Music for Royal Occasions Fall 2011
Charleston Today Wednesday October 5, 2011
Review by Peter Ingle
http://www.charlestontoday.net/2011/10/05/the-“royal”-voices-of-the-taylor-choir/
NO WONDER the Taylor Festival Choir has such a stellar reputation. Their concentration, their precision, their passion, and, above all, their unity of sound are unsurpassed.
And then there’s director Robert Taylor’s tasteful flair for the theatrical—this time in the form of the choir’s courtly entrance, striding two-by-two, in measured pace to the music as they entered the church singing.
And what a sound. Of course, it helps to have professionals singing in impeccable tandem, but the acoustics in St. Philip’s Church made the sound even richer. I moved around during the concert, sitting downstairs as well as in the balcony, and there was sweet sonority everywhere in what is an extraordinarily beautiful building just to sit in and look at—especially on such a bright, Fall afternoon.
The concert featured English “Music For Royal Occasions” that included the coronations of King George II and Queen Elizabeth II, several royal weddings, and two royal funerals (Queen Mary II and Princess Diana Spencer).
For some reason, I had anticipated more buoyant pageantry in the music and was therefore surprised at the general solemnity of the wedding and coronation pieces. But I was certainly not disappointed. The singing, the music, and the impressive caliber of this choir were simply exquisite.
The 26-member chorus was joined by a small ensemble—perfectly sized for the occasion—comprising violinists Mary Taylor and Jenni Weiss, violist Matt Peoples, cellist Ellen Dressler Moryl, trumpeters Michael Smith and Susan Messersmith, and organist Richard Jobe.
Of special note for me were the heartfelt, spine-chilling passages coming from Michael Smith’s trumpet, particularly in the selection from George Handel’s “Samson” which had been played at the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.
Soprano soloists Kori Miller and Tina Zenker also shined, each in a wedding piece of their own—Kori in the same Handel piece and Tina in Mozart’s Laudate Dominum which was played at the wedding of Prince Andrew and Lady “Fergy.”
Like the trumpet, the glorious flight of these two songbirds filled the church with an indescribable height of emotion. How remarkable—even mysterious—it is that the human voice can produce such a sound and create such an effect on other human beings.
We are lucky that a few singers and musicians are willing to come together in a church while a few of us gather to listen. So much is going on for them as they exert the energy to play and sing—not to mention practice. Perhaps little do they suspect just how much also goes on within their listeners as a result.
Thank you.
