Hallelujah! Project 2 December 2014
SB NewsPress Review: A Seasonal Sampler Box Santa Barbara Choral Society’s second annual ‘Hallelujah! Project’ deftly mixes light and serious fare at the Lobero
By Josef Woodard, News-Press Correspondent
December 19, 2014 11:17 AM Handel was in the house. So was Santa Claus. Welcome back to the Santa Barbara Choral Society’s second annual holiday show, “The Hallelujah! Project,” which earned its exclamatory status at the Lobero Theatre on Saturday night (repeated on Sunday afternoon), a freewheeling and easily digested mixture of serious and lighter Christmas music fare. Handel was represented, if in a nugget-sized “greatest hit” form, by the famed “Hallelujah” chorus from his great “Messiah” oratorio — which gives this family-friendly program its name. Said Santa, in full beard and costume, supplied a hearty shout-out from the back of the hall at the end of a music-narration presentation of “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” bellowing “Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.” To cop a quip, Saturday’s show was, like last year’s show, a good night, even if short on concentrated classical musical substance. Choral music aficionados in town may be suffering from the syndrome of “missing the ‘Messiah,’ ” which seems like a necessary component of any city’s classical music life this time of year. The Choral Society, a formidable group with roots going back to 1948, performed half of the oratorio two years ago, before opting for this cozier, broad-audience holiday show model. That quibble aside, the new program fulfills the admirable function of mixing up more sophisticated musical manners and work with fun and fizzier moments, stirring in a dollop of Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker” and Leroy Anderson’s jingly, jangly “Sleighride” with weightier musical stuff. This mixed bag approach is a great way to introduce younger and less classical-inclined ears to deeper musical matters. From the classical front, notably, the choral group plus orchestra, boldly led by longtime director JoAnne Wasserman, called on Bach’s “Gloria in Excelsis Deo” early in the program, ending the more serious-minded first half with contemporary English composer John Rutter’s “Gloria.” Rutter’s often Copland-esque charmer reaches its deepest moment in the slower, more impressionistic middle section, “Domine Deus,” with its mystical suspended harmonies (here, featuring singers Tara Eisenshauer, Christine Hollinger and Kristin Aylesworth). One highlight of the evening, Stephen Paulus’ inventive rethinking arrangement of “The Holly and the Ivy,” had resonances in the larger choral music world: the Minnesotan Mr. Paulus, a respected but still underrated American composer with a special skill in the choral area, passed away last year. In another inspiring portion of the evening, the Santa Barbara Children’s Chorus joined the mature choral ensemble for a three-pack of not-necessarily-expected Christmas pieces — “Caroling, Caroling,” “How Far is it to Bethlehem” and “Angels We Have Heard on High.” The vocalizing population in the house expanded exponentially after intermission, when Ms. Wasserman kicked into the show’s namesake “Hallelujah” chorus. Some were frightened by the work’s lack of mention in the printed program, but there it was, in truncated, singalong-fashioned glory. Things got interesting, in the mostly frothier second half, with William Matthias’ “Wassail Carol,” a tart and saucy vehicle for this fine choral group, extending the cheer in a way similar to Mr. Paulus’ piece.
Bringing it all back home, we were treated to Clement Moore’s classic “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” set to a snuggling orchestral score by Philip Lane. In a literal reading role, played last year by Fannie Flagg, the spotlight went to the fine actress Stephanie Zimbalist, who, a year ago, was part of Stephen Sondheim’s “A Little Night Music,” the premiere production of Ensemble Theatre at the New Vic. By contrast, this role is a breeze, but warmly handled and warmly received. It wasn’t over until the sack-bearing fat man in red bellowed. As a yuletide cherry on top, the show ended with Randol Alan Bass’ “A Christmas Flourish,” a medley affair including “Joy to the World,” “Silent Night” and, circling back to the concert’s first half, “Angels We Have Heard on High.” In its second incarnation, the “Hallelujah! Project,” which started as a YouTube video project (and has logged 33,000 hits and counting), came on strong, and soft, in mostly all the right ways. A fuller “Messiah” can wait.
American baritone, Ralph Cato has travelled the world extensively, telling stories in song with his warm, clarion baritone voice.
Tenor, Benjamin Brecher has performed over fifty operatic roles with many of the world’s most prestigious opera companies, specializing in the high lying lyric tenor repertoire. He has performed 16 roles with New York City Opera alone. Career highlights include performances with Opera Orchestra of New York, L’Opera de Nice, Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, L’Opera de Montreal, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, among many others. His orchestral solo repertoire includes Mozart, Handel, Orff, Bach, Haydn, as well as many performances of Britten. In 2000 he began performing the great Irish Tenor songs in a concert produced for him entitled A Celtic Celebration, Twenty years later, the show has become a North American hit with performances with 45 Symphonies in North America. Ben continues his discography having added his twelfth recording in 2016 Forgotten Liszt, with pianist Robert Koenig, and will record a new release in 2022 entitled “Three Centuries of Thomas Moore” including the music of Britten, Berlioz, and Sarah Gibson on MSR Classics. He is a Professor of Voice at University of California Santa Barbara, where he has served as the Head of Voice.
Born and raised in Southern California, April Amante is a versatile soprano with expertise and facility in repertoire spanning from early music to contemporary musical theater.
Tracy Van Fleet is pleased to return to the Santa Barbara Choral Society. As a soloist, she has performed with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Lüneburg Symphony in Germany, Orquesta Filarmónica de Boca del Río in Mexico, Pasadena Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, Los Angeles Bach Festival, San Diego Chamber Orchestra, Colorado Philharmonic, USC Symphony and Chorus, and others. She has had many appearances with the Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Opera Pacific, San Diego Opera and Opera Colorado.