This choir, established in 1971 and named after their founder,
who directed them until his sudden death in 2000, seems to be
affiliated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Chicago, where
Paul French, the Chorale’s director since 2005, is director of
music. I’m unsure of the size of the choir but a photograph on
their website suggests a membership
of around twenty four. From its inception the choir has performed
a great deal of contemporary music and it’s appropriate, therefore,
that all the music included here should have been written in the
last fifty years and much of it by composers who are still living.
The choice of repertoire, all of it unaccompanied,
is varied and enterprising and although all the pieces sound
challenging for the performers – and some present challenges
to the listener as well – all the music is very accessible
and interesting. The listener’s appreciation of the music
is helped enormously by the fact that the singing is consistently
immaculate. The choir blends beautifully, tuning seems to
be impeccable, the balance is excellent and diction is crystal
clear. In short, this is a first class choir, whose singing
gave me great pleasure. I didn’t think I’d come across the
William Ferris Chorale before and certainly I hadn’t heard
any of the music before – all of the pieces receive their
first recordings here. In fact, with the exception of Alan
Hovhaness all the composers here represented were new to me.
The programme
has a definite Chicago bias. Paul French lives and works there,
as did William Ferris, while Paul Nicholson presumably also
resides in the city since he is the choir’s accompanist. At
least three of the other composers also are based in the city.
One of these is
Easley Blackwood and I must confess that I was a mite apprehensive
when I saw his name for, though I have never heard any of
his music, I have read that much of his output has been atonal
and experimental in nature. However, his A King James
Magnificat is neither atonal nor experimental. In fact,
though very cleverly written, it seems to be rooted very strongly
in the American choral tradition. Its title refers to the
fact that the text of the Magnificat that Blackwood employs
is from the King James Bible. Indeed, all the pieces in this
collection that have biblical texts use the King James Version.
Blackwood employs open, almost innocent harmonic language
in his setting though the writing is sophisticated, for example
in the use of a different key for every verse, though the
listener would be hard put to it to spot all the changes.
Though the music is modern in tone it seems to me to breathe
the same air as the music of the American primitives such
as William Billings (1746–1800) and the marvellously named
Supply Belcher (1751-1836) and I wonder if this is a conscious
act of homage by Blackwood. It’s a most ingenious, varied
and attractive setting.
I don’t know if
Blackwood wrote a companion setting of the Nunc Dimittis but
for this programme one of his pupils, William C White, provides
the setting of that canticle instead. His setting is quite
unusual – and non-liturgical – for he goes beyond the well-known
verses from St Luke’s Gospel that constitute the Song of Simeon.
Instead he sets all of verses 25 to 35 of that Gospel, which
contains the whole narrative of the encounter between Simeon
and the Holy Family. The setting is for six-part choir and
it’s a most interesting work, making excellent use of varied
rhythms and choral textures.
Egon Cohen was
also a composition pupil of Blackwood. He contributes a setting
of the Stabat Mater in an English translation. Actually, unlike
composers such as Rossini and Verdi, Cohen doesn’t set the
whole of this substantial medieval poem, contenting himself
with just eight stanzas. The musical material for each verse
is different, but grows out of the music for verse one. The
music is consistently interesting – note, for example, the
piquant harmonic shifts in lines three and six – and illustrates
the text well. At the conclusion the music of verse one returns
gently in the last line followed by a pair of Amens, unexpectedly
but effectively harmonised.
The programme
also includes a small triptych of pieces by William Ferris,
the founder of the choir. These little sacred pieces fall
very pleasingly on the ear and are fastidiously crafted. The
choir sings them very well but, then, they sing the entire
programme very well. The piece by George Rochberg belongs
to his later, tonal phrase. Behold, My Servant draws
on three sources for its words: William Blake; the prophet
Isaiah; and Psalm 148. In its relatively short span the piece
combines some passages of great beauty with some that are
powerful and dramatic. It shares with the Blackwood Magnificat
a constructive approach to tradition. Like Blackwood, Rochberg
here respects the American choral tradition but also puts
his own stamp on it, especially through some challenging and
unexpected harmonic shifts.
All the pieces
on this disc are expertly crafted and fully justify their
inclusion in what is a very worthwhile collection. It’s clear
that the performances have been scrupulously prepared and
they’re immaculately delivered by Paul French and his singers.
The recording, made in the Chicago church with which the performers
are associated is similarly immaculate, presenting the music
in clear, atmospheric sound. The booklet, one of the most
clearly printed that I’ve encountered for a long time – these
details are important – contains all the texts plus extensive
and first class notes by Andrea Lamoreaux.
As I said, I thought
at first that I’d not come across the William Ferris Chorale before
but in fact a search of my shelves unearthed a 1997 disc of music
by Leo Sowerby, including his large-scale choral work, The
Throne of God, on which they appear under the direction of
their founder (Albany TROY232). I recall the music on that disc
as being worthy but not especially memorable. That’s most certainly
not an accusation to level against this present offering, which
shows this fine choir to good advantage and gives us further proof
that some high quality choral music has been written in the USA
in recent years.
John Quinn
William Ferris Chorale/Paul
French 
