Stonewall Chorale Brings Fiery “Carmina Burana” to Church of the Holy Apostles

by Michael Cirigliano II

Marking the end of their 36th season, the Stonewall
Chorale—the nation’s first LGBTQ chorus—presented an intense reading of Carl
Orff’s Carmina Burana, using its
alternate orchestration of duo pianists and percussion ensemble. Although an
avocational group, the chorale has built a reputation for committed
performances, with a particular focus on delivering new music and increasing
audience engagement. And as evidenced by the enthusiastic sold-out crowd Saturday
night at the Church of the Holy Apostles, it is clear that the chorus’
footprint in the LGBTQ community is incredibly strong.

Leading the 60-member choir was Artistic Director Cynthia
Powell, who meticulously directed the proceedings while communicating a great
sense of rhythmic clarity from the combined forces. Given the percussive vocal
writing Orff dictates throughout the work, Powell’s choice of the
piano/percussion accompaniment was wise, allowing the smaller chorus to project
while never forcing their sound; the result was an articulate presentation of
the wordy texts and a resonant, crystalline timbre.

Both the bombastic material and the meditative chants were
given room to breathe, and despite Powell quickly moving between the 25
movements with an acute brevity, the pacing was never forced—each phrase was
pleasantly released and allowed the church’s acoustics to add polish to each
movement’s final moment.

The evening’s three soloists—soprano Lily Arbisser, tenor
Aaron Sanko, and baritone Mark Rehnstrom—excelled in showcasing their
characters’ interior motives: the soprano’s desire for companionship, the
tenor’s morbid fear of death, and the baritone’s debaucherous antics all
heightened the most entertaining sections of the piece. Sanko’s forceful
heldentenor-style solo was confident and supported throughout (calling to mind
the maniacal doctor of Berg’s Wozzeck),
whereas Arbisser’s delicate tone effortlessly floated over the proceedings.

The only issue with the lack of orchestra came in the
glorious “In trutina,” where Arbisser could have blended with a gentle bed of
string sound instead of being laid bare by the percussive and decaying sounds
of the piano. Otherwise, the Manhattan Percussion Ensemble and pianists Eric
Sedgwick and Taisiya Pushkar were ferocious in their rhythmic precision and
ability to replicate many of the missing orchestral timbres—from piercing piccolo
in the xylophone to a gong’s deep evocation of a horn section.

Seeking to make the evening an extra-musical affair, the
performance incorporated the work of five dancers and some bright costumes from
the conductor, chorale, and soloists. While all of the additional elements made
for a theatrical approach, they unfortunately proved distracting from the true
focus of the evening, which was the choir’s ability.

Showing a strong sense of intonation, diction, and phrasing,
the concert rivaled many of the evergreen presentations of the work taking
place in larger and more iconic venues across the city, and with the program also
serving as their annual Pride Month concert, the LGBTQ community should be quite
pleased to have such an ensemble setting the standard for their musical peers.