Fullerton College’s Men’s and Women’s Chorale performed variety of classic compositions on Wednesday, Nov. 16.
The Women’s Chorale took the stage first under the direction of Nicola Bertoni with accompanist Lena Kim on piano.
The women initiated their set with “Exsultate Justi”, a joyful piece sung in Latin that was filled with staccatos and flowing phrasing.
Bertoni introduced the next piece, “Hallelu,” as an “early boost of Christmas music.” This calm and slow composition with its mostly unison vocals captured the essence of the Christian nativity narrative.
“Linden Lea,” an English folk song, was conducted by one of the students in the choir.
Next they sang “No Time” by Susan Brumfield, with a closing solo provided by Katie Odell. Bertoni explained this piece as “a traditional campfire song about the desire to search for home and a place of peace.”
The Women’s Chorale concluded with a beautiful arrangement of Charles Albert Tindley’s gospel tune “The Storm is Passing Over.” What’s a gospel song without a bunch of “hallelujah’s” and some audience participation clapping to the beat of the song?
The Men’s Chorale followed with conductor Vasken Ohanian, who began with an acapella Latin compostition entitled “Adoramus te.”
They then took on Vivaldi’s famous “Gloria” from RV 589, repeating “Gloria in excelsis Deo” throughout the piece.
Afterwards, the men slowed down the tempo a bit with a calming German piece written by Johannes Brahms entitled “Der Gang zum Liebchen.”
Next, the men put their voices to “Be Still my Soul,” another dynamic-heavy a capella arrangement.
The men finished their set with the amusingly comical “The Art of the Ground Round,” which is a series of rounds parodying the musical styles of the Baroque period by the musical satirist P.D.Q. Bach.
The choirs combined on stage for the last two pieces of the night and started with Mozart’s last completed composition before his death, “Ave Verum Corpus K. 618.”
The blending of theses male and female voices created an angelic sound that the audience followed with a fairly loud round of applause.
The concert concluded with a H.M.S. Pinafore Medley, which was a compilation of fast-paced and upbeat songs from the British comic opera.
The chorales put on a last theatrical performance with multiple soloists taking the roles of different characters from the musical.
Vasken Ohanian, director of the Men’s Chorale, was satisfied with the performance. She stated that “A concert’s a concert. Everything went as expected.”
Tonight marked Ohanian’s his first concert conducting for Fullerton College after receiving his master’s degree in music at Cal State Long Beach.
Nicola Bertoni, director of the Men’s Chorale, thought the concert was “fabulous,” and cited the highlight of her night as a conductor of the chorale.
“Just seeing everyone singing together on stage is always fascinating,” Bertoni explained. “They put a lot of hard work in their performance tonight.”
Visit the Fullerton College Music Department website for information on upcoming events.