Presenting a concert with mostly unfamiliar music is a big challenge. Under the direction of music director Michael Barrett, Boston Cecilia took on this challenge confidently. Their season finale took place Saturday night at All Saints Parish in Brookline. The program was a thoughtful tribute to Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
The concert featured composers from East, South, Southeast, and West Asia. While the music kept some Western harmonic traditions, each piece clearly reflected its cultural roots and emotional depth. The program included folk songs and pieces about war and remembrance. Together, they painted a rich picture of human experience.
The concert began with Çamdan Sakız Akıyor, a short Turkish folk tune arranged by İsmail Sezen. The melody started in the lower voices and moved like a near-canon. It developed under layered textures. Though some parts softened in harmony, the ensemble stayed well-tuned and steady. The piece ended suddenly, leaving the conclusion open to interpretation.
Next came Sakura, a Japanese folk song arranged by Toru Takemitsu. Takemitsu was a famous 20th-century Japanese composer known for mixing Western and Japanese styles. The ensemble opened with a clear, unison melody. Then the harmony became rich and expressive. The singers tuned each interval carefully, and their pronunciation, especially the Japanese “u” vowel, was very crisp. The vocal passages felt like colorful sprays, similar to Messiaen’s clusters, floating like blossoms in spring.
The Great River Eastward Flows by Qing Zhu was less successful. Despite its strong text and variety, the ensemble struggled with consistent diction. Vowels and consonants were unclear at times. Kevin Heel played piano with commitment, but the late-Romantic style of the music sometimes felt out of place. The high vocal parts were challenging for the choir.
Chen Yi’s Fengyang Song, based on folk music from Anhui province, was lively and rhythmic. The dynamic shaping and energetic phrasing created sparkling percussive effects, like water droplets bouncing in the sunlight.
Two movements from Hina Sakamoto’s Requiem for the Spirits of the Victims of the Pacific War formed the emotional highlight of the evening. Before the music, the audience heard poems by survivor Mizue Aoki in Japanese and English. The movements “Dies Irae” and “In Paradisum” contrasted sharply.
Dies Irae painted a dark sound world. An organ tolled with a Morse-like drone. Whispered voices grew into shouting. Foot stomps marked waves of choral dissonance. In In Paradisum, warmth returned. Interwoven vocal lines shimmered like soft silk, suggesting fragile but lasting hope.
A lighter moment followed with Chopsalteok by Korean-American composer Texu Kim, who spoke to the audience before the piece. The work is based on a street vendor’s call selling sticky rice cakes. It mixed humor and nostalgia with vocal effects like whooshing wind, slurps, and munching sounds. The soloist handed out rice cakes to the audience, connecting the music to shared food memories and culture.
Chorus member Gavan Dagnese led the performance of Tiptipa Kemmakem by Nilo Alcala. This piece is based on a children’s clapping chant from Northern Philippines. Its simple, repetitive phrases came alive with movement. The conductor stomped the beat, and the choir clapped and used sharp consonants, creating a lively, physical experience.
The concert ended with The Tipping Point by Reena Esmail, for mixed chorus and tabla. Esmail blended Hindustani and Western styles with elegance. Close intervals and open fifths balanced tight and spacious sounds.
Soloists Benjamin Perry and Yuka Amako brought expressive depth. Perry’s smooth note bends grounded the group, while Amako’s clear soprano soared. Tabla player Giri Subramaniam played with skill and grace, adding rhythm and color. The piece felt like a mantra, exploring tension, release, shadow, and light.
Boston Cecilia’s season finale showed the choir’s wide expressive range and strong rhythms. The program also celebrated the diversity and beauty of music by Asian composers.
Boston Cecilia will start its 2025-26 season with Blessed Cecilia, featuring works by Daniel Pinkham and Benjamin Britten. Performances are on December 5 at Church of the Advent and December 7 at All Saints Parish.
Related Topics
