"Musical artists join forces for 'stunning' effect" 2/22/09
"Choral groups offer magical performance" 2/21/09
"A glorious telling of the Christmas story" 12/21/08
"'Hodie' artists wonderfully expressive, lyrical" 12/21/08
"Review: Salt Lake Choral Artists celebrate different cultures" 10/20/08
"Salt Lake Choral Artists conductor is confident in his group" 10/18/08
"Chorus of praise for easygoing Allred" 2/24/08
"Salt Lake choir renders warm, emotional plea for peace" 10/29/07
"Choral Artists do justice to Brahms" 4/24/07
"Choral Artists present forceful, evocative 'German Requiem'" 4/23/07
"'Carmina Burana' is breathtaking" 10/31/06
"Admiral adaptation of C Minor Mass" 4/17/06
"Utah Choral Artists send chills up spine" 11/1/05
"Musical artists join forces for 'stunning' effect"
by Robert Coleman
The Salt Lake Tribune, February 22, 2009
"Te Deum" is a liturgical hymn of praise and thanksgiving. It is an especially significant expression coming from those who have survived years of oppression, including eastern European composers.
Salt Lake Choral Artists' director Brady Allred used "Te Deum" as the theme for his ensemble's concert of music from this region Saturday night at Libby Gardner Concert Hall.
The program opened with Petr Eben's "Prager Te Deum." A brass ensemble and percussionist accompanied this marriage of traditional and contemporary musical styles.
The choir's luminescent singing of the darkly hued Gregorian plainsong reflected the brass' glowing tone.
Arvo Pärt's "Te Deum" was the program's focal work. The University of Utah Singers joined the Choral Artists, who were divided into men's and women's choruses, to sing three separate parts. They were accompanied by a string orchestra, a prepared piano (screws wedged between strings producing a percussive sound) and a recorded wind harp (long strings creating a droning sound when wind passes through them).
The effect of the combined forces was stunning. The eclected work merged flowing lines and fragmented accompaniment, pit sound against silence and contrasted unison with harmony.
Ironically, Pärt's minimalistic compositional language created a type of interpretive complexity that Allred negotiated effectively, communicating the work's relevance and spirituality.
After intermission, Janet Todd strolled on stage playing her accordian in authentic Yiddish fashion followed by mezzo soprano Victoria Morris. She sang "Az der rebbe zingt." Their performance was a gem, highlighted further by a young man who danced onto the stage and took Morris for a turn during a highly ornamented accordian interlude.
The SLCA Women's Choir directed by Jane Fjeldsted sang a set of elegantly crafted but pitch-challenged songs, including a flowing work by Sergei Rachmaninoff titled "The Angel."
Allred's University Singers previewed some of the selections to be performed during their upcoming tour of eastern Europe, capped by their participation at an international choral competition in Germany.
To say they are ready would be understatement. Their performance was impeccable. Selections, sung in Hungarian and Slovenian, had flawless control, crisply articulated lyrics and deeply felt musicality. The conductor's obvious pride in the ensemble was well-founded.
Morris returned to solo with the choir in the final selection, "Tece Voda, Tece" (Waters Ripple and Flow). Eloquently singing of lost freedom returning, the choir created a moving tribute to the indomitable spirit of the Slovak people.
Bottom Line: Brady Allred takes another step toward choral music nirvana performing works by eastern European composers.
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"Choral groups offer magical performance"
by Edward Reichel
Deseret News, February 21, 2009
Arvo Pärt's music is finaly finding a wider audience. His works have gradually been receiving more performances outside of Europe and finding the type of acceptance they deserve.
Without question, Pärt is one of the significant composers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Coming out of the intellectualism of serial music, Pärt has deveoped his own, highly personal, style that is difficult to categorize. Minimalist and romantic, diffuse and yet simple in structure are only a few terms that can describe his works. But its impact on audiences is unmistakable---one doesn't leave a concert of his music without being touched by the sincerity and honesty of what he writes.
The 73-year-old Estonian composer, who makes his home in Berlin, is largely unknown to Utah audiences. That's why it's so gratifying when someone here takes up the cause, as it were.
