The last few nights of Newport Classical Music Festival have shown the breadth of programming and initiative of the festival and its leadership under recently appointed Executive Director Oliver Inteeworn, from a concert of new works and premieres to one with a period early music ensemble. Saturday continued the a mix with lighter fare performed by 2026 Opus Klassik winner and Grammy-nominated British vocal ensemble VOCES8. The ensemble’s potpourri of musical styles and genres drew from British Renaissance to Bond…that’s James Bond, as in shaken, not stirred. The eight singers who tour worldwide performing a totally acapella program are: “…proud to inspire people through music and share the joy of singing…versatility and a celebration of diverse musical expression are central to the ensemble’s performance and education ethos.”
VOCES8 is the flagship ensemble of a music education charity, the VOCES8 Foundation which operates both in the US and the UK “fostering artistic excellence, delivering world-class performances, and creating innovative educational initiatives…to enrich lives, build communities, and nurture the next generation of musical talent.”
Renaissance master Orlando Gibbons’s lively anthem O Clap Your Hands, from Psalm 47 is scored for eight voices, sometimes acting as a double choir in dialogue, while at other times reveling in the glorious sound of eight-voice polyphony. Gibbons, who served as organist at Westminster Abbey among many prestigious honors and postings, also mastered the madrigal, a more popular style that suited the English Anthem with its penchant for brevity, forsaking long extensive polyphonic passages for shorter and often “punchy” imitative phrases alternating with homophonic (chordal) textures. The shorter phrases were and are easier for the listener to follow, even when they are imitated in rapid succession or turned upside down (inversion), all of which happens within the first few bars. The perfect ensemble balance, with one singer to a part, made the text completely understandable.
The next two selections, sung together as a set, brought that same perfection of sound and balance to more expansive harmonies in newer contemporary settings. The open voicings and gentle dissonances within them of American composer Eric Whitacre illuminated a text by Walt Whitman. All Seems Beautiful to Me, an extract from the poet’s “Song of the Open Road,” paired well with British composer Lucy Walker’s setting of Sara Teasdale’s poem Give Me Your Stars from “Rivers in the Sun. Both pieces expressed that sense of wonder of absorbing all that lies before us as we “inhale great draughts of space” (Whitman) or behold “my deepening skies, give me your stars to hold” (Teasdale) and musically conveyed a serenity through gentle dissonance and rich harmony.
The mood lightened considerably after that with some pop hits that reached back over the years. Beginning with Nat King Cole’s “Straighten Up and Fly Right,” in an arrangement that sparkled with vocal imitation of big band sounds, complete with “doo-waps” (imitating trumpets putting their mutes off and on) and scat singing (improvisation resembling instrumental improv but using random syllables rather than words), that very American offering was followed by a clever melding of two 007 hits from the James Bond series, “For Your Eyes Only” and “You Only Live Twice,” by the teams of Bill Conti and Mick Leeson, and John Barry and Leslie Bricusse. The very effective work of their resident arranger Jim Clements marked something of 16-year anniversary celebration throwback to their 2010 album “Aces High.” Nostalgia continued with the 50’s tune “Fever” (Otis Blackwell and Eddie Cooley, c. 1956) made famous by Peggy Lee and Elvis Presley. These lighter sections gave solo voices a chance to shine, as all of the singers are strong soloists in their own right, while together they create a smooth, warm and perfectly contoured sound that represents the best of the English choral singing.
What could follow that? Try John Sheppard and Gustav Holst. Sadly, Ola Gjeilo’s mesmerizing “Ubi Caritas was listed on the program but omitted. Sheppard’s Libera nos I and II transported us back in time (Sheppard died in 1558), with its Sarum plainchant incipit at the start (Sarum plainchant is the chant preferred over the Gregorian that was used in English Catholic and later Anglican churches, named for the Sarum plain where Stonehenge is), and is followed by serenely pristine polyphony over the lengthened chant line in the bass. Written for seven parts, its lengthened bass line was made seamless by the two bass singers rendering an imperceptible exchange of parts with superb breath control. The second setting was equal polyphony with no long-held notes. The peacefulness and purity of the Sheppard setting preceded a full and lush setting by Gustav Holst’s Nunc dimittis “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace…” While some of the lines of this piece appear to imitate the sound of chant, Holst allowed himself to freely invent the melodies to suit his own design.
The second half similarly positioned a mix of folk, pop, and classical pieces, beginning with a Ward Swingle arrangement of a Bach Bourée. The Swingle Singers were popular in the 60’s for their jazzy settings of Bach, again using syllables and no words. This spirited opening was followed by a more introspective piece from Yorkshire folk singer Kate Rusby titled Underneath the Stars, from her album of the same name which contains mostly traditional folk music. For VOCES8 this is another throwback anniversary, in this case their coming to Decca Records for their first album release in 2014 “Eventide,” which included this gentle ballad of lost love. It segued into yet another song of loss, this time the traditional Danny Boy, in an alluring arrangement of the traditional tune. Blurring lines between classical and popular, there followed the second of Schubert’s Four Songs for Male Chorus for a quartet of two tenors and two basses to a poem by Friedrich Schiller Liebe rauscht der Silberbach (Love stirs the silver brook…) While we would term this a classical composition, Schiller’s influence was widespread among the population, and Schubert’s simple song with its lilting 6/8 rhythm and simple compact structure reflects the still popular folk songs of rural Austria. Hearing the German male quartet sound was also a refreshing change from the thicker voiced textures we had been listening to.
Yet another set of “classics” followed, first by the Beatles. The poignant Free as a Bird was taken from recorded demo takes by John Lennon prior to his death, only afterward sought out by his remaining three compatriots and with Yoko Ono’s help sorting through them, they pieced together this reflective piece on life… “Whatever happened to the life that we once knew? It always made me feel so free as a bird. You were only waiting for this moment to be free…” From there we went to Paul Simon, with whom VOCES8 has made some serious collaborations. From the 2023 album of Seven Psalms, a 33-minute work of original words and music by Paul Simon they chose the iconic throwback The Sound of Silence. The concert finished out with settings from Broadway and Frank Sinatra ending on notes of lightness, nostalgia, and remembrance.
Newport Classical Festival continues with the Beijing Guitar Duo, Trio Karénine, Whispers of Virtuosity, two concerts of transcriptions for flute and accordion with Anthony Trionfo and Hanzhi Wang, Broadway star Jeremy Jordan, French Romanticism, and on Thursday July 16 WindSync at The Elms featuring Barber Summer Music and Mozart Serenade in C minor K 388 in the morning, and in the evening Swedish violinist Eldbjørg Hemsing and ensemble will feature her newly released album Colors of Bach. A full schedule may be found HERE.