More and more of us have come to enjoy setting our calendars on the Connecticut Master Chorale giving its Holiday Prelude Concert the Sunday before Thanksgiving. For 12 years, music director and conductor Tina Johns Heidrich and CMC have given everyone a little head start into the season with heartwarming music that always helps with getting into the right spirit.
Overflow attendance can be expected, and this year was no exception. CMC had to manage with less space, with the repositioning of the altar in the sanctuary of St. Mary's Church. But Heidrich and her 55 vocalists are well known for their tight arrangements.
Joining the chorale, the CMC Holiday Brass featured some longtime sidemen, Murray Mast on steel drums, and Joseph Jacovino Jr. on piano. They complemented the vocalists throughout the concert, adding festivity, fanfare, or simple accompaniments.
Opening with "Gloria In Excelsis Deo," by Mark Hayes, they showed why the audience keeps growing. CMC sang Bruce Greer's arrangement of "I Will Give Thanks," by Brent Chambers, with their perfectly blended sound. They are as close to a heavenly choir as anything you can find in this world. No CMC concert would be complete without something by John Rutter. Jacovino's piano accompaniment for the choral work was done to a turn. The vocal sections began with subtle harmonies, but could suddenly expand in four wondrous directions.
Emerging from the alto section, Claudia Mickelson played clarinet in "Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel!" written by John Neale and Jeffrey Smith, integrating Klezmer sounds into the Christian hymn. Soft male voices delivered a sense of hope in Victor Johnson's "Stars I Shall Find," based on a poem by Sara Teasdale. Dexterous piano work by Jacovino led angelic women's voices, echoed by the men in Craig Courtney's arrangement of "Carol of the Birds." Gaining strength in each chorus, sopranos were soaring in the finale.
The vocalists worked a cappella magic in Lee Kesselman's restrained lullaby "Hush-A-Bye, Birdie." Everyone was feeling their oats in Mack Wilberg's shape note tune "Awake, Arise and Hail the Morn." Gordon Langford's "A Christmas Fantasy" ended the first portion of the program with a medley of traditional and lesser--known carols, with brass creating lots of warm holiday feelings.
Shifting into swing mode, they bounced back with "Tell us About a Baby" by John Parker and Joel Ramsey. Heidrich said she added the Gene Krupa drum break for her parents. I see a strong resemblance between Heidrich and Krupa's great vocalist Anita O'Day.
Sounding very Caribbean, Murray Mast's steel drums took everyone to the Jamaican Islands in "The Light Will Come," by David Angerman and Joseph Martin. With a quick hop we were in the Dominican Republic in the carol "Cantemos a Maria," arranged by Juan-Tony Guzman. Playing around with time signatures, piano and drums had a jazzy beat behind steady singing for "Kings Came Riding," by Kevin Stannard.
Good four-part action and Alan Blackstock's 12-string acoustic guitar gave the feeling of folk music in Peter Yarrow's "Light One Candle." They started out soft and slow, but not for long, as the gospel music in "Testify/Go Tell It on the Mountain" had everyone on their feet and clapping at the finale. Heidrich even gave permission to dance. We can always count on consistent excellence from CMC, with an endless variety of special holiday songs.
