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Saturday, February 02, 2002

By Monica L. Haynes, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

The Boys Choir of Harlem brought the audience to its feet last night at the Benedum Center with rousing songs of patriotism, high-stepping Broadway tunes and soul-stirring spirituals.

While the 35 boys and young men of the internationally renowned group stayed away from hip hop and current R&B, almost every other musical genre was represented in their nearly 2 1/2 performance under the direction of Walter J. Turnbull, founder of the choir.

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They gave harmonious reverence to five Bach choruses including the "Magnificat," "Omes Generationes" and "Gloria Patri." They did the same for Mozart's "Ave Verum Corpus" and "Regina Coeli." American composers got their due with renditions of Aaron Copeland's "Canticle of Freedom" and "Simple Gifts."

But their enthusiasm for the music really burst through in their performance of Negro spirituals, including stunning a capella versions of "Children Go Where I Send Thee," "Elijah Rock" and "Battle of Jericho."

The group transformed from choir members to all around entertainers in their show biz medley segment. Singing was accompanied by dancing on "Lullaby of Broadway" "One" "Sit Down You're Rockin' The Boat" and "No Bad News." All that dancing, however, did impede somewhat on the quality of the vocals.

It's better if they just dance as they did with the intricately choreographed "Gumboot Dance."

But a choir's forte is singing, and when the Boys Choir of Harlem stands still and sings as it did for "God Bless America" and the moving "United We Stand," it is an awesome force.

Of course, what performance could be complete without a little spirit-raising gospel? The group raised the roof with "I Will Give You All the Praise" and a version of that old standby, "Amazing Grace," that gave the audience chills.