Saturday, the Salt Lake Choral Artists and University of Utah Singers, under the baton of Brady Allred, gave what is ostensibly the local premiere of Pärt's Te Deum. A wonderfully transcendent piece, it strikes the listener immediately for its spirituality. The hypnotic effect of minimalism's repetitiveness is here joined by a mysticism that vaguely brings to mind John Tavener with one striking difference---Tavener's mysticism is ascetic; Pärt's is visceral.
The Te Deum is a captivating piece for this. It's amazing how much Pärt can say with so few musical gestures. Of course, the piece's success also lies firmly in the hands of the conductor and his musical forces. And with Allred at the help, the Te Deum worked its magic on the audience.
Allred captured its spirituality with his perceptive and intelligent reading. His interpretation was incredibly nuanced and wonderfully expressive. He coaxed a stunningly moving and heartfelt performance out of the Salt Lake Choral Artists and the University Singers. The two groups sang with a radiance that resonated with rich timbers and textures. Their singing was polished and seamless---characteristics that one has come to expect from Allred's ensembles.
The concert opened with another Te Deum, this one by the contemporary Czech composer Petr Eben. Diametrically opposed to Pärt's setting, Eben's is much more forceful and intense, but interspersed with delicately lyrical passages. The Choral Artists gave a vibrant and dynamic performance that captured the work's pungency but also its wondrous expressiveness.
The second half was more diverse, with folk music of eastern Europe and pieces by Sergei Rachmaninoff, Gyorgy Orban and Jacobus Handl, sung by the University Singers, who showed their remarkable talent in this set.
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"A glorious telling of the Christmas story: 'Hodie:' Allred's singers give a memorable performance
of a choral masterpiece"
by Catherine Reese Newton
The Salt Lake Tribune, December 21, 2008
It's hard to imagine the Christmas Season without G.F. Handel's "Messiah" or Benjamin Britten's "A Ceremony of Carols." Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Hodie" hasn't attained the same familiarity in this community, but it richly deserves to be performed more often. Kudos to Brady Allred and his Salt Lake Choral Artists for presenting this underappreciated masterpiece Saturday.
"Hodie" is a cantata telling the Nativity story through poetry, most of it by British writers, and biblical texts from the gospels of Matthew, Luke and John. A children's choir sings the narrative Bible verses; that role was filled admirably Saturday by choristers from the Madeleine Choir School, who sang with pure tone and first-rate enunciation. Brian Mathias provided adept accompaniment on the Libby Gardner Concert Hall organ.
Tenor Todd Miller, who sang the words of the angel, was gentle in manner, yet vocally secure. Soprano Carol Ann Allred sang expressively in her songs describing the Nativity; the women of the choir joined her in a tender reading of the "Lullaby." Another emotional high point was baritone Darrell Babidge's moving performance of "The Oxen," a beautiful setting of the Thomas Hardy poem. Allred's large choir gave a stirring performance, conveying hushed reverence and boundless rejoicing with equal skill. The Salt Lake Symphony offered sympathietic accompaniment; the woodwind section was especially memorable in "The Oxen."
The concert opened with Vaughan Williams' "Fantasia on Christmas Carols," with Babidge an authoritative soloist in quintissentially British tunes such as the Sussex Carol.
The only downside to Saturday's concert was the fact it wasn't repeated. It's been a few years since the last performance of "Hodie" in Salt Lake City; let's hope we don't have to wait as long for the next one.
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"'Hodie' artists wonderfully expressive, lyrical"
by Edward Reichel
Deseret News, December 21, 2008
With Brady Allred at the helm, the Salt Lake Choral Artists have undertaken a number of major works that one doesn't normally associate with community choirs.
But Saturday, the group, together with members of the Madeleine Choir School and the Salt Lake Symphony, performed one of the more demanding choral masterpieces of the 20th century, Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Hodie."
"Hodie" isn't done frequently, but it's a work that captures the spirit of Christmas as perhaps no other work quite does. Except for the opening chorus, "Hodie" is not an exuberant outpouring that revels in the glory of Christmas, as Handel's "Messiah" does. Instead, it's a contemplative work that is in many ways reflective and inward looking. And that's how Allred approached it.
