Friday December 30, 2005 SGN.org |
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Volume 33 Issue 52 |
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Wednesday, Jan 07, 2009
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The Baltimore Consort with Jose Lemos at Town Hall |
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| The Baltimore Consort with Jose Lemos at Town Hall | ||
| by Rod Parke
- SGN A&E Writer
Early Music lovers in Seattle know from previous visits that The Baltimore Consort charms audiences without fail. Thus, Town Hall was packed for this seasonal concert. What most of us did not know was that these performers had ranked up the charm factor many fold by adding a fine young counter-tenor. Jose Lemos is a dark, handsome Uruguayan of small stature, with a tight body and a ready smile. He is an artist who loves what he does, and his joy in sharing with his audience almost lifts him off his feet. His voice was of medium size and great beauty, with the kind of technique that was so perfected that one was never aware of it at all. He had great facility in all ranges and made the transition into the lower notes with ease and warmth. His tone was always round and sweet, yet capable of considerable expression. He sang almost every number in the long program and gave us many exquisite moments. Lemos quickly won the hearts of the audience, adding such a vital element to the program that one could hardly imagine The Baltimore Consort without him! Many counter-tenors (male sopranos) of the last century had a rather white tone that was interesting, but not especially warm or beautiful. Lemos was not like that. His tone was most like that of David Daniels, but on a slightly smaller scale. Like Daniels, he can sing for long periods without apparent fatigue or 'wear' on the voice. His facility did not appear to include a trill, but all other vocal embellishments were executed with joyous ease. And so, instead of the usual, mostly instrumental delights of The Baltimore Consort, we got the even greater delight of those instruments combined with an extraordinary voice. The "usual" instruments of this group were of course all early music re-creations and included a trio of really wonderful krumhorns, a double-reed wooden instrument that looks like an overgrown recorder with a big curve upward at the bottom. The reeds are inside the upper structure and are not touched by the lips of the player. The nasality of the sound produced is so extreme as to be almost humorous in itself. This buzzing was delightful to my ears and added great texture to the ensemble. The krumhorns were used sparingly, however, and never outwore their welcome. Perhaps because this was a program of "Music for the Yuletide Season," many of the tunes were quite familiar, ranging from the 16th century "Good King Wenceslas" to the 1940's "A Wassail, A Wassail Throughout All This Town" by Gower of Wales. Lively dances were interspersed among quieter songs, such as the mournful "What Wondrous Love is This." What kept the evening consistently fascinating, even in the most familiar tunes, was the exquisite variation of instrumental textures of those old instruments. The group changed positions and even exchanged instruments often. The players never swamped the delicious sound of Lemos' voice. Although they were capable of loud tutti's, they maintained a marvelous transparency that allowed the listener to follow each instrument. Often, one player would begin a number alone; then, others joined in, each adding a new flavor to the mix. We are fortunate that The Early Music Guild brings groups like this to Seattle. I invariably enjoy them and I like being in the unique audience this music attracts. It is always a sea of lively, intelligent, faces. You can get tickets and information about future concerts at www.earlymusicguild.org. Reviewer Rod Parke can be reached at: rmp62@columbia.edu |
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