Taking their inspiration from nature, and creating a programme of a-capella choral works which were meant to both inspire and challenge our perceptions of the natural world and our wanton destruction of it; The Kantos Chamber Choir performed their concert, 'In Beauty May I Walk', at Manchester's Stoller Hall this early evening.
The title of the concert taken directly from the title of their first song, the choir opened with polyphonic improvised bird song as they were strategically placed around the auditorium; and as the concert started they came together on stage still whistling / calling the sounds of a dawn chorus. Their conductor, Ellie Slorach, then entered and explained that the two halves of the concert would be performed without a break, as the choir would keep improvising the sounds of nature in between each song to make it more holistic and naturally flowing. We should, she said, understand that despite our interference with nature, there is also much to rejoice about our natural world, and hopefully the concert will inspire us to care and do more for the future of our planet. She also asked us to withhold any applause until the end of each section.
The idea of nature and connecting to nature was also presented in their costuming choice for this evening's concert. The majority of the clothes worn were green with splashes of both brown and yellow, giving it a very summery meadow feel. This worked nicely; however I am uncertain as to the validity of some choir members in bare feet for a classical choir concert...(?!)
Without programmes or any announcing from the stage, I was at a loss to know what songs were being sung, who composed them, and sometimes even when one ended and another began. I have looked at the choir's website and found a list of the songs on there, but sadly, they are not in the order in which they were sung (at least not the first song!.. more than that, I really have no clue). However, the choir are a group of 18 (9 M / 9 F) young singers from the north of England, all of whom are either at the end of their training or the very start of their professional journey, and as a choir their harmonies and the quality of sound was simply divine. If I had to be a little picky (and I have to be), then the bass section at times could have done with a little more oomph.
The repertoire was, at least in the first half, a little too similar, with all the songs sung being in roughly the same tempo (andante moderato). The other dynamics, espcecially the crescendos and diminuendos were handled superbly, and the improvised birdsong was very realistic too. I was much happier in the second half of the concert however when the choir sang something just a little more up-tempo, but it was very short lived, and would have loved to have heard the group break out into a jazz scherzo molto allegro.. they had the talent and capacity to do it, of that I am certain.
The choir had been professionally drilled in entrances / exits / positioning etc, which was refreshing too. So many choirs / ensembles / orchestras etc, just enter and exit willy-nilly, even waving and chatting to the audience whilst on stage, and this irritates, and so that was a huge plus in the choir's favour.
A truly different choral experience was provided by this choir with this particular concert and repertoire. Their sound is full, balanced, and their diction (at least when singing in English), clear and understandable. If their idea is to challenge preconceptions and champion new choral works, then they certainly acheived both this evening with flying colours. A choir to look out for!
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 19.6.22
on - 19.6.22
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