Allred is one of the finest choral conductors in the country. He delves into the heart of a work and gives powerfully charged readings. He also brings out the very best of his singers. He is a wonderfully musical and perceptive conductor, and that makes his performances memorable. Allred showed a fine command of his forces Saturday, and they gave a richly polished and eloquent performance of a work that deserves to be a staple of the holiday season.
The Salt Lake Choral Artists is a wonderfully musical ensemble. Their singing was consistently seamless and lyrical. The same also held true for the choristers of the Cathedral of the Madeleine. And Allred coaxed beautifully shaped phrases from both groups.
Joining them for "Hodie" were solists Carol Ann Allred, soprano; Todd Miller, tenor; and Darrell Babidge, baritone. All three were exceptional, imparting warmth and exquisite lyricism to their parts. Particularly notable was Carol Ann Allred's singing of the song "It was the winter wild" and "Lullaby;" Miller's rendition of the hymn "Bright portals of the sky;" and Babidge's performance of "The Oxen."
The Salt Lake Symphony played convincingly with finely nuanced phrases. The orchestra has worked with the Choral Artists under the baton of Brady Allred several times, and each time the collaboration has become stronger. This is a wonderful match of like minded community musicians.
The concert opened with Vaughan Williams' likewise infrequently played "Fantasia on Christmas Carols," which like "Hodie" is a rather introverted but touchingly poignant piece. Allred elicited a wonderfully expressive account of the piece from Babidge and the Choral Artists.
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"Review: Salt Lake Choral Aritsts celebrate different cultures"
by Robert Coleman
The Salt Lake Tribune, October 20, 2008
Brady Allred's efforts to share world music during the Salt Lake Choral Artists' "Multicultural Celebration" at Libby Gardner Hall Saturday night were met with enthusiastic approval.
Allred divided his choral forces into three ensembles - a women's chorus, a chamber choir and a large concert choir - to sample music from Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Pacific Rim.
The combined ensembles opened with David Maddux's arrangement "O Sifuni Mungu," an African sensory work with aleatoric sounds, which required audience participation to rub hands together, snap fingers and slap thighs. Soloists Cecil Sullivan, Steve Knell and Jennifer Angulo called out chants that elicited the chorus' response.
The Chamber Choir followed with a set of Latin American songs. The group demonstrated secure vocal technique, clear diction and centered pitch. Allred allowed his singers ample expressive freedom, and the group's shared musical vision gave the performance unity throughout.
The Concert Choir sang two sets of songs written by British composer David Fanshawe. Fanshawe, an ethnomusicologist, traveled the world recording sights and sounds he encountered and incoporated the research into his musical creations.
The ensemble sang five movements from his "African Sanctus" and three selections from "Pacific Songs." Fanshawe's music was accompanied by Laurel Enke on piano, Matthew Oakden, string bass, Sonja Noykos on flute (Pacific Song), a percussion ensemble, dancers and a tape of atmospheric sounds and ethnic singing recorded by the composer on his travels down the Nile River and to the Pacific Islands.
While the taped contribution was authentic and interesting, it often overpowered the live musicians' well-honed performance.
The evening's most appealing selections were a Taiwanese song, "Dui Dui Dang Ah," that mimicked the sounds of a train journey and Aboriginal Australian music, "Past Life Melodies," that utilized overtone or throat singing to fascinating effect.
Jane Fjeldsted led the women's chorus in delicate and expressive music from Japan, Korea, and the Philippines. Associate conductor Aimee Frederick directed the Concert Choir in lush and detailed music, also from the Philippines.
The concert ended with an audience favorite, the rhythmic Nigerian carol "Betelehemu." Congas, bongos and dancers added to the spectacle as the concert ended in a whirl of sound, movement and color.
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"Salt Lake Choral Artists conductor is confident in his group"
by Edward Reichel
Deseret News, October 12, 2008
Conductor Brady Allred has a lot of confidence in his Salt Lake Choral Artists.
There is no other way to explain it after one has had a chance to glance at the new season. "I'm trying to stretch the choir and the audience," he told the Deseret News.
And the choir members don't seem to mind one bit.
They will have their hands full at the first of their four concerts this season. Titled "Multicultural Celebration," the concert, which takes place Saturday in Libby Gardner Concert Hall, is a musical journey through parts of Africa, Latin America and the Pacific Rim.
