O.C. POP MUSIC REVIEW : Sweet Honey of a Concert at Chapman

Perhaps there are better singing groups in this world than Sweet Honey in the Rock, but you would have a hard time arguing that proposition to anyone who heard the brilliant concert this five-woman a cappella ensemble gave Saturday night at Chapman College’s Chapman Auditorium.

There were gorgeous moments of harmony in which Sweet Honey’s waft of sound transported a listener somewhere beyond this world. There were also aching plaints and fiery protest songs that made vivid the passions and pain of the here-and-now.

The Washington group’s versatility and virtuosity were undeniable during a rapturously received performance that lasted more than two hours without any lapse in intensity or excellence, and with minimal stylistic repetition.

Sweet Honey covered a range of music that reflected the diversity of the African-American musical tradition. It went back to the source in traditional African songs, then traced those roots to their flowering in black American gospel music. They touched on jazz and blues, on calypso music and soul, on strands as diverse as Leadbelly’s folk songs and the insistent rhythms and rhymes of contemporary rap.

Beyond its diversity, skill and time-spanning awareness of how musical traditions develop, Sweet Honey’s performance was lifted by an uncommon sense of purpose. The concert focused on fundamental issues of freedom and oppression, love, sexuality and death.

What’s more, it continually reflected on what music’s role should be in all of this. The answer, brought to life on stage by these charismatic, colorfully robed, eminently dignified performers was that music is both a prod and a balm. It’s there to fire the emotions to confront what needs mending in this world, and to bring solace and uplift when the world breaks us down.

It would take a very long tally sheet to note all of the concert’s highlights. All five singers provided glorious moments, and the show was structured to allow each one turns at humor as well as gravitas .

A sixth, nonsinging member, Shirley Childress Johnson, performed with Kabuki-style facial and bodily expressiveness, making her sign-language interpretations for the deaf a guide to meaning for the hearing as well.

A wordless African song was a marvel of trilling, oscillating ensemble currents underneath a soaring lead by Aisha Kahlil, who capped the performance with astounding, trumpet-like, wide interval leaps.

Kahlil and her sister, Nitanju Bolade Casel, took the lead on a rap song demanding just and respectful treatment of women that was ferocious enough to reform 2 Live Crew’s Luther Campbell.

The rap came during an extended sequence of songs portraying the pride and peril of womanhood. It included a plea for the right to choice on abortion, the sisters’ angry rap against sexist abuse, and songs that delighted in the softer, sexual side of femininity as well.

Not only this segment, but the entire concert, was structured to develop ideas and expose musical linkages, provoking a listener to think and make connections. In sum, earthy music turned to the highest artistic purposes.

Did it hit home? The prolonged, sometimes thunderous applause for each number, and the big queue during intermission around a booth where Sweet Honey’s recordings were on sale would indicate that it did.

The only disappointing note in the group’s rare Orange County visit was the cancellation of a scheduled second performance due to poor ticket sales (the 999-seat theater wasn’t full on Saturday, either). Based on the word of mouth this appearance is bound to generate, more folks should be ready the next time around.