Word: chorales
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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Debussy: Blessed Damozel (Victoria de los Angeles. Carol Smith; Radcliffe Choral Society; Boston Symphony Or- chestra conducted by Charles Munch; Victor). A piece that Debussy submitted, at 24. as part of his duties as a winner of the Prix de Rome. (Officials hesitated to accept it because of its "systematic" vagueness.) It is less vaporous than his more mature works, but its earthy enthusiasm is winning, especially in this crystalline performance...
...Choral Society seemed beautifully trained, especially when they sang softly, but their interpretation of early music, such as Dufay's Magnificat in the Eighth Mode, was overly romantic. They were better in interesting contemporary pieces by Martinu and Harris. Elizabeth Kalkhurst was the fine soprano soloist...
...dance. Susan Zucker's charming choreography for Beautiful Soup emphasized the wit of Lewis Carroll's text. Director Caroline Martin presented the entire Dance Group in Eixa Nit es Nit, a haunting setting of a Catalan carol by Joaquin Nin. The dancers moved in willowy, flexible patterns, and the Choral tone was excellent. It is unfortunate that the concert was little known in the Harvard community; future joint recitals deserve better publicity...
...concert centered about two magnificent choral works, one from the early 17th century and the other from the present day. The early work, sung by the entire Glee Club, was Gabriceli's In Ecclesiis, originally written for two mixed choruses and full brass choir. Friday's performance was severely cut and arranged for men's voices and piano, but even in this version the brilliance and architectural majesty of the music was apparent. The Glee Club tone was large and at times rather strident...
...only other contemporary work on the program was The Last Words of David by Randall Thompson '20, in his own arrangement for men's voices. Mastery of the chorus has made Thompson the most popular choral composer in the United States. The Last Words of David is a typical work, concentrating on simplicity and using modal harmonies. The style, however, is a little too conscious of choral effect. The European list singers contributed some fine singing in the Thompson chorus and were even better in Dvorak's Magdlein im Walde. Conductor G. Wallace Woodworth was in his stylistic element...