"Ever since I took part in the World Choral Symposium, where I was exposed to Latin American and African music, I've been turned on by it quite a bit," Allred said. "I try to program at least some music from those parts of the world every year."
Saturday's concert will include music from the Philippines, Korea, Taiwan, Tonga and Australia. "We counted it up, and the choir will be singing in 12 different languages. I think by the time they're through, they'll be happy to sing in Latin again."
Allred admitted that having the choir sing in so many different languages is difficult, but he'll facilitate it by dividing his ensemble into three separate choirs: women's, chamber and concert choirs, with each singing their own set of pieces.
There will also be selections from two works by David Fanshawe: "Pacific Songs" and "African Sanctus." "In both of these works, Fanshawe takes the music of indigenous people, which he gathered and recorded himself, and incorporates it into his compositions," Allred explained. "It's really quite ingenious the way he interpolates and unifies different cultures into one work."
In December, the Salt Lake Choral Artists will perform a more traditional concert with Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Hodie" on the program. This will be a joint concert with the Salt Lake Symphony and the Madeleine Choir School. Joining them will be soloists Carol Ann Allred, soprano; Todd Miller, tenor; and Darrell Babidge, baritone.
The two concerts next year focus on contemporary works. In February 2009, Allred and the choir will perform Arvo Part's Te Deum. "I've done it twice before, and it's a wonderful crossover piece," Allred said. "Classical musicians like it because Part bases the work on Gregorian chant, and new age people like it because it's a very mystical and atmospheric piece."
For this performance, Allred will follow Part's original scoring which calls for three choirs, strings, harp and prepared piano. The Choral Artists will be joined by the University of Utah Singers, who also will sing some Eastern European folk music as they prepare for their Eastern European tour next May.
Closing out the season in May 2009 will be Mark Grey's "Enemy Slayer: A Navajo Oratorio," which was premiered this past February by the Phoenix Symphony in Tucson. "It was also performed at the Grand Teton Music Festival in summer, so this will be its third performance," Allred said.
Allred became aware of the piece when a former student of his went to Arizona to work on his master's degree in musicology, joined the Phoenix Symphony Chorus and sang at the premiere. "He told me about it, and I think it's a great piece to play here in Utah with our native population."
Below is a rundown of the concerts. All programs begin at 7:30 p.m. and take place in Libby Gardner Concert Hall:
Saturday — "Multicultural Celebration:" Music from Africa, Latin America and the Pacific Rim; David Fanshawe, "Pacific Songs" and "African Sanctus."
Dec. 20 — Ralph Vaughan Williams, "Hodie"; traditional holiday songs.
Feb. 21, 2009 — Arvo Part, Te Deum; folk music from Eastern Europe.
May 2, 2009 — Mark Grey, "Enemy Slayer: A Navajo Oratorio."
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"Chorus of praise for easygoing Allred"
by Celia R. Baker
The Salt Lake Tribune, February 24, 2008
If conductors are supposed to be high-strung, volatile egotists, Brady Allred isn't living up to the standard.
No one minds. The University of Utah's affable director of choral activities is defying other expectations---and his success is being noticed.
In Utah, Allred is known for directing top-notch concerts and recordings with his university groups; effectively mentoring a new generation of choral conducting students; and raising the profile of the Salt Lake Choral Artists, a respected community choral organization.
The buzz around Allred took on international vibrations when the University of Utah Singers, which he formed when he joined the U. music faculty in 2003, began winning overseas choral competitions, including the prestigious European Grand Prix International in 2006.
Now the Singers are in demand in Europe, and so is ALlred, who will judge a festival in Germany this spring and conduct choirs in Europe this summer. Last December, the U.'s choral department received a $1.25 million gift, attracted in large part by Allred's accomplishments.
Salt Lake City's Kem and Carolyn Gardner funded the Ellen Neilson Barnes Presidential Endowed Chair in Choral Studies to honor Carolyn Gardner's late mother---and because they are fans of Allred and the U. of U. Singers, whose concerts draw "the Who's Who of Salt Lake City," according to Kem Gardner.
