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ARTS & LIFE
The Clarion \ November 10, 2006
Porter Center Concerts in Review:
Brevard College Choral Groups
Special to The Clarion
Jason DeCristofaro
The Brevard College Chamber
Chorale and Concert Choir put on
an excellent performance on Sat
urday, Nov. 4. Both groups fea
tured the talents of many Brevard
students and faculty.
The Brevard College Chamber
Chorale opened with a powerful
polyphonic fanfare from the Late
Renaissance: Orladno di Lasso’s
Domine, labia mea aperies. Even
though it was short, it was a fit
ting introduction in that it dis
played the talents of all four sec
tions of the group. The second
piece, also a selection from the
Late Renaissance, was, Dixit Maria
by Hans Leo Hassler The lyrical
content tells of the Virgin Mary
describing a prophecy which is
“musically” fulfilled when the en
tire group ends on a beautiful and
sonorous chord.
One of my personal favorite
pieces was the “Morning Trum
pet,” a traditional American hymn.
This piece was actually sung twice
during the concert in two different
styles. The first version was per
formed as it would have been by
the shape note singers of the early
American South. In this style,
solfege syllables were replaced
with pictorial symbols—such as
triangles, diamonds, and circles.
The traditional version sounded
analogous to a Church Chant in
many regards, with its open har
monies and modal texture. The
more contemporary version of
“Morning Trumpet,” was played
immediately afterward, and fea
tured the voice talents of
Stephanie Belcher She did an ex
cellent job, enunciating each syl
lable with meaning, and maintain
ing the beauty and projection of
her voice. Her powerful projec
tion also blended well with the
choir, instead of being overpow
ered by the entire group.
The piece that the audience
seemed to enjoy the most, and was
certainly the most unique selec
Photo by BC Media
tion of the evening, was Stephen
Chatman’s “Due North.” The
piece used various musical textures
to evoke visual images of the Pa
cific Northwest’s majestic beauty.
The first movement, “Moun
tains,” utilized very open harmo
nies and a grandiose texture.
“Trees,” the second movement,
had what Conductor Michael Por
ter described as a quasi-minimalist
sound. This was an accurate ex
planation, as each singer entered
with repeating monophonic lines,
creating an ethereal effect reminis
cent of walking through the lush
flora of Oregon or Washington.
The final, and most amusing,
movement was “Mosquitoes;” the
entire group used vocables which
imitated mosquitoes to great ef
fect.
After intermission, the Concert
Choir, also directed by Michael
Porter, opened with a powerful
fanfare, Sanctus, by Alessandro
Scarlatti. The piece featured Kyle
Ritter acting as accompanist on the
Porter Center’s magnificent-
sounding organ. Alto Kelly Bone
was featured in, “Herr, wir trau’n
auf deine Gute,” by Mendelssohn
and Bartholdy. Her projection and
quality of intonation were sublime.
She was able to make difficult in
terval changes with seamless ef
fort and beautiful vocal timbre. The
piece itself was an excellent selec
tion in that the sound of the organ,
soloist, and concert choir blended
well together
Overall, the concert was very
enjoyable and of an extremely high
caliber Not only were the Cham
ber Chorale, Concert Choir, and
accompanists Janice Murray and
Kyle Ritter superb, but Michael
Porter did a great job acting as con
ductor of both groups that
evening. He had a very distinct,
yet subtle and appropriate, ictus
when he conducted. His ability to
bring out each voice and section in
the choirs, control dynamics ef
fectively, and select pieces that fit
both groups well made for an en
joyable concert.
The surprise hit of the evening,
however, was not listed on the
program, and acted as pre-show
entertainment. The female
acappella group Sirenity per
formed “Such Great Heights,” by
the Postal Service, and “Demons,”
by Guster; the latter featured
Brevard College Piano Major
Megan Murphy on lead vocals.
Brevard College Voice Major
Dorothea Berry not only directed
the group and sang lead on “Such
Great Heights,” but wrote the ar
rangement for the song. Sirenity
used many unique methods found
in acappella, creating the sounds
of percussion and covering bass,
harmony, and melody only using
the human voice. This pre-show
performance, combined with the
superb quality of the Brevard Col
lege Chamber Chorale and Brevard
College Concert Choir, made for a
sublime concert.
HOROSCOPE
Aries: Suffering from itchy
feet? Need to travel? Well now isn't
a good time, try next week. Lucky
color: Globe blue.
Taurus: In exactly 8 days you
will meet your lover in a beautiful
city. Lucky color: Land Ursula.
Gemini: So chatty Charlie's and
Kathy's, the Moon is full and you
need to shut up if you want get to
know your deeper feelings. Lucky
color: Void.
Cancer: It's time to find out
more about yourself. A genealogy
is order, the oracle doth believe.
Lucky color: Asparagus.
Leo: It's about time the wet cat
dried off. The Sun is your ruler this
day—too bad you're in dreary-ass
Brevard. Lucky color: Golden
Fleece.
Virgo: You know, relaxation is
great, but you need to get up
'cause your bed sores are looking
kind of gross! Lucky color: Bed Bug
brown.
Libra: One of your scales falls
off this morning. You just can't
seem to get it together, but never
fear: you'll be back to normal in
487 days. Lucky color: Ju Ju Bee
red.
Scorpio: You're in an argumen
tative mood today. Miss. K would
tell you to put that away and smile
instead. Lucky color: Plum.
Sagittarius: It is not a good
idea to mix the old and the new,
especially when it comes to car
parts. Get real. Lucky color: Used
Oil.
Capricorn: You probably need
to go buy some expensive jeans
right now. This is the only time in
your life that you will be able to
afford them. Lucky color: Black
Peruvian Rose.
Aquarius: Don't panic, none of
those lumpy people are looming
over you. Besides, your reading
choice is much better and less pre
tentious. Lucky color: Pinecone.
Pisces: Fish, fighting fish.
Fighting Japanese fish. That is
what you are. No biting: just look
pretty and you'll succeed in your
wonderful day. Lucky color: Male
Betta.