calimac

Here's my review of that choral concert that gave me my new favorite art song.

I was able to corral the singer afterwards and tell her briefly of my delight. I also wrote a brief fan letter to the composer, who replied that it's a fun song and thanked me for taking the bother to write.

After the concert, I conversed with the executive director (who is also

athenais's voice teacher, but I didn't bring that up) and said bluntly that, while much of the program was excellent, the Corigliano was not. It didn't suit them, and they didn't suit it. She defended it on the grounds that a choir should challenge itself, and agreed with my observation that the conductor was obviously deeply affected by the text.

So I incorporated those points into my review - fair's fair - but I'm not denting my opinion. I was so relieved when they knocked out those spirituals at the end: this really is a superb choir when they do what they can do.