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Hogan Singers Please Crowd

by Jennifer Spitulnik

The first artist recital concert of the season, performed by the Moses Hogan Chorale, was given as a tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. President Nancy Dye and Maame Stephens, the co-vice president of the senior class, started the evening with speeches exhorting the large crowd to find their own dreams and live them.

Moses Hogan has one rule for his Chorale: sing with conviction, not with suspicion. Their concert on Tuesday amply demonstrated the power of that dictum. However, they did not rely on faith alone to get them through an entire evening of musically and vocally demanding spiritual arrangements. Rather, they displayed impeccable musicianship and phrasing along with their exuberance and passion.

"I got a robe, you got a robe - all God's children got a robe! When I get to Heaven gonna put on my robe, gonna shout all over God's heaven," went one of the spirituals. I only hope that heaven is filled with Moses Hogan's compositions and arrangements.

The choir riveted its attention on Hogan from the moment he walked onstage. He conducted authoritatively, but allowed himself to relax into the music and trust in his choir. He molded the sound like clay, sculpting music out of the air.

The performance of several soloists gave the audience a chance to hear some of these remarkable voices on their own. Each of the singers could easily stand on his or her own. In fact, they are the kind of big, distinctive voices that would be rejected from a traditional choir. The effect of so many rich, full voices singing together was astounding. The sound enveloped the audience with viscous, almost tangible cushions of sound. Adding soloists to the mix sounded like ladling hot fudge sauce onto a warm, gooey brownie.

Mezzo-soprano Marietta Simpson was the featured soloist in this concert. Hogan's music showcased her enormous range and expression. Her diction was remarkable; each m-ah, d-uh, and b-uh resounded in the cavernous room, and she didn't throw away a single word.

Simpson sang a number of pieces with the choir, of which "Wade in the Water" was the most exceptional. The choir sounded faintly ominous, but Simpson sang with pure joy. She seemed to be telling us that it is better to be in water troubled by God than left alone on dry land. She also gave an emotionally charged account of the "Crucifixion," one of Hogan's original compositions.

Indeed, all of the soloists were excellent. Soprano Bridget Brazile deserves special mention. She sang one superb piece, "Great Day," as a soloist. However, as almost every number demands a high soprano in its big finish, we got to hear her again and again. Amazingly, she never flagged; consistently stunning the audience with her grace and power in the stratosphere. Tenor Brian Stratton, who sang "There's a man going 'round taking names," was amazingly expressive, his voice as full of pain and longing as is humanly possible.

Other highlights included a plaintive arrangement of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" for flute and chorus, and the exciting "Battle of Jericho," already familiar to Oberlin audiences. The two encores, "Ride on King Jesus," and "Elijah Rock" brought the audience sincerely to its feet. The crowd left Finney humming and grinning from ear to ear.

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T H E   O B E R L I N   R E V I E W

Copyright © 2001, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 129, Number 13, February 9, 2001

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