Choral singing doesn’t come any better than this.
Brilliant Harmony, 18 Japanese women aged 20 to 36, fully merited their name Aug. 14.
Directed by Ko Matsushita, this concert electrified about 80 listeners at St. Bart’s Church. Presented free by Music in the Landing’s indefatigable Linda Williams and MusicFest Vancouver, the choir first sang sacred selections.
Tenebrae factae sunt, a Spanish Renaissance jewel by Tomas Luis de Victoria, breathtakingly demonstrated the choir’s extraordinarily ethereal quality. Ave verum corpus, set by Francis Poulenc, provided a marked contrast. So did two Lenten Motets by director Matsushita, written in 2009. Their vocal shading and colouring was exquisitely illustrated here and in Ave Maria.
Franz Xavier Biebl, then a little-known German composer, wrote Ave Maria in 1964, now his best-known composition. For three male soloists and male chorus, it was virtually unknown before the brilliant professional San Francisco ensemble Chanticleer adopted it in 1989. Transcribed for female voices, this was Brilliant Harmony’s most rapturously received selection.
Matsushita is a prolific composer/arranger. His extensive qualifications include a master in Kodály Music Pedagogy from the Kodály Institute in Kecskemet, Hungary. Much of his music has been performed throughout Europe and Asia.
Matsushita’s setting of Everyone Sang by World War One poet Siegfried Sassoon was among secular selections. So were several traditional songs, all arranged by Matsushita. These included children’s songs and games, giving the singers the opportunity to show their comedic capabilities. They changed from gowns to yukata (summer kimono) for these.
This memorable concert was indeed a credit to the presenters.
