"One
of the joys of the season." - The
Chicago Tribune
"Superbly
performed from start to finish." - The Houston
Post
"A
seasonal experience second to none. There wasn't a single cough,
no purses
snapped shut, everyone kept eyes and ears wide open for a dip
into an earlier age."
- The Toledo Blade
"An
account of the Nativity teeming with simple beauties . . . glorious
to hear."
- The Louisville Courier Journal
"Rarely
do a thousand people sit as hushed as did this crowd . . . it
was magical."
- The Kansas City Star
| The
Detroit News |
THURSDAY,
DECEMBER 5, 2002 |
Waverly Consort inspires with Christmas tale |
|
BLOOMFIELD
HILLS – Under the high vaulted ceiling of Christ Church
Cranbrook, in a gothic setting that took the imagination
back a thousand years, a little band of angelic musicians
made antiquity seem new Tuesday night in an exquisite retelling
of the Christmas story. The Waverly Consort, 13 New York-based
singers and instrumentalists famous for their mastery of
music from the Middle Ages and Renaissance, parlayed minimalist
theater into a sublime tableau of the characters and events
that converged at the first Christmastide.
With no sets or props, wearing
the simplest of costumes to suggest performers of centuries
long passed and singing Latin texts, the troupe under founding
director Michael Jaffee brought home the Christmas story's
defining blend of mystery, fear, magnetism and hope.
To be sure, it was the ensemble's
consummate musicianship first and foremost that sparked
the timeless hymns and dialogues. Accompanied by early heraldic
trumpets fiddles, drums, bells and harp, Jaffee's singers
displayed a fusion of expressive clarity and technical finesse
that comes only with years of living and absorbing a highly
specialized art form.
But the ethereal music was
also anchored in a compelling earthiness, a satisfying naturalism
in the bearing of the performers themselves. |
Although
various singers might slip in and out of roles within a
single scene, those changing personas became as instantly
sure and meaningful as a snapshot.
The three "kings"
needed no crowns to be credible in their awestruck adoration
of the new-born Child. And with a mere gesture of the hand,
the archangel Gabriel affirmed his divine authority. Never
mind that the proclamations – or the fearful consultations
between Herod and his son – were uttered in Latin;
the faces and the body language were clearly recognizable
as those of ordinary people in circumstances that were not
just extreme but wondrous.
Much like surtitles at an
opera performance, a concise English text in the printed
program made the Latin perfectly trackable. Indeed, this
eloquent, energized music drama hinted at the world of opera
that lay ahead in history. Jaffee's concept of medieval
theatrics veered headlong onto an operatic footing near
the end, as Rachel lamented the slaughter of the first-born
by a terrified Herod desperate to eliminate this new King,
his rival.
At the close, with a hymn
of thanksgiving, handbells rang out into soft tones of jubilation,
and the performers melted away into darkness, their story
told.
|
| Los
Angeles Times |
TUESDAY,
DECEMBER 10, 2002 |
Drama adorns Waverly's holiday program |
|
The Waverly Consort's Christmas
Story" digs into the past, finds great drama there
and ends with a glorious blessing. Sung and enacted Sunday
afternoon in the soaring Gothic-inspired confines of Immanuel
Presbyterian Church in Mid-Wilshire, the program told the
familiar story of the birth of Christ through unfamiliar
music ranging from the 10th to the 15th centuries, drawn
from Spain, Italy, France and Britain.
The eight vocalists showed
mastery in the range of styles, from a jaunty 12th century
song addressed to an ass bearing one of the Magi, to the
grating close intervals of a 14th century English Kyrie.
Often they sang their difficult music a cappella. But a
five-member period instrument ensemble – including
founders Kay Jaffee and Michael Jaffee – also provided
bewitching support. |
In
fact, it was a burst of instrumental music that depicted
the sophistication and corruption of Herod's court, where
the dramatic conflict of the story arose: Herod's fear of
another king leading to the slaughter of the innocents.
Here the concert became as vivid as opera. Splendid irony
occurred whenever characters addressed this mostly forgotten
– apart from the Christ story – royal with the
words "O king, live forever!"
While the pain of the grieving
mothers was not easily forgotten, the final Te Deum, sung
by all the ensemble members, did much to alleviate it. The
pure tones of the hand bells they rang enveloped the audience
in a kind of benediction.
|
CONCERT ENSEMBLE
"Music
of surpassing beauty . . . sung and played by the group whose
love and talent seem without limit."
– New York Magazine
"A
group not only extraordinary in its ability to bring early music
to life, but also outstanding in the level of individual virtuosity
. . . rare refinement and imagination, and a sense of atmosphere
that was enchanting." – The Boston Globe
"Performances
extraordinarily accomplished and smooth, filled with
spontaneity and a sense of engagement." –
The New York Times
"The
best of their kind. . . . In the creation of archaic moods and
imagery and the most
beguiling simplicity of means, they are hardly surpassed."
- Los Angeles Times
"The
Waverly Consort is the leader in the field . . . . If they didn't
play with the
Waverly's gusto and reverence back in the 14th century, they should
have."
- Newsweek
|
