Fountain tribute concert unites old and new faces

Chorus members join Shaw to commemorate former Conservatory conducter Fountain

Oberlin honored one of its most beloved professors, Robert Fountain, with a Nov. 9 tribute concert in his memory. The concert was conducted by world-renowned choral conductor Robert Shaw. Fountain, a former choral conductor at the Conservatory, passed away May 19 in his home in Oberlin.

With the orchestra and the chorus created from the alumni choir, the Oberlin College Choir and the Musical Union, a more fitting tribute could not have been imagined. Some members of the alumni chorus were former students of Fountain's.

Fountain was acclaimed by national publications as one of the finest conductors at a conservatory during his time at Oberlin.

The program began with Wagner's Chorus "Wach'auf!" from Die Meistersinger . This was a brief selection that, in addition to being well performed and well sung, also allowed for an alumni choir, seated on both sides of the balcony, to participate in the tribute.

With little pause Shaw went into the next piece, Mozart's Ave, verum corpus .

Shaw described these pieces as being "worthy of the occasion. They are enormously serious and heroic accomplishments of the human spirit."

The balance between vocal parts was excellent as was the balance of the orchestra to the choruses. Mozart's harmonies came through very clearly, making this a truly magical experience for the listener.

The Wagner and the Mozart pieces were chosen by Shaw to give alumni and former choir members of Fountain's the opportunity to participate in this tribute. The more substantial "Lord Nelson" Mass, by Haydn, and Symphony of Psalms  were chosen because of their power and audience appeal, the Symphony of Psalms  being "one of the five or six great noble works of this century of any musical form," said Shaw.

The "Lord Nelson" Mass featured four soloists and virtuosic writing for the violin section and for the chorus. Soprano Kristen Campbell sparkled with a high degree of technical agility, and bass Andrew Nolen captured the audience's attention with his powerful voice and impassioned singing.

Alto Marie Lenormand and tenor Daniel Paget were both very moving when Haydn's writing gave them the chance to come forth.

The performers were often in a quartet setting and had little opportunity to shine on their own. There were occasional moments of beauty that broke through the power of the chorus and the soprano and bass.

The whole Mass was well performed but of particular note was the "Qui tollis" movement for bass solo and the final movement ("Dona Nobis Pacem") where the violins, portraying angels dancing with their embellishments, accompanied the chorus, which sang with childlike delight.

The final piece on the program was Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms . This highly religious work was a tour de force for both the orchestra and the chorus, and the highlight of the evening's performance.

The driving and exciting bass lines kept the audience on the edge of its seats as did the extremely well-played oboe solo in the second movement by Jared Hauser.

The audience greeted the ending of Symphony of Psalms  with thunderous applause and finally a standing ovation for Robert Shaw, for whom the orchestra and chorus also showed their appreciation and respect.