BY KENNETH DELONG, CALGARY HERALD
Updated on Feb 26, 2020
For anyone deeply involved in the great choral music of the past, the word “Tudor” has considerable resonance. Not only does it suggest the Tudor period of English history, framed by Henry VII through Elizabeth I (and slightly beyond), but it evokes an image of that great collection of edited music by Edmund Fellowes called Tudor Church Music. Comprising many volumes of music from the Elizabethan period, Fellowes opened the door to this vast repertoire of fine choral music.
It was this music that formed the centrepiece of the Luminous Voices concert Feb. 23, music of the now increasingly distant past, that still has the ability to charm listeners with its beauty, refinement, sensitive setting of texts, and warm vocal textures.
In a program that traversed the great composers of the Tudor period — William Byrd, Thomas Tallis, John Shepherd, and Orlando Gibbons — Luminous Voice,s under its able conductor Tim Schantz, beguiled its audience with beautiful singing, balanced vocal textures, and above all, musical refinement.
The program included not only the acknowledged hits of this period — hits, perhaps, only to those steeped in this repertoire — but also forays into some lesser-known corners as well. And in addition, to provide variety, the program included three modern works, including a commissioned premiere. But in some palpable way, the new works related to the underlying Tudor theme of the concert. It was all deeply satisfying as a listening experience.
The program opened with the music of John Shepherd, a composer formerly mostly unknown who has emerged in recent years to be one of the more important and interesting figures of the period. The concert included his Libera Nos, Salva Nos l, as well as a little known setting of The Lord’s Prayer. Both pieces were well worth hearing and gave an idea of how rich was Shepherd’s musical voice.
Among the hits of Tudor music presented were three excerpts from Byrd’s Mass for 5 Voices and a lesser-known (but very beautiful) two-part motet Ne Irascaris Domine and Civitas Sancti Tui. This last is a real find in the richness of its harmony and delicacy of melody. Both were sung with a full sense of this choral idiom and beautifully interwoven counterpoint.
Also among the hits were two of Orlando Gibbon’s best-known works: Out of the Deep and O Clap Your Hands. When sung as expertly as they were here, it was not hard to grasp how and why they have both become staples of this repertoire.
A particularly interesting feature of the program was the inclusion of contemporary music. This included a newish choral work by Carmen Braden, originally from Yellowknife and educated at The University of Calgary. Her work has been presented by Luminous Voices before, but this piece, Crooked by Nature, drawing on comments made about women during Elizabethan times, was the most assured work of hers that I have heard. The mixing of voices and textures showed a real development in sophistication, especially in the harmony and the attractive musical ideas.
The program also included a recent work by Manitoba composer Andrew Balfour. He, too, has been heard on Luminous Voices programs, his Trapped in Stone a gritty piece with a real edge, as it addressed one of the more unsavoury moments in the English-Scottish relationship, where Scottish prisoners starved in a cold church during the 18th century conflicts.
But the most impressive of the contemporary works was a new commission by Zachary Wadsworth, a former founding member of Luminous Voices, who was on hand to sing this concert. With his considerable experience with choral textures and many choral works behind him, his new work Far, Far Away showed once again that he is a composer of considerable imagination and ability. Engaging both interesting new harmonies and more Tudor-sounding passages, the work spanned ideas that are both of today and the past, bringing both into a satisfying relationship.
All these new works, demanding for any choir, were sensitively performed, with a solid grip on the new-sounding harmony and melody, and a certain fearless quality in performance.
A happy end to the concert came with one of the most beloved of all Tudor motets, the relatively simple If Ye Love Me by Thomas Tallis. As part of its activities, Luminous Voice gave a workshop for the students of Lord Beaverbrook High School and Central Memorial. Some of these students were in attendance, and they were invited to join Luminous Voices in the singing of this well-known choral work. In fact, the entire audience was invited to join in as well.
Since the audience (to no great surprise) included many current and former choral singers, many were able to pick up the parts they used to sing, and the entire hall was awash in the beauty of Tallis’s short masterwork.
Reminding one of the beauties of this music, Luminous Voices demonstrated a real feel for this music, even as it is increasingly making its mark as a performer of the modern choral repertoire. Future events include both a joint concert with the Elmer Isler Singers and a program devoted to the music of Halifax composer Peter Togni. Both are must-attend events for lovers of choral music.