MUSIC REVIEW : Chanticleer Sings a Joyous Christmas Program in Long Beach

“How good can a full-time vocal ensemble get?” asks Louis Botto, founder and general director of Chanticleer. Very, his group demonstrated Sunday at the Long Beach First Congregational Church, in a model Christmas program for Chamber Music in Historic Sites.

The Chanticleer sound is pure and cool, but eminently expressive, blended down from a peerless set of countertenors. There is little vibrato, and not a hint of reediness, save when a bit of vocal grit is purposely introduced.

The 12 men from San Francisco do not make a big sound, but it is finely focused and supported, floating easily in the lovely, high-ceiling sanctuary at the most rarefied pianissimos. Their singing matches the ensemble integrity of a well-drilled chorus with the clarity, nuance and linear independence of soloists.

That served them well in a first half devoted largely to Renaissance works, featuring a rapt, majestically blossoming antiphon, “O admirable commercium,” by the seldom-heard Thomas Stoltzer, and peaking with noble sweetness in the Ave Maria of Josquin des Prez. Each polyphonic line could be followed readily, giving the cohesive whole remarkable transparency and subtle, supple detail.

Chanticleer processed in singing the chant “Hodie nobis caelorum Rex,” with lit candles. A set of anonymous Spanish folk-based pieces--”Polorum regina,” with the countertenors imitating the droning blare of the Spanish bagpipes; “E la don don;” and “Riu, riu chiu”--concluded that portion of the program. Here, Chanticleer added percussion and shifted vocally from the ethereal to the earthy, in raucous celebration. Music director Joseph Jennings even added quasi-flamenco embellishment to their brash account of the oft-sung “Riu, riu chiu.”

During intermission, Chanticleer exchanged tuxedos for sweaters in holiday colors. The second half of the program was presented as formalized caroling, beginning in the balcony and moving to various locations around the sanctuary. The friendly, informal spirit of the effort was clear, relying on musical communication and ensemble charisma rather than spoken words.

Another little-known treasure, an Ave Maria by one Franz Biebl, opened the second half in a typically radiant performance. The surface effect of the hymn--and in many ways of Chanticleer’s sound--is of simplicity and tender sentiment, but that impression is created through sophisticated part writing and equally pointed singing.

The ensuing carols included Gene Puerling’s tacky pop parody arrangement of “Deck the Halls,” a stylistically jarring intrusion that proved Chanticleer could be as much at home in a lounge revue as in the chapel.

The otherwise warm and genial, somewhat stereotyped set concluded with Jenning’s own medley of Christmas spirituals. Here, the utterly authentic gospel styling was completely appropriate--and completely and joyfully captivating. The arrangements also displayed more of the ensemble singers as fluent soloists.

The following standing ovation, rare for Chamber Music in Historic Sites concerts, may have been due in part to the spirit of the season and the concert, but was certainly a musically justified tribute as well. Chanticleer returned with a hushed, pliant account of “Es ist ein Ros entsprungen.”