“Eastern Voyages”

We’ve come to expect extraordinary repertory and excellent performances from the Milwaukee Choral Artists, under the direction of Sharon Hansen. The women’s chorus delivered both Saturday (April 14) at Fox Point Lutheran Church. This “Eastern Voyages” program focused on music associated with two “easts,” Eastern Europe and East Asia.

Five folksongs from Slovenia, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Ukraine opened the concert. The relatively conventional Macedonian and Ukrainian folk-songs contrasted intriguingly with the more rugged Slovenian and Bulgarian sounds. The singers deserve special recognition for singing all of these works in their original languages, as well as imitating (in the Bulgarian song) the unique vocal colors of Bulgarian folk choirs. Most choirs (and choir directors) would not be so brave.

Igor Stravinsky’s Four Russian Peasant Songs for womens’ choir and four horns followed. The juxtaposition of Stravinsky’s original compositions, from 1914-17, with the preceding folksongs made the influence of Russian folksongs on Stravinsky clear. But other things were in play with Stravinsky, and one can hear both echoes of his earlier music and premonitions of his later works in these four short pieces. Gregory Flint, Andrew Swinney, Marta Kallenberger and Emma Kaplan deserved their bow for their first-rate performance of some very thorny horn writing.

After a very brief pause for minor stage adjustments, the choir returned for three pieces inspired by the tsunamis of December 2004 and March 2011: Mae-e, by Japanese-American composer Kentaro Sato; Kashiri, by Tae-Kyun Ham, and Requiem, by Eliza Gilkyson. For this listener, the highlight was Kashiri; the interplay between the vocal lines (strongly reminiscent of Korean music) and the resulting harmonies, at first consonant but becoming increasingly dissonant as the piece progressed, produced a feeling of extraordinary sadness and loss.

The second half of the concert comprised Antonín Dvořak’s Moravian Duets, opus 32. These relatively early works remind us of both Dvořak’s nationalist interests and his connection to Brahms. Again, the performance by Hansen and the Milwaukee Choral Artists was truly splendid.

In many ways, this was a daunting program. Many choirs would have balked at the sheer variety of styles, or at the rhythmic intricacies of the Stravinsky songs or the Bulgarian and Macedonian folksongs, or at the task of learning to sing in eight languages besides English– and we’re not talking French, Italian, or German! But the performance by the Milwaukee Choral Artists tonight made all of this seem simple and effortless, as they captured the subtleties of style and mood and communicated the essence of the music.