"We decided to do something to honor Brady and let him know how much he is appreciated," Kem Gardner said. "It's important to have someone like Brady, with his enthusiasm and skill, training up a whole generation of musicians to keep choral music in the forefront in Utah."
Allred said the money will be used to offer scholarships to undergrad singers and graduate assistants, help wth recording and touring costs, and add new music to the choral repertoire.
"We can commission new pieces, premiere those, and let students have the experience of working with composers very closely and watching a piece come to fruition," he said.
Robert Walzel, director of the U.'s School of Music, said the two things that impress him most about Allred are the conductor's high degree of musicianship and his ability to motivate students. "He has a gift for being able to blend work on fundamentals of singing in with whatever repertoire he is doing, and it's absolutely seamless," Walzel said. "He develops concepts of singing that allow choirs to learn new material quickly and at a high artistic level."
Rachel Webster, a senior in choral music education at the U., said Allred is a "people person" who takes pride in his students' accomplishments and makes them work hard to earn it.
"There's just nothing better than pleasing him. When you know you've done it, you're walking in the clouds."
Allred's fascination with music started early. While he was growing up in Memphis, Tenn., he learned piano and several band instruments. He became conductor of his high school's band orchestra and choir, as well as accompanist for other groups.
An accomplist flutist, Allred considered becoming an orchestral player before settling on choral conducting while earning a bachelor's degree at Brigham Young University. He is married to soprano Carol Ann Allred and performs often as her accompanist. The two earned master's and doctorate degrees together at Eastman School of Music. The Allreds have four daughters, ranging from 8 to 18.
"Surprise, surprise---they all enjoy music," said Brady Allred. "We have some fun on family trips, all singing together."
Allred's key to balancing family life and a skyrocketing career is "careful scheduling." As always, there is plenty coming up this spring. The Singers will give the world premiere of a new work for double chorus and handbells by William Hawley on March 8; the U.'s choral department will present a rare performance of Monteverdi's "Vespers" in April; and the Utah Choral Artists will present Mendelssohn's "Elijah" in May.
UNDER BRADY'S BATON
The University of Utah Singers is the top choral ensemble at the U.'s School of Music; its 45 to 50 singers must pass a tough audition. In 2006, the group won the European Grand Prix International Choir Competition in Tolosa, Spain, after qualifying to enetr by winning the Florilège Vocal de Tours International Choir Competition in France in 2005. As a result of the Grand Prix win, the Singers were hosted at three French choral festivals last summer. As invited artists, all of the group's travel expenses in France were paid.
The U.'s A Cappella Choir is also an auditioned ensemble, with 65 to 80 singers. Voice performance majors, choral music education students and students majoring in other music and nonmusic fields are found in both choirs.
The Salt Lake Choral Artists, which isn't performing today, is a community choir organization with a 160-member concet choir, a 42-member chamber choir and a 57-member women's choir. Besides presenting several concerts each year, the group sponsors a summer choral institute for individuals and families who want to participate in choral performances without full-time membership in a choir.
The group's next performance is Mendelssohn's oratorio "Elijah" on May 10 in Salt Lake City's Libby Gardner Concert Hall. Learn more at www.saltlakechoralartists.org.
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"Salt Lake Choir renders warm, emotional plea for peace"
by Catherine Reese Newton
The Salt Lake Tribune, October 29,2007
War and peace were the focus of the Salt Lake Choral Artists' season-opening concert Saturday.
The centerpiece was "Dona Nobis Pacem," Ralph Vaughan Williams' eloquent musical plea for peace. The choir set a high bar for the Utah Symphony Chorus, which will sing the same work with conductor Andrew Litton in December.
Under Brady Allred's direction, the 150-voice choir, augmented by the University of Utah A Cappella Choir and the Copper Hills High Madrigals, sang with a warm, beautiful tone, keen responsiveness to phrasing and dynamics, and such clean enunciation that the printed program was scarcely necessary. The sound was especially tight in the second movement, "Beat! Beat! Drums!" Even at Allred's insistent tempo, every word of Walt Whitman's poem rang out clearly. Soprano Carol Ann Allred and baritone Darrell Babidge, two favorites of Utah audiences, sang their solos with professional police. Carol Ann Allred's interpretation of the recurring plea "Dona nobis pacem" ("grant us peace") was particularly sensitive, taking on new shades of meaning at each appearance.
