemble with the aims and ambitions of the big guys but the personnel (largely) of the talented young and aspiring. (The Pacific Collegium does include a few established professionals, notably soprano Tonia D'Amelio and bass Tom Hart, whose voices and demeanor consistently stood out amongst the singers.) With several outlets for professional musicians and abundant choices for the amateur performer, the Bay Area has for many years left an arid middle ground for those who might – but haven't yet quite managed to – break into the ensembles of the pros.
The musical community here is ripe for an organization of this sort. And Friday night's concert at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Oakland showed that the group takes its mission of “adventurous exploration” quite literally. Most of the music on the program – three of François Couperin's grand motets, a Magnificat by Marc-Antoine Charpentier, and motets by Nicolas Bernier, Sébastien de Brossard and Jacques Fargeonnel – is rarely heard in these parts. Some pieces fared better than others, but all were stunning in their complexity and interplay between parts and forces. All but two of the selections were for combinations of vocal soloists rather than for a choral ensemble.
The concert began with a ravishing unaccompanied duet for two sopranos, Quatre versets d'un motet by Couperin, sung beautifully by Sarah Finley and Tonia D'Amelio. Yet, whether due to nerves or to a false start, the duet ended off-pitch, making for a jarring moment when the instruments joined in on verse two. The second piece, Couperin's Motet de Sainte Susanne, was where the ensemble seemed to gel, offering some of the evening's highest moments with the three voices of countertenor Damon English, bass Tom Hart and D'Amelio blending impeccably. The third Couperin “grand motet” was Audate pueri, featuring Finley, D'Amelio and Hart, and offered some very nice solo moments by Hart. Bernier's trio Benedicamus Dominum introduced two new voices, tenor Michael Eisenberg and baritone Ari Nieh. Both Eisenberg and Nieh have clear and focused voices and again formed a beautiful blend with English. Parce mihi Domine by Brossard introduced alto Celeste Winant. Winant's voice is a true rich alto, and her sense of drama matched her vocal partner D'Amelio. But as all too often happens with the lower voices, Winant struggled at moments to be heard over the instruments. Charpentier's Magnificat appeared a bit lackluster after all the soloistic writing. Though Charpentier was a pioneer for many of the musical techniques that Couperin, Bernier and Brossard later used, this Magnificat had a flavor distinct from the rest of the program. It is scored for four voices plus four soloists, and the larger scope is evident also in Charpentier's melodic lines and choral effects. The high point in this piece was the appearance of countertenor Michael Azevedo among the four solo voices – Azevedo's voice is strong and clear, and made me wish to have heard him more throughout the evening.
The final piece – also for all eight voices – was Fargeonnel's Deus invictae virtutis auctor, arranged by Brossard. It is unabashed in its many proclamations of “long live the king,” and the ensemble performed it with great flair – a fine end to the concert, which Kula followed with a surprising encore, an Agnus Dei with Italian influences. The instrumental contributions all evening were less consistent than the vocal. Rebekah Ahrendt on viola da gamba and Xavier Arreola on organ provided a solid continuo presence throughout, with only a few slips. Byron Rakitzis and Glen Shannon on flute also played well; in fact, many of their and Ahrendt's lines were beautifully shaped and executed. The two violinists, Hana Morrison and Paula White, suffered at times from intonation problems, and the whole ensemble was missing the cohesiveness of a group which can sense each others' breathing. Yet it is this edge of non-smoothness that actually best shows the group's potential and promise for the future.
(Kaneez Munjee is a singer, writer and editor. She is currently a doctoral candidate in Musicology at Stanford University.)
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