Chamber Artists are polished in warm-up for European Tour

BY CATHERINE R. NEWTON

The Salt Lake Tribune

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Barlow Bradford is preparing to take his Utah Chamber Artists on the road, and Monday's preview concert gave every indication the singers will represent the state well in Europe.

Because some of the tour venues are churches and cathedrals where an organ is the only instrument allowed, Monday's selections were unaccompanied. "You can't hide anywhere," Bradford noted last week, speaking of the challenges of unaccompanied singing. Fortunately, these 36 well-trained musicians didn't have anything to hide. Standing with the various voice parts mixed together, as opposed to the more common block arrangement, they sang with confidence, precision and expression.

The evening's main attraction was the brand-new "Benedicamus Domino" by renowned choral conductor Dale Warland, who was on hand in Libby Gardner Concert Hall for the work's premiere. Starting with a low chant, the brief, devotional piece quickly blossomed into a joyous outpouring, generously embellished with pure high notes. The UCA singers executed the work's close harmonies with warmth and brightness.

Five selections from Sergei Rachmaninoff's "Vespers" and two works by 20th-century British composers - Herbert Howells' Requiem and Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Three Shakespeare Songs" - complemented Warland's work marvelously. The Utah Chamber Artists' focused tone and crystal-clear diction rendered the printed program superfluous in the English-language pieces. Of the five excellent soloists in the Requiem, baritone Michael Chipman was especially notable for his range and tonal beauty.

UCA's orchestra made a memorable cameo appearance in Claude Debussy's "Danses Sacrée et Profane," with harpist Tamara Bischoff Oswald the dynamic soloist.
creese@sltrib.com