Oberlin College Choir lacks heart and soul

A mostly older, non-student population braved the rain Wednesday night to see the Oberlin College Choir perform. The program was executed with quality, but with varying levels of passion on the part of the singers.

The standout was certainly an original composition by conservatory junior Bill Stevens, a piece that equaled or surpassed the others on the program in both writing and performance. Overall, however, the choir had a hard time maintaining its interest, although the slightly repetative nature of the selections could account for this.

The first three pieces, a trio of religious works, seemed nothing more than a warm-up. An anonymous 16th century a cappella hymn was executed at a constant mezzo forte dynamic, though with excellent control and accuracy. Good blend and a touch more interest was exemplified in Vaughn Williams' "O How Amiable," but again, the choir seemed to be holding back, as on the third piece, "I was glad when they said unto me" by C. Hubert H. Parry. The choir seemed to have a problem doing piano, and overall the level of interest seemed low. Technically everything was there: accurate pitches, crisp cutoffs, and sharp articulation. But there was something missing.

It appeared in the next piece, the aforementioned composition by Stevens, "Striations of Peace." Two marimbas were wheeled onto the stage, and these had the opening solo, a haunting twentieth-century progression. A tasteful soprano part moved into a well-executed crescendo to bring in the entire chorus. Then came a truly wonderful effect: the chorus split up into diverging, almost individual parts that slowly coalesced into a wonderful chord; this technique was then also used on a spoken part. A well-handled bass solo emerged to meld with the marimba part, descending to a nice piano. The individual motifs were then repeated, building to a tumultuous forte chord, then slowly dying out through an understated, wandering soprano part and ending with the choir and the marimbas coming together in almost complete equality of timbre.

This was not only a divine piece because of the writing, but because of the performance. Conservatory first-years Adam Sliwinski and John Tarcza, the marimba players, conveyed a non-coordinated accompaniment with flair and grace. The choir handled the very difficult spoken part bravely and accurately; they obviously had a handle on the effect the composer was looking for. It seems likely that the quality of the piece awakened their interest and prompted them to a passionate performance.

A good deal of the quality of "Striations" was displayed in the performance of "Four Pastorales," by Cecil Effinger. A major reason for the success was Laurel Odrinic's oboe accompaniment, which wandered and solidified, rose and fell, with a good deal of awareness of the musical needs of the piece. The choir shone too, displaying a tight blend and good restraint, with excellent voice control over the sustained passages. The final part, "Wood," was a standout, with superlative handling of the dissonant parts and an extremely resonant ending.

Four pieces about "the eroticism of the night," as conductor Hugh Ferguson Floyd put it, followed. These again descended into the depths of meaninglessness, with the choir almost fading into the background behind the notes themselves, awash in a sea of noise that didn't seem to go anywhere. They were technically sound but unimpressive: "Yep, they're singing." Conservatory first-year Adam Friedberg provided a welcome, expressive cello accompaniment on "In the Night We Shall Go In."

The concert concluded with a Schumann piece featuring solos by conservatory sophomore Krista Boone, double-degree sophomores Jon Stinson and Vanessa de Merode, and double-degree fifth-years Waldo Gonzalez and Daniel Hutchings. They were a tad striated at times, but generally executed with confidence and feeling. The use of a hidden tambourine was rather disturbing and induced heart palpitations among some of the more elderly residents of the audience.

While some of the more boring pieces were done (not surprisingly) without feeling, the choir rose to the challenge when it was presented to them and delivered technically sound, passionate music. More music by Stevens is highly anticipated, in addition to further performances by the Oberlin College Choir.