From where did the cliche of "the angelic choir" come? A choir that sounds good is always compared to a choir of angels. I am frustrated, as a writer, because I want to call the evening performance of the Baldwin-Wallace Motet Choir angelic, and my every authorial instinct rebels against it. Besides, having just written a glowing review of the Percussion Ensemble, I feel funny about gushing forth with any more praise.

   This was a blockbuster weekend for the Conservatory.

   I've been singing in choirs and ensembles since I was about ten years old. Therefore, I know firsthand that few performances are flawless.

   I will not say that the Motet Choir's performance was flawless, since I never went through rehearsals with them. I will only say that if there were any flaws in this night's performance, I couldn't detect them.

   Soloists Koir J— and Jason H—, who performed parts in the Brahms piece "Liebeslieder Walzer," were comfortable with their parts, neither belting them out nor warbling. Hull's voice was warm and steady, Jennings' crystalline and sharp, not unlike a diamond's edge.

   I could describe at length the exact sort of emotion and precision that went into the performance of each piece in the concert, but what struck me most was actually the fact that the motet choir performed from sheet music rather than from memory. It is amazing how moving and technically brilliant their performance can be when the choristers are crimped by a dependence on sheet music. If anything proves the necessity of the semester system at B-W, this does. Imagine how much more brilliant choral performances will be when the singers have an additional month each term to practice their music to perfection, rather than being forced to rush from concert to concert each term, barely able to spend time on one set of music before having to learn something new. Given the tremendous difficulties imposed by the crazy quarterly schedule, the Motet Choir's concert was not just good; it was stunning.

March 1996

Last names have been redacted to protect privacy