SLCA's chamber-size string orchestra likewise played with interpretive sensitivity and enough muscle to hold its own with the 250 singers on stage.
Two compositions by Utah's Mack Wilberg, written as companion pieces for "Dona Nobis Pacem," wrapped around the larger piece like musical and philosophical parentheses. The pastoral "Introit: Requiem aeternam" set a prayerful tone; the hopeful anthem "Let Peace Then Still the Strife" amplified the cautious optimism of "Dona Nobis Pacem's" final movement.
The concert opened with another piece by Vaughan Williams, "Serenade to Music," with texts taken from Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice." Concertmaster Natalie Reed's sweet solos were a highlight. But Glenn Rudolph's "The Dream Isaiah Saw," which Allred commissioned in 2001 when he was director of the Bach Choir of Pittsburgh, arguably packed th biggest emotional punch.
The SLCA singers clearly took the poignant "lions and lambs" text to heart, singing with palpable emotion.
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"Choral Artists do justice to Brahms"
by Edward Reichel
Deseret News, April 24, 2007
Johannes Brahms' "German Requiem" had its origins in the deaths of two people who were closest to the composer - his mother and Robert Schumann. As such, it is highly personal, and one of Brahms' most touching and heartfelt works.
Unlike the traditional settings of the mass for the dead, there is no wrathful God or fear for Judgment Day in Brahms' Requiem. Instead, it is a work of consolation for the grieving and an entreaty that the departed find eternal rest. Never a religious man, Brahms nevertheless brought deep spirituality to his work. He selected passages from the German translation of the Bible that fit his beliefs. Usually performed in German, there have been several English translations. The best known of these is perhaps Robert Shaw's, which the Mormon Tabernacle Choir performed and recorded shortly after Shaw's death in 1999.
There is another English translation by Lara Hoggard, who spent some 20 years meticulously researching the German text and creating a new translation that more accurately reflects the original and more closely fits the spirit of the work.
The Salt Lake Choral Artists, under their director Brady Allred, gave the Utah premiere of this version last weekend. They were joined by the Salt Lake Symphony and soloists Carol Ann Allred, soprano, and Christopher Holmes, baritone. (Holmes was a replacement for Darrell Babidge, who was scheduled to sing.)
Brady Allred is, without doubt, one of the pre-eminent choral conductors in the country, and he brings the best out of his choral forces - and also the orchestra, as he once again showed Saturday. The Salt Lake Choral Artists and the Salt Lake Symphony may be community organizations, but under Allred's direction, they have a professional sound and quality.
The ensemble sang magnificently. They sounded rich and resonant and responded well to Allred's direction. He coaxed a nuanced performance out of them, one that was dramatic where needed, but also poignant and deeply moving.
The soloists were also wonderful. Holmes proved himself to be a worthy replacement for Babidge, as he brought feeling and profound expression to his two arias ("Lord teach me to know the measure of my days on Earth" and "Lo, I unfold unto you a mystery").
Carol Ann Allred brought tender expressiveness and heartfelt sincerity to her aria, "You now are sorrowful." She captured the poignancy of the words with great sensitivity and feeling.
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"Choral Artists present forceful, evocative 'German Requiem'"
by Catherine Reese Newton
The Salt Lake Tribune, April 23, 2007
Salt Lake City has an abundance of excellent choral conductors, especially for a community its size: Craig Jessop and Mack Wilberg of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Barlow Bradford of Utah Chamber Artists, Susanne Sheston of the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera choruses, even the Utah Symphony's Keith Lockhart, who has done some of his most memorable work in choral music. Another first-rate conductor, Brady Allred, came to town a couple of years ago and quickly proved a force to be reckoned with. Saturday, he led Salt Lake Choral Artists in a stirring performance of Brahms' "German Requiem."
It's another sign of Salt Lake's active and vibrant musical scene that Saturday's concert wasn't even the first performance of the "German Requiem" here this month. Lockhart and the Utah Symphony gave a powerful reading of the piece a week earlier.
