Canadian Quartet Mixes Seriousness and Shtick

You get an idea of what the group Euphorics is all about from its cheeky name. An a cappella quartet from Canada, it freely mixes up seriousness and shtick as it covers turf from classical to rock, gospel to doo-wop.

Go to the group’s Web site and you’re greeted with the winking phrase “Ahh . . . Cappella!!!” It’s that kind of an exclamation point-y energy.

Euphorics is picking up steam and a good reputation in the a cappella world, including garnering an award in the 1999 Bay Area Harmony Sweepstakes. Member Joani Bye has a resume that includes work with David Bowie and Cher.

See what the group is about at its Saturday performance at the Church of Religious Science.

DETAILS

The Euphorics at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Church of Religious Science, 101 S. Laurel St., Ventura; $10 in advance; $12 at the door; 650-9688.

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Joyful Notes: Choral music has been in the Ventura County air of late. Last weekend, both the Ventura County Master Chorale and Los Robles Master Chorale presented ambitious programs, with the Ventura ensemble’s performance of an epic work by Amy Beach (more on that later), and Los Robles’ hosting of noted guest conductor Paul Salamunovich.

This Sunday, the choral muse continues its visit with a performance of Brahms’ “A German Requiem,” to be performed by the Gold Coast Concert Chorus in the Serra Center of San Buenaventura Mission. That group’s director is Kenneth Helms, a longtime member and soloist with the Ventura County Master Chorale whose original requiem will be premiered June 10.

DETAILS

Gold Coast Concert Chorus at 4 p.m. Sunday at San Buenaventura Mission’s Serra Center, 211 E. Main St., Ventura; $12 general admission, $10 students and senior citizens; 647-6147.

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Beach Report: On the face of it, everything seemed in order, even culturally inspiring, last Sunday afternoon. A large audience braved stormy weather to hear a major work by “America’s first great woman composer,” Amy Beach (1867-1944). For almost two hours, her opus, the “Grand Mass in E-flat,” filled the hall with notes penned by a pioneering woman composer--or, more to the point, a composer who happened to be a woman at a time when few were getting any performances.

But in the end, what transpired was a good news-bad news scenario. Whereas the Ventura County Master Chorale’s vocal forces were typically impressive, and the soloists--soprano Karen Medrano, mezzo-soprano Linda Foster, tenor Kenneth Helms and bass Albert Thayer--gave their impressive all to their parts, the orchestra’s loose fabric made it hard to hear the music through the performance. When you’re waiting for yet another moment of questionable intonation or missed entrances, it’s hard to sink into the generous spirit of the music.

This is not meant to slight the Ventura College Community Orchestra, a committed community group that should be heard. But the orchestra, comprising students and community members mixed in with professional musicians, was the wrong group for such a high-profile public event without more rehearsal to get the score into fingers and heads. In the end, it wasn’t fair to either the music or to the group itself.

The root of the problem extends back to an old dilemma in classical music, especially when programming obscure works or new music. Budgets are restrictive. But if any concert this season required a professional orchestra, it was a special event such as this. Hearing Beach’s music in large, concert-length portions is indeed rare, not only in Ventura County but anywhere.

It was possible to listen past the flawed surfaces to the majesty of the Mass. Moments of the performance shone, from the stirring “Quoniam Tu Solus,” which closed the concert’s first half, to the low string urgings beneath harpist Phala Eisenman’s celestial arpeggios leading into the satisfying finale of the “Agnus Dei.”

Beach’s work, written in 1891, bears markings of its late romantic period origins but gives it something extra, which may have less to do with her chromosomes than her Bostonian nature. European traditions are intricately woven into the piece, which follows liturgical structures, but her melodic textures somehow betray a specifically American heritage.

With a forgiving ear, the beauty of the music did win out. After all is said and done, the chorale is to be commended for venturing so boldly into Beach territory.

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Josef Woodard, who writes about art and music, can be reached by e-mail at joeinfo@aol.com.