Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) Presents The Holiday Music of Eric Whitacre in Review
Eric Whitacre, Composer/Conductor; Kelly Yu-Chieh Lin, Piano
Featuring: Laurence Servaes, Sara Jean Ford, April Amante, David Castillo, Peter Kendall Clark, and
Distinguished Concerts Singers International
Stern Auditorium, Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
November 29, 2022
Holiday carols, the premiere of a Christmas opera by a Grammy-winning composer, and a charismatic conductor leading it all – what more could one ask for in a holiday concert? Perhaps a choir of angelic children onstage? Oh, there was that too. In their typically winning combination of the traditional and the new, Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presented a program Tuesday that featured Eric Whitacre conducting carols along with several of his own compositions, including the world premiere of the 2022 version of his Christmas opera The Gift of the Magi, based on the O’Henry short story – and it was a spectacular evening.
To start, the dashing Mr. Whitacre welcomed the audience with some light commentary, including sharing that the choruses of several hundred singers from all over the US and Canada had only met in person two days before to rehearse. Judging by their polish and unity, one would not have guessed, though they all were clearly well prepared by their regular local choral conductors and coaches who took a bow at the end. The first (smaller) chorus kicked off the evening with a crisp, energetic performance of Carol of the Bells (arr. Peter Wilhousky), and the tone was set for a festive night. Angels We Have Heard on High followed, in an arrangement by Donald McCullough which seemed to demand a tempo a bit slower than one usually hears, probably to allow its rich harmonies to speak – and it was enchanting.
Mr. Whitacre then conducted one of his own compositions, the well-known Lux Aurumque (Light and Gold), which I first had the pleasure of reviewing in March of 2009 at the then Avery Fisher Hall (and there again in April 2018 when Avery Fisher had become David Geffen Hall). It’s enough to make one feel very old, but this transcendent piece itself never gets old, with its close harmonies creating a special shimmering sound. This Carnegie performance of it was all it should be, translucent and hallowed. The traditional American hymn Brightest and Best (arranged by Shawn Kirchner) closed this group of songs, hinting at the Magi theme to come with its mentions of myrrh and gold.
Clad in bright red, the New York City Children’s Chorus filed onstage next, including some very young singers (certainly some in the single digits). They joined in two pieces, the ubiquitous Christmas Time is Here (Vince Guaraldi, arranged by Robert Sterling), sung with an airy innocence, and a longer second piece that Mr. Whitacre’s jokingly called his own Christmas oratorio, The Boy Who Laughed at Santa Claus. As angelic as the Guaraldi classic is, The Boy Who Laughed at Santa Claus is the opposite, all about a naysaying little brat named Jabez Dawes (think the Grinch, but younger). Set to hilarious verses by the inimitable Ogden Nash, it added just the right vinegar to the program’s predominant sweetness, bearing out the old saying that playing the villain can be the most fun. The piece is spiked with musical tauntings (the descending third “nyah-nyah” motif), plus twisted bits of Carol of the Bells, Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy, and a final Joy To the World as Jabez meets his well-earned comeuppance from Santa Claus himself. It was delivered with great relish and unfailing support in its demanding piano part from Kelly Yu-Chieh Lin, who was a pillar all evening.
On a side note, I hope that Mr. Whitacre’s exploration of Nash continues – as I recall with joy reviewing also his Nash-based Animal Crackers in 2009 (and with more recent “encores” by DCINY) and just know there must be more up his sleeve. Meanwhile, he channeled that zest for entertaining into his commentary between pieces, and, as hundreds more choristers filed onstage during the planned “Pause” (no actual intermission), he managed to regale us through all of it with what he called his “three-martini story” about the origins of The Gift of the Magi, a story shared traditionally by his family.
Before the long-awaited premiere of the Magi revision came one more piece, Mr. Whitacre’s celestial and aptly named Glow, a piece that has gained a huge following as part of his Virtual Chorus project, attracting many thousands of participants. It was reviewed in this magazine in 2019 – and was given a beautiful performance at this concert as well.
And at long last, The Gift of the Magi closed the program. At just thirty-five minutes, it is more compact than the word “opera” may suggest to many, and as ever Mr. Whitacre chose great material. For those who haven’t read it, O’Henry’s 1905 story tells of a young struggling couple, Della and Jim, and their frustrating secret searches for Christmas gifts for each other, resulting in Jim’s parting with his watch to buy Della combs, and Della’s selling of her hair to buy Jim a watch chain – both gifts rendered nearly useless. After such a chain of frustrations, the importance of selfless love emerges as the lasting message (contrary to this New Yorker’s proposed takeaways of “buy on credit next time” and “don’t forget your receipt!”).
Mr. Whitacre’s musical setting matches the story’s trajectory well, featuring strenuous recitatives, difficult leaps, and dissonant melodic intervals through the struggling, wishing, and searching, plus exciting rhythm and momentum to capture the hustle and bustle of shopping. Really in the entire thirty-five minutes, nothing relaxed musically (despite my occasionally wishing it would) until the very end, where it settled into Mr. Whitacre’s characteristic lyrical magic as Christmas arrived. Until then it seemed that the recitatives dominated, and even the more arioso sections had a recitativo quality. Momentum prevailed, which is probably a good thing for a piece that will be programmed as one of many selections in concert.
The singers were excellent, especially Laurence Servaes as Della and David Castillo as Jim. Ms. Servaes was simply flabbergasting in her stratospheric soprano leaps as she beheld gifts of gold to buy for her love, and David Castillo, though given perhaps fewer vocal feats of prowess to take on, was superb as the devoted Jim, with a burnished beauty to his tone. Naturally, coming at the end of a choral concert, there were no props to set the scene, but the ensemble created the drama and – with the music of course – guided the listener’s imagination. Peter Kendall Clark excelled with comical inflection as the overzealous Shopkeeper trying to sell watch chains, and Sara Jean Ford and April Amante were just right as the “difficult” women in the hair salon. This work should find itself on many Christmas programs, assuming that equally qualified singers can be found. That may not be easy.
Congratulations go to everyone involved in this remarkable evening, and kudos as well to the following participants: Chapel Hill High School Concert Choir (NC), Christ Episcopal Church Chancel Choir (FL), Greeley Central High School Choir (CO), Kimberly High School Choir (WI), LaGuardia High School Senior Chorus (NY), New York City Children’s Chorus (NY), VOENA Children’s Choir (CA), West Bloomfield High School Choirs (MI), Whippany Park Madrigal Singers (NJ), and individual singers from around the globe.