Why so many "German Requiems"? Why not? The Utah Symphony's performances were in Brahms' German, while Salt Lake Choral Artists did a new English-language edition by the late Lara Hoggard - in the audience's language, as the composer intended. Besides, the "German Requiem" is a masterpiece worth hearing over and over. Saturday's performance played to a near-capacity crowd at the University of Utah's Libby Gardner Concert Hall.
The 150-voice choir and the Salt Lake Symphony responded readily to Allred's dynamic direction, achieving an impressive range of musical colors. For example, a clean, cool sound in the opening "Blest are they who are sorrowful" brightened and warmed at the words "shall with rejoicing in joy be reaping." In the second movement, "For mortal flesh is as the grass," Allred brought the singers to a goosebump-inducing fortissimo in the final unison passage, then had them fade gracefully away like the withering grass. Another exhilarating crescendo came at the words "joy everlasting" in that movement's concluding fugue.
Allred conducted with a good sense of the work's overall shape, making the central movement, "How lovely are thy dwellings," a calm, comforting interlude.
The chorus' forceful delivery of the lines "the dead shall then rise up incorruptible" and "Death, where is thy sting! Hell, where is thy victory!" was another high point, as the singers followed Allred in an exciting accelerando. The final movement, "Blessed are the dead," brought the work to a soothing close.
Soloists were baritone Christopher Holmes and soprano Carol Ann Allred. Holmes sang with pleasing, resonant tone in "Lord, teach me to know the measure of my days on Earth" and "Lo, I unfold unto you a mystery." Soprano Allred, who is also the conductor's wife, brought an air of consolation to "You now are sorrowful" with her serene interpretation.
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"'Carmina Burana' is breathtaking"
by Edward Reichel
Deseret News, October 31, 2006
The Salt Lake Choral Artists opened its new season over the weekend with a resplendent performance of Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana." But more than just being a stunning season opener, Orff's choral masterwork also heralded the ensemble's new name.
Formerly known as the Utah Choral Artists, the group was forced to change its name by the Utah Chamber Artists earlier this year; the latter feared the similarity in names was detrimental.
As far as the renamed Salt Lake Choral Artists are concerned, however, no matter what they call themselves, their concerts are on a high professional level, thanks to director Brady Allred's exceptional leadership. He elicits a dynamic performance from his singers, and they give him what he expects of them.
Allred has shown he isn't afraid to go out on a limb with his singers, either. Mozart's great C Minor Mass, K. 427, late last season, and now Orff's stunning "Carmina Burana," have proven that the 150-voice choir is up to any challenge Allred might throw at them.
Saturday's performance was of a quality and caliber that belied the choir's volunteer status. The Choral Artists, augmented by the University of Utah's A Cappella Choir, sang forcefully, with self-assurance, passion and feeling to the point of bursting the confines of Libby Gardner Concert Hall.
Allred showed an intimate knowledge of the work. His reading captured the breadth and immensity of the score, while at the same time paying careful attention to small details of expression and nuance. That came especially to the fore in the "Cour D'Amour" ("Court of Love") section, which deals with the sensuality of physical love. The chorus and soloists gave a richly colored performance that underscored the voluptuousness of the music.
Joining the chorus were soloists Genevieve Christianson, soprano; George Dyer, tenor; and Clayne Robison, baritone. The three sang breathtakingly. Robison was particularly remarkable in "Estuans interius" ("In Rage and Bitterness") and, with Christianson, in "Tempus est iocundum" ("Pleasant Is the Season").
Orff gives the tenor only one solo, but it's one of the most visually stunning numbers in the entire work, and Dyer made the most of it. "Olim lacus colueram" ("The Roasted Cygnet Sings") is a wickedly witty song describing the last moments of a roasted swan before it is devoured by the hungry guests at an inn. Dyer gave a painfully vivid performance that captured the imagery wonderfully.
The Salt Lake Symphony accompanied the singers and played radiantly. Allred kept his large forces in balance - no small accomplishment in Libby Gardner, where the acoustics can be challenging, particularly with such a vast number of performers
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"Admiral adaptation of C Minor Mass"
by Catherine Reese Newton
The Salt Lake Tribune, April 17, 2006
Completing Mozart's unfinished C Minor Mass was an ambitious venture for musicologist Robert Levin, and singing it is an ambitious venture for a volunteer choir. Brady Allred's Utah Choral Artists did an admirable job with the choral masterpiece on Saturday.
