By Jim Ruggirello | Posted: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 1:26 pm at gazettes.com
Rob Istad has ideas.
And what’s nice is that they work. The artistic director of the Long Beach Camerata Singers had a rather quirky experiment in mind for the ensemble’s latest offering at Los Altos Methodist Church, and pulled it off quite impressively.
The concert was titled “A Man of Sorrows: Bach to the Blues,” and used a variety of music to illustrate the theme of the outcast, beginning of course with Jesus during this Lenten season. Istad had the notion to make insertions into a performance of Bach’s motet “Jesu, meine Freude.” That’s nothing new: historical performances probably included scripture readings at certain points. But Istad’s insertions were pop, gospel and blues selections performed by the Dirty Sugar Band and soloist Denean Dyson.
Why the heck not? The various genres complemented and even enhanced each other, and the entire Bach/blues mélange, which comprised the entire first half after an introductory organ prelude, was moving and musically very satisfying.
None of this would have mattered, of course, if the performances hadn’t been any good, and fortunately they were splendid. The Camerata have grown and improved greatly under Istad’s direction, and they sounded completely in control. The blend was good, diction was good, sections sounded firm and flexible (the tenors especially much improved), and the overall sound was lovely. The uncredited soloists who performed the little trios in the motet were fine.
Dyson and her cohorts were terrific. Dyson has an amazing voice and an engaging delivery, and she was soulful, poignant and brassy as the material demanded. Christian Wunderlich’s delicious guitar solos were a highlight, but the entire group was solid.
The second half of this rather lengthy program was miscellaneous choral stuff, some classical, some not. The Camerata did a very tasty “Crucifixus” by Antonio Lotti, and an equally impressive job with a movement from a mass by Victoria. Frank Ticheli’s contemporary “There Will Be Rest” was well sung, and beautiful. Dyson joined the group as a heartfelt soloist in “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child,” showing some nice soprano chops, and in one of my favorite songs, “City Called Heaven.” Dyson and the Dirty Sugars did a blues-tinged version of “Mary Don’t You Weep” and a jazzy “God Bless the Child.” This marvelous, but mostly slow, concert ended with the Camerata raising the roof with the rip-roaring Moses Hogan arrangement of “Hold On!”
The entire concert was dedicated to the Camerata’s late founder, Frank Allen. They’ve had their ups and downs since Allen founded the group as the Vocal Arts Ensemble in 1966, and it’s a pleasure to report that under Robert Istad they’re certainly on an up.
Keep those ideas coming, Rob.