Chanticleer, the prominent Grammy Award-winning classical vocal ensemble, performed at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday, April 10. As part of the Lenard Chamber music series, it gained rapturous applause from the audience from start to finish. Led by music director Tim Keeler, the 12-member group has been hailed by The New Yorker as the “world’s reigning male chorus” and globally as “an orchestra of voices.”
The two-hour-long performance featured a diverse repertoire of musical genres, from early medieval strains featuring Latin lyrics, such as “Gloria” from the Messe de Nostre Dame, a mid-1300s polyphonic mass and to more contemporary melodies, such as “If I Had a Hammer.” This was the second time the all-male group has performed at the Jorgensen Theatre.
Chanticleer originated out of San Francisco in 1978 under the supervision of tenor Louis Botto; Botto served as the group’s artistic director until his death in 1997. Originally, the group consisted of 10 singers, but now consists of 12 young men, six of whom serve as countertenors, three as tenors and the remaining three as baritone and bass.
The group won the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Small Ensemble Performance for contemporary choral music album “Colors of Love.” The group has gone on to perform at thousands of live concerts around the world and has sold more than a million records.
Jared Graveley, a 2017 graduate of the School of Fine Arts’ music program and one of Chanticleer’s baritone-bass singers, told the audience at the end of Wednesday night’s performance that he initially entered UConn as a computer science major. He later switched his plan of study to music with the help of Jamie Spillane, an associate professor of music and the director of choral studies while he was still a freshman.
“Without Dr. Spillane, I wouldn’t be standing up on this stage right now,” Graveley said. Graveley has been a member of Chanticleer for two seasons.
The performance opened with a rendition of “Hee-oo-oom-ha” by Toby Twining, a non-contemporary piece that challenges preconceptions regarding singing by using extended vocal techniques such as vocal fry, yodeling and rhythmic panting. This was followed by a rendition of “Know What is Above You” by the prominent minimalist composer Steve Reich.
Other songs performed included “Future Ones” by Grammy-nominated composer Ayanna Woods, “Our Father” by composer Julius Eastman and “Wade in the Water,” a traditional African American spiritual.
As the end of the production neared, a rendition of “Future Ones” by Ayana Woods was sung. Andy Berry, another bass-baritone member, urged the audience to make the world a better place by spreading the joy of music and thinking not just about us, but “about our children and our children’s children.”
Berry also expressed his gratitude and appreciation for being a member of Chanticleer and for being able to work alongside a talented group of other young musicians such as him. “It is a great privilege and an honor to be standing on this stage tonight,” Berry remarked to the audience.
Chanticleer concluded the concert by delivering the final number appropriately titled “Without a Song,” a stark reminder on just how powerful music can be, which was followed by a standing ovation. All said, Chanticleers’ magical performance made for a magical night.