by Peter Feher
Tuesday Musical gave Akron audiences a generous Christmas gift this year. The presenter tied three holiday classics together in one sumptuous concert on Sunday afternoon, November 30, at E.J. Thomas Hall. First up was the story of The Velveteen Rabbit, followed by a quick waltz through The Nutcracker and a ride on The Polar Express.
Delightfully, this trio of tales was recounted with drama and poise — not by any actors or dancers but by the eight members of the all-male a cappella ensemble Cantus. The group, based in Minnesota and now in its fourth decade, is once again touring the country with a polished, compact production of carols, pop tunes, and of course Tchaikovsky.
Renaissance polyphony can bloom in resonant spaces, but the Donna and James Reid Gallery at the Cleveland Museum of Art presents particular challenges: hard surfaces and a long reverb tend to blur consonants into watercolor. The Cleveland Chamber Choir’s four-voice ensemble met those conditions head-on during its “In Four Voices” program on December 3. What emerged was an evening of consistently beautiful vocal timbre shaped by a group navigating the sonic characteristics of the room.
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“We love coming here!” CityMusic Cleveland’s managing director Henry Peyrebrune said in his opening remarks on Friday at St. Noel Catholic Church. Open and modern and warmly lit, St. Noel proved a welcoming setting for December 5th’s well-attended concert. Many pews had been claimed early, and finding a seat required a bit of roaming. As always with CityMusic, admission was free, with only a suggested ticket price and friendly greeters at the door.
In the 1670s, Louis XIV commissioned a series of 39 fountains for the Gardens of Versailles, each modeled on a story from Aesop’s Fables and intended for the education of the king’s young son, the Dauphin.