Ragazzi tour preview

Here is a short story about one of the choirs I heard during my trip to Cuba in January 2010. Ragazzi looks forward to working with them next June on our Cuban tour.

 

We entered a courtyard of the Museum Alejandro von Humboot. Two huge, perfectly preserved skeletons of dinosaurs, donated by Mexico in 2007, filled the yard. I heard some powerful, rich falsetto singing coming from upstairs. We were ushered up to the rehearsal of Sine Nomine, an eleven-voice professional all-male choir. Their conductor was Leonara Suarez and they were perfecting a program which the conductor wanted them to perform without her. The first piece was a beautiful Renaissance piece by Victoria with perfect 5ths that rang and with crescendos and phrasing that astonished. They sang the famous French chanson “Il est bel et bon bon” by Passereau and then a Hassler piece with strong clashing harmonies, incredible crescendos. It was in five parts, SSATB, and as they sang with long breathed phrases, they leaned into the dissonance before releasing it. They took it very slowly. The text is about how the singer has suffered (loving you) and it has cost him his life. The conductor corrects them: more feeling, more intimacy. I was in tears hearing the beauty of their singing. They gave me this piece.

 

They then sang a heart-wrenching “Danny Boy” and a great medley of Beatles and Queen music. All the rehearsing was done by memory by both singers and conductor.  The conductor told me that they start each concert with musica antica and then sing all styles. She says “they sound like an SATB choir.” All rehearsing is done by memory, but I was hearing them right before a concert the following week. Expressive extremes. They breathed deeply through the nose.

 

Their English is better than ours because all the vowels are formed consciously and beautifully. They sang so beautifully, but their rehearsal room was divided only by wooden slats which did not protect them from the street noises, including loud honking horns. Somehow they were able to keep their focus. Each time they sang, it was full of feeling. This will be a wonderful group for Ragazzi to work with next June!

 

 

 

Joyce Keil, Artistic Director

Ragazzi Boys Chorus