A Surprisingly Common Bird
Blue Heron goes casual at First Church of Cambridge on Friday, 18 October 2024.
The renaissance choir gets in practice the day before their 25th anniversary concert.
Free admittance.
Blue herons are not uncommon birds. I had to look it up, in case there was some inner meaning to the ensemble’s name. Maybe there is some inner meaning, but all I found out with a quick Google search is that these birds are not endangered and they’re not weird genetic freaks like a blue lobster. Good thing because they are beautiful birds: graceful, elegant, otherworldly plumage.
The Blue Heron set list included a world premiere of new piece “The Triumph,” composed by Mehmet Ali Sanlikol. The pre-concert lecture (always lectures with this type of music!) streaming via Youtube below.
For the rest of this post, I’ll defer to my writeup of the practice session, to be published shortly at my Cambridge Day spot.
The Blue Heron Renaissance Choir celebrated its 25th birthday last Saturday at the First Church of Cambridge with a concert. How else would they celebrate?
If you wanted a sneak peak, the ensemble opened their doors a day early to invite the public to a free practice session on Friday afternoon. Same transcendent polyphony beneath the yawning arches of the holy sanctum, at zero cost and much more casually-attired. You know, instead of the ties, dresses, and patent leather footwear, the choir members kept it comfortable with sneakers, jeans, and t-shirts that looked like they had painted a few garages.
About a dozen gray hairs scattered themselves among the pews, cocking their heads at odd moments to indicate a passage here or there that they especially appreciated. Who were these people: well-heeled Cantabridgian retirees enjoying their golden years, or hard luck cases who just wanted a safe place off the streets for a few hours?
There’s a certain local style of senior bohemian chic that can make it difficult to tell the two groups apart until you get close enough to catch the subliminal indicators of wealth. A watch with a leather strap. An heirloom pendant. A piece of equipment that overly complexifies the task of self-hydration. All of the above can be a sign of a million or more in home equity.
Rich or poor, the audience was in for a treat. Blue Heron was preparing a world premiere performance of Mehmet Ali Sanlikol’s “The Triumph.”
Renaissance choirs are rare enough, but one that presents new works rather than shuffling the playlists through the classics? Rarer than a blue lobster. The composer was doing double duty as flutist during practice. As the conductor conducted, he conducted on top of him, producing a surfeit of musical direction. Composer’s prerogative, after all.
If you missed Blue Heron on Saturday, catch them on December 20 & 21 for a concert titled “Christmas in 15th-Century France & Burgundy.” And who knows? Maybe they’ll offer another freebie practice the day before…