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Angels of Many Signs. (Image by Saya Woolfalk)
Choral Music
Edward A Kliszus

Angel of Many Signs

The New York Choral Society presented Angel of Many Signs, a superb digital, instrumental, choral, and visual art synthesis. This production was billed as “a multi-media and multi-disciplinary concert bridging centuries of feminine imagination and power.”

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A well-deserved standing ovation for Maestro Kent Tritle and The Oratorio Society of New York at Carnegie Hall. Photo by Edward Kliszus
Choral Music
Edward A Kliszus

Oratorio Society of New York with Bach’s Magnificat and Mozart’s Requiem

On stage at Carnegie Hall was Maestro Kent Tritle with superb soloists, orchestra, and the Oratorio Society of New York with Bach’s Magnificat and Mozart’s Requiem. From the Magnificat’s opening notes, the ensemble transported listeners into the intricate structures of Bach’s musical universe, a world of harmonies, expressive power, and profound pieties.

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Main Kent Tritle conducts Musica Sacra. Photo from MusicaSacraNY.com
Choral Music
Edward A Kliszus

Musica Sacra Presents SurRound

Tonight’s special program, Musica Sacra Presents SurRound, was set in the magnificent Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in Manhattan, New York City.  The audience was treated to a mélange of a capella music from organum of the Middle Ages to the complexity and richness of the Renaissance and seminal works of contemporary times. In addition, we were treated to a world premiere of Daniel Ficarri’s  Blessed Are the Pure in Heart, which shall undoubtedly join the canon of vital choral literature.

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The Cathedral Choir with (front/center L-R) Nina Stern (recorder), Ara Dinkjian (Oud), Tamer Pinarbasi (kanun) and Glen Velez (percussion) at the Cathedral Chuch of St. John the Divine. Photo from stjohndivine.org
Choral Music
Edward A Kliszus

Venice City of Lights

This was an evening of Venice City of Lights at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. Superlatives hardly describe the quality of the Cathedral Choir in the Rose of the Compass space. The evening offered a transformative musical experience for listeners and performers alike. The beauty and artistry utilized to guide our journey through the historical, artistic and cultural milieu of Venice evoked elation, wonder, and exhilaration. Onlooking participants experienced profound tranquility and introspection, reflection and contemplation, transcendent joy and longing.

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Maestro Kent Tritle and the Oratorio Society of New York performs Bach's Mass in B minor at Carnegie Hall. Photo by Brian Hatton
Choral Music
Edward A Kliszus

Bach’s Mass in B Minor

Kent Tritle and The Oratorio Society ensured that the ineffable rapture of J. S. Bach’s Mass in B Minor was ably expressed while articulating the vision, technique, Affektenlehre, and unparalleled harmonic sense of the music. We also experienced the intended fulfillment of harmonic tension and what one might consider to be Bach the Baroque in music. The concert performance was breathtaking, the glorias were splendid, and the closing Dona nobis pacem was exquisite.

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Ted Sperling conducts MasterVoices production of Gilbert and Sullivan's Iolanthe at Carnegie Hall. Photo by Toby Tenenbaum
Choral Music
Edward A Kliszus

MasterVoices presents Iolanthe

This production of Iolanthe by MasterVoices at Carnegie Hall portrayed the essence of superlative artistry coupled with modern technological tools. Audience members were masterfully delivered full access to every quip, idiom, and reference intended by Gilbert and Sullivan. During the production, laughs, chuckles, cheers, and other affirmations continued. Applause occurred frequently, and the denouement was acknowledged through an extended standing ovation and multiple bows. The soloists, dancer, orchestra, costumes, choreography, and lighting were superb. Sperling’s conducting was masterful, precise, effective, and expressive.

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Kent Tritle Conducts Musica Sacra at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Photo by Edward Kliszus
Choral Music
Edward A Kliszus

Musica Sacra at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine

Kent Tritle and Musica Sacra have once again brought important musical works to the forefront in an opulent setting with superb artists. Tritle’s conducting was expressive and precise, while the Chorus performed with an aplomb to which audiences have become accustomed. Listeners experienced glorious sweeps of sound, delicate shadings, impeccable clarity and vocal precision, superb blend, unerring expression, apposite dynamic range, ineffable artistry, and inspired interpretation. It was an awe-inspiring and memorable musical experience.

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MasterVoices presents O HOW GOOD at the Central Synagogue. Ted Sperling, conductor. Credit Photo: Joe Carrotta
Choral Music
Edward A Kliszus

MasterVoices Presents Jewish Sacred Music

Tonight’s O How Good was a celebration of the life of MasterVoices board member Lois Conway and the years of philanthropy and insightful leadership characterizing her service. The venue chosen for this event was inspiring and magnificent and set in New York City’s Central Synagogue, a stunning example of Moorish Revival architecture and a testament to the beauty and richness of Jewish tradition and culture.

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Kent Tritle conducting Stabat Mater by David Briggs at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. Screenshot by Edward Kliszus
Choral Music
Edward A Kliszus

Light of Paradise at St. John the Divine

Maestro Kent Tritle opened this “Light of Paradise” program with the strings of his world-class orchestra performing George Walker’s Lyric for Strings (1946). This work set the tone for the contemplative, elegiac, spiritual, and pathos-rich musical experience about to unfold. This music performed in the magnificent Cathedral of St. John the Divine created rich, transcendent sound reverberations of grandeur and timelessness. The orchestra’s offering of the beautiful, memorable Lyric for Strings was an exquisite sonic experience of poignant and profound emotional character.

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The American Classical Orchestra presents Healing Bach at the Church of Saint Vincent Ferrer. Photo by Edward Kliszus
Choral Music
Edward A Kliszus

The ACO presents Healing Bach

The The ACO presents Healing Bach featured sopranos Sherezade Panthaki and Corrine Byrne, mezzo-soprano Sylvia Leith, countertenor Daniel Moody, tenors Brian Giebler and Lawrence Jones, and bass-baritones Edmund Milly and Joseph Parrish. This astounding coterie of gifted musicians presented continuously breathtakingly beautiful and inspired performances.

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