Levin, best-known for his reconstruction of Mozart's famously unfinished Requiem, recently took on another musical mystery: He spent a year filling in the musical blanks in the C Minor Mass using Mozart's sketches, fleshing out the Credo movement and fashioning a concluding Agnus Dei with some material from the cantata "Davidde penitente." Levin makes a good case for his choices in his program notes, and the resulting 90-minute Mass is equally persuasive.
The 140-voice Utah Choral Artists, soon to be known as the Salt Lake Choral Artists, clearly invested ample time in rehearsal. The singers moved nimbly and projected the Latin text with uncommon clarity. Their enthusiasm was particularly evident in their forceful delivery of the Qui tollis and the Credo; there was much head-bobbing and swaying with Mozart's insistent rhythms. The singers also showed good control of dynamics, responding readily to Allred's direction.
Soprano Carol Ann Allred, the conductor's wife, had the biggest role among the soloists; fittingly, it was Mozart's wife, Constanze Weber Mozart, who sang the role at the Mass' premiere. Allred's best work was in the gently pastoral Et incarnatus est, in which the woodwinds complemented her to lovely effect. Mezzo-soprano Laura Garff Lewis, tenor George Dyer and baritone Eric Glissmeyer also performed capably. The 32-piece Utah Choral Artists Chamber Orchestra didn't always have perfect intonation, but its performance was of generally high quality.
The Mass was plenty of music for a choir to perform in one evening, but it was evident from the noisy ovation that the large and appreciative crowd in Libby Gardner Concert Hall would have stayed for another hour.
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"Utah Choral Artists send chills up spine"
by Rebecca Cline Howart
Deseret Morning News, November 1, 2005
The Utah Choral Artists entertained their audience this Halloween weekend with thrills and chills---of a different kind.
Assembling a some 300-voice ensemble, the group literally brought surround sound concert to the Libby Gardner Concert Hall. Sitting in the middle of the majesty of that sound was enough to give chills to audience members.
The concert was titled "Banquet of Voices," and it served up some very rich dishes.
The focus for this concert was antiphonal music---that is, separate choirs singing back and forth to each other, frequently from across the concert hall. This meant that many of the pieces had some pretty dense counterpoint, a lot of it taken from the baroque and Renaissance periods.
Of course, the Utah Baroque Ensemble also took part in this concert, so that era of music was most appropriate.
They also drew from many other genres In fact, some of the most stunning pieces came from modern composers, such as Carter's "The Splendor Falls," Dan Locklair's "For Amber Waves" and the hauntingly beautiful "Mi'kmaq Honor Song," which featured wind, bird and animal sounds called out from various points in the hall.
Biebl's "Ave Maria" allowed another guest group, the University of Utah Singers, to showcase the members' beautiful young sound. And the a cappella "Antiphon for God the Father"---obviously a terrifically difficult work---found the U. Singers up to the task.
Linda Margetts provided some of the accompaniment on the organ, as well as a delightful prelude/processional, as the choirs filed in and got settled. They also included some instrumentalists---brass, winds and strings, whose performances were up to par.
The concert was well attended, but the audience seemed to be most dense in the back half of the hall. Normally that's a good place to sit for a choir concert, since the sound is more blended back there. But with so many antiphonal effects in this concert, the front half of the hall was really the best place in order to really get the full effect of hearing people singing on your right, then on your left, and sometimes even in back of you. (I tried out both spots.)
About the only drawback to sitting in the front half was the guy on the seventh row on the right side who---even after somebody passed him a note asking him to be quiet---kept pushing beeping buttons on his electronic device.
Another interesting aspect to this concert was the logistics of moving around the various choirs---the three choirs of the Utah Choral Artists, the Utah Baroque Ensemble and the University Singers and A Cappella Choir---between the songs.
Usually conductor Allred would talk about the upcoming song while the various choirs shifted smoothly to their location. It wasn't disruptive, but it definitely was a much busier stage than one normally sees in a concert.
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