Chatham Baroque

Advent is a baroque ensemble's time to shine. Their repertoire stems from a time when sacred subjects dominated music all year long, not just in December. It's not unheard of for a group such as Chatham Baroque to barely touch what we think of as the soundtrack to Christmas -- carols -- in a holiday program.

It's especially the case with vocal music of the period, which is why Chatham Baroque's Christmas concert at Synod Hall in Oakland Saturday night was particularly satisfying. Julie Andrijeski (baroque violin), Patricia Halverson (viola da gamba) and Scott Pauley (theorbo) -- invited a quartet of singers from the National Gallery Vocal Arts Ensemble.

The four -- Rosa Lamoreaux (soprano), Barbara Hollinshead (mezzo-soprano), Ole Hass (tenor), Steven Combs (bass-baritone) -- matched the instrumentalists well in volume and balance. But their best quality was that they did not suppress their individual timbre. They were not, nor should have been, a barbershop quartet. Just as the tone of Andrijeski's violin varied from that of guest Erika Cutler (there to fill out some of the works), variation in the sound and delivery is preferred in the rich texture of the baroque era. Whether in selections from Bach's "Christmas Oratorio," in the Monteverdi's duet "Cantate Dominum" or in the carols that did make the program, the differences in the vocalist's tone were a strength not a weakness.

If the best piece was born from the collaboration -- a creative rending of Bach's soprano aria "Flosst mein Heiland" with offstage echoing enhancing the mellifluous voice of Lamoreaux --then the best was good old Chatham Baroque. The trio played a Buxtehude sonata with its trademark warm yet electric phrasing. Andrijeski continues to play at a high level since returning from finishing her doctorate last year. Something about the time off and the completion of the degree -- a weight around her neck for years -- has given her tremendous confidence as a violinist. It again translated into more precise, incisive and compelling playing.

-- Andrew Druckenbrod,
Post-Gazette classical music critic

Dance Alloy

After only three years spearheading the Dance Alloy, Beth Corning launched a mini-retrospective by presenting encore performances of her own, "At Once There Was a House," which was her first work at the Alloy, and David Shimotakahara's "Open Seating."

But there was no brushing off the dust and setting these works out for display. With cast changes in "Open Seating" and a surprising new choreographic direction for Corning's "House," it seemed like a whole new program at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater on Saturday.

It was glitzy, sometimes ditzy on the surface -- Adrienne Misko's tittering laugh at the start was infectious. But like the rest of "House," it ultimately became a vehicle for Corning's ultra-dark humor and unrelenting intensity.

That was a constant between the old and new productions, but much better served by a relaxed and confident cast -- Michael Walsh, Maribeth Maxa, Stephanie Dumaine, newcomer Scott Lowe and Misko.

What was different was the breadth of the movement. Corning's original production was markedly cooler and more controlled. On Saturday the dancers seemed to have a greater sense of freedom and daring in conveying a wildly impressionistic school reunion and the hidden secrets that came with it.

Shimotakahara's piece had a more dramatic interpretation as well. Raising their arms like gymnasts at a competition alerting the judges, the dancers began a slow warm-up before launching into a choreographic variation of musical chairs made more vivid by this mostly Alloy cast, with guest artist Mark Otoloski replacing Lowe.

-- Jane Vranish,
Post-Gazette dance critic