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Piffaro, The Crossing celebrate the holidays on the Hill

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Two of the Northwest’s most favorite ensembles will be celebrating Christmas with concerts at the Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill during the last weekend before Christmas. Piffaro, the Renaissance Band, will present “Nova! Nova!” Saturday, Dec. 21, at 7:30 p.m., and then, Sunday, Dec. 22, at 5 p.m., The Crossing choir will perform David Lang’s “poor hymnal” at the church, which is located at 8855 Germantown Ave.

Piffaro will be joined by the stunning singers of New York Polyphony for a program of English music for Christmas. Spanning the centuries, the music will transcend time and place. For more information call 215-235-8469 or visit piffaro.org.

A concert-length work, “poor hymnal” premiered in December, 2023. The Crossing’s recording of the piece was released on Cantaloupe Music, Friday, Dec. 13. For more information visit crossingchoir.org.

Choral Concert Roundup

With the season of Advent now in full swing, several of the region’s choral ensembles performed programs of Christmas music. The Mendelssohn Chorus gave two performances of “A Feast of Carols” in St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Chestnut Hill, Saturday, Dec. 7. Both literally packed the church.

The Episcopal Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Chestnut Hill, marked the Second Sunday in Advent, with an afternoon celebration of “Lessons and Carols.” And the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society presented countertenor Iestyn Davies in recital Friday evening, Dec. 6, in the Episcopal Church of the Holy Trinity, Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia.

Under the inspired direction of Dominick DiOrio, the Mendelssohn Chorus continued its celebration of 150 years of singing by returning to Chestnut Hill for its annual “A Feast of Carols” concert. I caught the first performance at 2 p.m. along with a solid 600 other local lovers of choral music. I was assured that the second rendition at 5 p.m. was set to attract the same impressive number of listeners.

DiOrio assembled a program that seamlessly blended traditional choral numbers with commissioned world premieres bracketed by carol sing-alongs in which the audience joined forces with the hundred-strong choir, the Timberdale Brass, and St. Paul’s own organist, Andrew Kotylo, at the church’s restored Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ.

The concert’s major commissioned premiere was “The Anonymous Child” by former chorus member Michael Robert Smith. Set to a text by Kyle Connor and calling upon four vocal soloists along with accompaniment, the score is beautifully crafted, eminently lyrical, eloquently voiced and superbly communicative of its heart-warming text. It received a glowing reading.

The concert brought back Texu Kim’s “The New Year’s Magpie Song,” composed in 2020 and premiered by Mendelssohn Chorus in 2021. Exploding with vibrant rhythms and tart harmonies, it was given an energetic rendition.

Continuing his own tradition, DiOrio premiered his “Four Postcard Carols” of 2023. Each one is a lilting celebration of the season, its lyrics set simply through unaffected melodies and natural harmonies.

From start to finish, this year’s edition of “A Feast of Carols” was performed at the highest level I can ever remember the Mendelssohn Chorus singing. Ensemble, tuning, blend, balance, diction and balance were consistently immaculate.

The Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields marked the Second Sunday in Advent, Dec. 8, with a service of “Lessons and Carols.” Tyrone Whiting, the congregation’s director of music and arts, led his choir in a well-crafted selection of carols, anthems, motets and responsories that enhanced the spiritual impact of the seven readings from Christian Scripture that charted the course of prophecy through fulfilment of the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ.

The most noteworthy aspect of St. Martin’s “Lessons and Carols” was the rearrangement of the pews in the central nave. Instead of facing forward toward the High Altar, they were divided in half and faced each other. The choir sat closest to the chancel while the congregation filled out the remaining pews. The result was a feeling of singing the service in community, perhaps in the manner of the Church’s early centuries.

The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society presented countertenor Iestyn Davies and Fretwork in concert Friday, Dec. 6, in the Episcopal Church of the Holy Trinity, Rittenhouse Square. The program was dubbed “Lamento.” It surveyed music composed by a host of German-speaking composers in the decades prior to the ascendancy of both Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel.

Davies’ countertenor voice is set in the lower range of the vocal type, more like a female alto than a mezzo-soprano. That may have eliminated the more dazzling displays of pyrotechnics one often hears when countertenors sing the baroque opera roles initially composed for castrati. On the other hand, it provided Davies with the chance to proffer a more expressive mode of singing – which he did beautifully.

Fretwork – five baroque viol players plus one keyboardist – supported Davies superbly and offered several instrumental selections of transcendent beauty.

You can contact NOTEWORTHY at Michael-caruso@conmcast.net.

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