Re "Duo" -This CD is impeccable and relaxing. Jade's vocal delivery is honest and the voice has a lot of depth--the lady has something to say. Buddy's guitar on "Always on my Mind" will choke you up. Great romance music. Really nice. My favorite song? "Subtle Moon".
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. championed a message of peace and equality, and people of all backgrounds and ages made their way Monday night to Symphony Center to celebrate it. Founder and director Paul Freeman and his Chicago Sinfonietta's creatively charged programming elevated this annual civil rights tribute to lofty new heights.
The orchestra opened with the brief "Celebration!" by Adolphus Hailstork, a colorful Coplandesque setting that evoked the deep American Southwest. The famed Broadway composer Morton Gould set six spirituals to orchestra in his "Revival," which showcased the Sinfonietta's warm, luxuriant strings.
An inspiring programmatic inclusion was music by the Chevalier de Saint-Georges, a black composer/violin virtuoso in Mozart's day, who now rarely finds his way into the concert hall. The Symphonie Concertante in G Major for two violins sang admirably under its soloists Christina Castelli and Melissa White. Their timing and harmony were occasionally imperfect, but these two young violinists each tackled the work's virtuosic passages with a dramatic energy.
Freeman heightened the effect of Barber's languishing "Adagio for Strings" by superimposing the orchestral performance with the visual element of the extraordinary Deeply Rooted Dance Theater. Replete with dexterous lifts and twirls, the nine dancers masterfully brought out the balletic character that is so deeply embedded in this heartfelt music. The Sinfonietta's rendering of this frequently performed work quieted the hall for 10 thoroughly absorbing minutes.
The show's second half was devoted entirely to stirring spirituals as sung by some 150 silver-gowned choristers from the Apostolic Church of God Sanctuary Choir. Tenor James Hudson's impassioned solo in "Midnight Cry" received the night's longest ovation, and alto Jade Maze's spirited singing in "Anthem of Praise" got all hands clapping.
Freeman traditionally closes this tribute concert by having the entire audience join hands to sing "We Shall Overcome." To hear 2,000 people gleefully come together in this affirming benediction would have been just what the good doctor ordered.
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