by Michael Caruso

Lyric Fest, the vocal/instrumental ensemble directed by mezzo Suzanne DuPlantis of East Falls and pianist Laura Ward of Chestnut Hill, is set to present “It’s Elementary” Friday, March 31, in the Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill at 7:30 p.m. The program, which includes two newly commissioned song cycles, brings together the ancient Greek concept of the four natural elements with the contemporary musical styles of John Musto and Philadelphia’s Michael Djupstrom.

With Laura Ward at the piano accompanying singers Jonas Hacker, John Moore, Meryl Dominguez and Elisa Sutherland for Musto’s “Be Music, Be Night” and Djupstrom’s “Oars in Water,” the ensemble will be adding to Lyric Fest’s growing body of commissioned song cycles.

“To date,” Ward explained, “Lyric Fest has commissioned 21 composers creating 22 individual songs, 11 groups of song cycles (67 individual songs) and five arrangements.”

“We pull from a vast body of existing art songs in our programming,” DuPlantis added, “but commissioning has become central to our mission. We want future generations to be able to get to know us through the songs we leave behind for them. In this concert, we bring together past and present to look at our relationship with earth, wind, fire and water. Art gives us a touchstone to the beauty, spirituality and power the elements have over us.”

Lyric Fest’s program also includes music by Sergei Rachmaninoff, Benjamin Britten and Franz Schubert. Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door and $10 cash at the door for students with a valid I.D. Visit www.lyricfest.org/tickets.

MIRACLE ORGAN

For those of us who are even part-time organists and the general music loving public as well, the Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Chestnut Hill, is considered one of the great miracles of American symphonic/romantic organ building. Its 114 ranks offer a Technicolor plethora of sonic possibilities that enable it to conjure up the bright timbres of the German Baroque, the lush

sonorities of the French Romantic and the varied tones of 20th century orchestral music.

But that instrument proved itself even more miraculous than usual Sunday and Monday, March 12 & 13. After stopping altogether during music director Zachary Fritsch-Hemenway’s playing of a Mendelssohn postlude at the Choral Eucharist Sunday morning, it somehow came back to life 24 hours later when it was being checked out by the technicians that regularly take care of it. Of course, the timing kept it from being used Sunday afternoon for the first Lenten Choral Evensong of the season. Fortunately, following the liturgical/musical traditions of the Anglican Communion, Fritsch-Hemenway had already scheduled a program of music that relied only sparingly on the organ.

That roster of pieces included William Mundy’s “O Lord, the maker of all things” at the Introit, Gabriel Jackson’s “Magnificat” and “Nunc Dimittis” from his “Truro Service” and Philip Stopford’s “God so loved the world” at the Offertory. In all four choral selections, the Choir of St. Paul’s Church sang with such confidence that its already high standard of consummate artistry was not merely maintained but enhanced by the challenge of singing every score without organ accompaniment.

Fritsch-Hemenway and his choristers offered a solid wall of sound at the start of the service in the Mundy, yet one that was clearly articulated from bass to soprano and that flowed smoothly from one long phrase to the next. The sound was characterized by clarity of texture and warmth of tone, translucent in its glowing intimacy of expression.Jackson’s “Magnificat” and “Nunc Dimittis” make a lovely pair. A solo soprano opens the former, in keeping with the sound of the words of the Blessed Virgin Mary, while the latter starts with a solo baritone, in keeping with the tone of the text from St. Simeon. Melodies and harmonies that recall the seamless flow of medieval plainsong were sung with an exquisite feel for the shape of the lines, while dynamics were broadly yet subtly projected from hushed whispers to expansive roars. The Stopford was sung with a simple potency that was haunting.

TEMPESTA ANNIVERSARY

Tempesta di Mare, Philadelphia Baroque Orchestra and a regular performer at the Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, used the opportunity of its annual concert in Center City to celebrate its 15th anniversary. The concert took place Saturday, March 11, in the Kimmel Center’s Perelman Theater. The program and its rendition went a long way to explaining the ensemble’s success. It also provoked more than a few thoughts of consideration beyond the playing itself.

The nearly two-dozen baroque period instrumentalists gave excellent interpretations to music by Janitsch, Kusser, Fasch, Vivaldi and Rameau. Of the five, only the last two mentioned could ever be considered household names, even within the ranks of baroque enthusiasts. Although Jean-Philippe Rameau may be the greater composer, Antonio Vivaldi is known throughout the classical music world, if only because of his ubiquitous set of violin concerti, “The Four Seasons.” It was the “Spring Concerto” that was performed this time around. The Rameau selection was the “Suite from ‘Pygmalion’.”

Not surprisingly, the finest playing of the evening was heard after intermission in the Vivaldi and Rameau scores. Concertmaster Emlyn Ngai was a stunning soloist in the former, and the whole band was onstage to conjure up images of Rameau’s 1748 ballet.

The playing in both works was characterized by the traits that have brought Tempesta di Mare to the zenith of baroque period ensembles. Tempos were chosen from within the music itself rather than imposed upon it by the technical limitations of the instrumentalists. Timbres were bright, textures were transparent, balances between the strings and woodwinds were exemplary, and the overall playing caught the heart and mind of the music.

With 15 seasons behind it working as an inspiration for greater things to come, Tempesta co-directors Gywn Roberts and Richard Stone might consider moving from the periphery of the baroque epoch into the core of its repertoire. Simply put, the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel, the titans of the era who coincidentally were both born in Germany in 1685.

This would signal a dramatic shift in repertoire. Tempesta’s 2016-17 season includes only one work by J. S. Bach and none by G. F. Handel. Yet it’s a necessary change of focus considering the absence of the music of these two acknowledged masters in the performance repertoires of Philadelphia’s other major ensembles.

For instance, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia has announced its 2017-18 season at the Perelman. Among all the scores to be played, only 16.7% are Baroque, and 38.8% are Classical, constituting a bare majority of 55.5%. And this from the successor band of Marc Mostovoy’s Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia, the ensemble that first revived the baroque repertoire on modern instruments for Philadelphians and the first “resident” group at the Perelman when it opened in 2001.

It falls, then, to Tempesta di Mare to program the music of Bach and Handel for local music lovers. And what a treasure trove of masterpieces to choose from: the “Brandenburg” Concerti, the Orchestral Suites, “Music for the Royal Fireworks” and the “Water Music,” to name only a few. As the weather returns to seasonal, shall “hope spring eternal?”

MORE BAROQUE!

The Brandywine Singers will perform Bach’s “Jesu, meine Freude,” BWV 227, and “Komm, Jesu, Komm,” BWV 229, Saturday, March 25, at 7 p.m. in the Chestnut Hill United Church, 8812 Germantown Ave. The program also includes Arvo Part’s “Triodion.” For ticket information, visit www.thebrandywinesingers.org.

Contact NOTEWORTHY at Michael-caruso@comcast.net.