Diverse a cappella group visits UCLA
Chanticleer brings unique choral style to the Wadsworth
By John Mangum
Long gone are the days when performances of Bach and Handel needed choruses larger than the Russian army.
The choruses of today, after some serious streamlining, produce a refined and appropriate sound for the music of Bach and his predecessors. One of these groups, Chanticleer, the only full-time classical vocal ensemble in the United States, uses a 12-man attack strategy in early music, often applying it to contemporary works.
During its appearance at the Wadsworth Theater this Thursday, the a cappella vocal ensemble will perform its holiday program. The ensemble's music director, Joseph Jennings, who also sings with the group, shares his conducting duties with bass-baritone Frank Albinder.
All the members of the group come from diverse backgrounds and bring their own experiences to the ensemble's highly unique performances. Albinder, who worked as the director of Davidson College's choral activities in North Carolina, is no exception.
As part of the group, Albinder performs a daunting amount of music, with a repertoire stretching from Palestrina to the present day. The current interest in early music, exemplified by the surprising success of Gregorian chant recordings, brings groups like Chanticleer recognition.
"All that chant stuff, you're probably going to ask me about that," jokes Albinder. "I'll say something mean about the Spanish monks and you'll quote me, and I'll be in big trouble.
"I don't know what makes (early music) particularly appealing," Albinder says seriously. "Chanticleer started out singing just renaissance music.
"It was a group of friends and they wanted to try and sing the music with the kinds of voices that might have been used at that time." Albinder says. "So, in the Renaissance Period, most of the choirs in churches were all men. There were some all female choirs, but they were never permitted to sing together."
The program Chanticleer presents at the Wadsworth includes works by Renaissance composers Andrea Gabrieli and Palestrina, along with arrangements of Gregorian chant. For Albinder, the appeal of Medieval and Renaissance music stems from the alternative it provides for listeners to the pace of modern life.
"It's certainly beautiful, and so much of it is peaceful," Albinder says. "It seems to allow people to enter a meditative state.
"I like singing it. There's nothing quite like it. Those composers really knew how to write for singers because that's essentially who would perform their music. Most of the music written was for voices."
As the centuries marched on, orchestral music developed to take its place beside vocal music as an important genre. Even today, though, composers continue to test their skills by writing for voice. Chanticleer will perform Chinese folk songs arranged by contemporary composer Chen Yi Thursday.
"She's a native of China, and evidently music education there, while it does focus some on Western music, also fundamentally addresses Chinese folk music," Albinder says. "Students at conservatories learn hundreds of folk songs.
"The first set of pieces that she wrote for us is actually a suite of arrangements of 10 Chinese folk songs from different parts of China, and they're very popular," he said. "They're nice pieces, very skillfully written for us ... which is always nice, when a composer can make something especially for the ensemble."
The group ranges from countertenor to bass and sings a cappella, without the accompaniment of any instrument. Albinder explains that this tradition precedes the Renaissance, when strict rules governed the performance of music in the church.
"The earliest music written was meant to be sung without accompaniment, or a cappella," explains Albinder. "The term comes from church music. A cappella literally means 'in the chapel,' and in a certain period of history, instruments were not permitted to partake in church services."
The a cappella 12-man chorus brings listeners closer to the spirit of Renaissance music, along with performing familiar fare. The program Thursday evening includes traditional English carols and promises to offer Chanticleer's own original slant on classics and chant.
MUSIC: Chanticleer at the Wadsworth Theater, Thursday, 8 p.m. TIX: $25, $22, $9 for students. For more info call (310) 825-2101.