The Roundup News » REVIEW: San Fernando Valley Master Chorale delights

REVIEW: San Fernando Valley Master Chorale delights

May 31, 2009 Arts and Entertainment, Lifestyles, Reviews Los Angeles Pierce College Philharmonic Choi

Greg Donnell / Roundup

The Los Angeles Pierce College Philharmonic Choir and the San Fernando Valley Master Chorale put together an impressive and entertaining performance Saturday night.

The choir led by conductor Terry Danne leapt through a wide variety of songs and sketches. The performances leading up to intermission were by far the most serious and gave way to some of the highlights of the evening.

The choir began with a grouping of Renaissance pieces. The song “Super Flumina Babylonis” created by Palestrina was the top performance of the Renaissance section. The hypnotic, somber tone flowed through the room soaring high and low on the strength of the well-harmonized choir.

Another unexpected moment came during the performance of “By the Leeks of the Babylon.” With the breaks in the song came the wailing of Sandra Saad, which emphasized the sadness of the woman in the song, and drew some laughter from the surprised audience.

Undoubtedly, one of the best performances of the evening was the song, “Oh, Danny Boy,” which was sung by soloist John St. Marie. His strong voice resonated warmly throughout the dimly lit theatre and his stirring performance was greeted cordially with a long sounding round of applause.

After the performance of “Oh, Danny Boy” the next assemblage of songs seemed strangely out of place. A group of Negro spirituals appeared in the wide assortment of chorale music, but compared to the other groupings of songs the choir seemed to be less enthusiastic about the spirituals and out of their element. Again, St. Marie’s solo proved to be the strongest point of the performances and helped to salvage the spiritual section of the show.

Following intermission, the choir returned with a lighthearted and fun loving twist to the recital, starting with the staged calling up of an audience member to play the cymbals, and a fake late trumpeter whose instrument sounded more like a kazoo than trumpet.

A hay bale sat in the center of the stage as a thin cowboy, his loving cowgirl, and a part-time fortune teller sung and danced their way through an amusing rendition of “This ‘n that ‘n Oedipus Tex.”

The performance is an odd ode to the play Oedipus Rex, but its quirkiness gives it a lasting quality. The three main characters’, Oedipus Tex played by Donald Caldwell, his girlfriend Billie Jo Casta played by Theresa Danne, and Madam Peep the fortune teller, played by Joane Franks all gave memorable, and at times quite humorous performances as a unique trio drawn together through love, suicide and an oddly

amusing self mutilation when Tex blinds himself after the death of Casta.

The evening was an eclectic mix of songs and an impressive show by the choir, who not only proved they have singing talent but also a flare for comedy. Danne put together an entertaining performance that was well worth the price of admission.