The University of MIchigan Men’s Glee Club is the oldest student organization on the UM campus and has long been acclaimed to be one of the finest male choruses in the world. This year they are celebrating 150 years of tradition, camaraderie, and musical excellence. This was the first time I had the chance to see the MGC perform live, and I have to say it definitely lived up to everything I had hoped it would and beyond.
The first thing that stood out about their performance was how professional it seemed right from the beginning. They seemed to run-while-actually-walking onto the stage and turned so suddenly at such sharp angles, giving them a very intense quality. As soon as all the members and the director were on stage, they began to sing just as suddenly as they walked on, which had a very powerful effect.
The second couple of songs were very soothing, with a great combination of all ninety-nine voices (Is that right? I tried to count…). I especially loved when they began with just a whisper, and suddenly just boomed. You can probably tell that I don’t listen to choir music often, but at the same time even I was very touched. The music seemed to match the words so nicely, and the Paul Rardin, the director, emulated the emotions so strongly when he conducted. It actually helped a lot to hear his introductions to each piece; he did a great job of explaining the background of the music and poetry, and he was in general just a very good speaker, too.
The first song that stuck out to me was Lowlands, an American Sea Chanty arranged by Alice Parker and Robert Shaw. The repetition of the phrase “My dollar and a half a day” was intense every single time they came back to it, and the soloist was absolutely amazing. I recall my friend, an amazing singer herself, touching her heart several times during the solo. The next song wasn’t as good in my friend’s opinion, but I think it would be unfair to judge it right after Lowlands. I personally enjoyed the timpani in this piece, “A stopwatch and an ordnance map, Op. 15.” The volume control was great by the percussionist, but also by the MGC. I felt like it was perfectly easy to separate each individual voice, which is what made the solos stand out so well.
The next couple of pieces were by the men of the Southfield-Lathrup High School Madrigal Singers. It’s easy to say that they didn’t compare to the MGC, but that’s understandable–there were only 13 of them, so the overall sound was a bit soft. Most of their voices were quite nice, though, except maybe some of the higher pitches ones. The best part for me was the a capella, when the conductor, Jeffrey Martin, joined three of them in “Coney Island Baby” by Les Appleton, a lighthearted song that brought a lot of laughs from the audience. Overall, I was very impressed by their performance, except perhaps an overpowering piano at times. But after the initial couple of pieces, both choirs joined together to sing three more songs, in which I thought the piano was actually quite excellent, and the songs were overall empowered by having more members in the choir.
Following next was the world premiere of “Searchlight Soul,” a composition by Grammy and Pulitzer Prize winning composer William Bolcom, a distinguished faculty member of the School of Music here for thirty-five years. It was split into five poems, all written by University of Michigan students and alumni. I personally enjoyed the third piece, Searchlight, the most, though it was slightly ruined by a cough during the silence right before it began. Interestingly enough it was my friend that coughed. To add to the irony, we had just been reading a warning in the program where it informed us that, “During a recent test in the hall, a note played mezzo forte on the horn measured approximately 65 decibels of sound. A single ‘uncovered’ cough gave the same reading.”
Other pieces from Searchlight Soul which stood out were the last two, “Mosquito” and “Dude, Where’s My Car?” Both were pretty funny, particularly the end of Dude, Where’s My Car when they actually said that line. It was a good that the lyrics were in the program, though, because without it I don’t think I would have understood them fully. It was pretty difficult for me in general to pick up all the words, which is why I enjoyed the conductor’s introductions, as I mentioned previously.
Next up were the Friars. I have to be honest, I was looking forward to this the most out of any part. The Friars, if you don’t know, are an a capella group of eight men from the MGC who choose and prepare their own music and choreography. I have to agree completely with the description in the program where it refers to the “spirit of light-hearted spontaneity which is the trademark of every Friars performance.” I love all of the small jokes they toss out, as well as the goofy choreography. I was particularly happy with their song “Buckeyed Girl,” which was duly welcome after the game on Saturday.
I don’t want to say that the next few songs weren’t good, but they went by quite fast and so I didn’t have many opinions on them. I remember Jonah’s Song having a very strong opening–loud but soft sounding at the same time. Bright Morning Star had a very touching duet, and the choir coming in after it had a powerful effect. Beyond that, I remember Wonderful Is Your Name being “fun,” but that’s all.
The concert ended with Paul Rardin inviting to the stage all MGC alumni that came for the night in singing the Yellow and Blue. It was very, very cool to see alumni of all ages come to stage and perform. I tried to put myself into their shoes, which gave me an odd sense of pride in the UMMGC. Overall the concert was excellent and I suggest that everyone that can go see their concert next semester on April 10th.
Look out for the Friars in Rackham Auditorium on December 5th!
Bhaj, [art]seen Reviewer
