Reviews of Chicago Master Singers performances
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Monday, 19 April 2004 |
Master Singers approach Requiem on devotional terms ...[M]usic director Alan Heatherington led the Chicago Master Singers, Ars Viva Symphony Orchestra and a quartet of vocal solists in a sensitive and moving account of the Verdi Requiem celebrating the chorus' 25th anniversary... Without leaning unduly on the score's operatic gestures, Heatherington conveyed much of the spiritual questioning at the heart of the work... From its ethereal entrance to its terrified cries in the section depicting the apocalyptic day of wrath, the 149-voice Chicago Master Singers showed how far it has grown technically and musically since Heatherington took over the group (formerly known as the New Oratorio Singers) in 1989. Blend, intonation and balance were secure, while the "Sanctus" double fugue moved with a becoming lightness and clarity. Concert info…
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Sunday, 12 November 2000 |
Between devotion and drama
…The 125-voice ensemble presented a program that fit the setting: Schubert's Mass in G, Holst's settings of Psalm 86 and Psalm 128 and Haydn's "Lord Nelson" Mass... From the first "Kyrie" in the Schubert to the final "Dona nobis pacem" of the Haydn, the choral ensemble Sunday night demonstrated flexibility and strength. The voices sang out these time-honored prayers from a place somewhere between devotion and drama. At times the singing was reserved and reverent--at times, we were inundated with a burst of volume. But always there was lyricism, a quality that seems dyed into the fabric of this group. Concert info… |
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Sunday, 18 April 1999 |
The chorus has become a single mighty instrumentBach's "Passion According to St. John" is not exactly a vehicle for star performers. The music itself is mighty enough to keep the spotlight, whoever is singing it. Still, Friday's performance by the New Oratorio Singers and a cast of splendid soloists called for an Oscar or two... Under Heatherington, the 98-member chorus has become a single mighty instrument. In this echo-rich space Bach's contrapuntal web-weaving lost some clarity, but the chorales, with their straightforward, all-of-a-piece harmony, were amplified and burnished to magnificence... A high point was the swelling chorus, "Rest well," that followed Jesus' burial -- an outpouring of grief that was somehow free of stress, grief at peace with itself. Concert info…
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Sunday, 10 November 1996 |
A personal and professional triumph The New Oratorio Singers' performance of Mendelssohn's "Elijah" Nov. 10 in Techny's Divine Word Chapel must be regarded as a personal and professional triumph for music director Alan Heatherington. From the first notes of Philip Kraus' powerful bass to the final "Amen" from the more than 100 voice chorus, the work was splendid, presented with conviction and flourish. Heatherington assembled this musical monument with the singers, whom he has been directing since 1989, accompanied by orchestra members from his Ars Viva ensemble, a group which just launched its first season. The result was a harmonious performance that sounded as if the groups had been working together for years. Concert info…
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