Concert review: Seasonal Songfest Sparkles With Gems

by William Randall Beard, Star Tribune, December 13, 2004

The man responsible for programming the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus' holiday show, "Snow! A Winter Wonderland of Song," is most recently from California. Artistic director Stan Hill is embarking on only his fourth Minnesota winter, which perhaps gives him an added perspective on the white stuff. In any case, he has programmed a diverse repertoire that is part classical, part pop and, inevitably with TCGMC, part camp.

From the opening number, "The Snow," a deeply melancholic piece by Edward Elgar, the chorus demonstrates a rich, robust sound. Yet for all its size (more than 130 members) the chorus handles traditional carols such as "In the Bleak Midwinter" with delicacy and sensitivity.

Arrangements of such pop classics as "Winter Wonderland" take advantage of the chorus' size. "White Christmas" has rarely been sung so resplendently. And the chorus handles the difficult contemporary harmonies of Morton Lauridsen's "Mid-Winter Songs" with élan.

Most moving is a sequence based on a true story from Billings, Mont., where a Jewish family faced vandalism and harassment for displaying a menorah. The outraged townspeople were soon displaying menorahs everywhere. A traditional Hebrew melody followed by Fred Small's "Not In Our Town" proves a moving tribute to the fight against intolerance. It garnered a mid-performance standing ovation.

As a change of pace, principal accompanist Timothy DePrey has a much-deserved chance to show off in two solo piano pieces by Claude Debussy. His thoughtful playing evocatively captures the sense of cold and winter.

It wouldn't be a TCGMC concert without a bit of camp, provided by a twisted retelling of Disney's "Snow White and the 130 Dwarves." The chorus plays dwarves with names like Cheeky, Flirty and Daddy. Soprano Lola Watson makes a delightfully tongue-in-cheek Snow White.

More sophisticated comedy comes in "Heavy Christmas," which sets holiday texts to familiar classical tunes such as Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" and Verdi's "Anvil Chorus." The witty piece is a definite audience pleaser.

From the stage, Hill described the concert as "a little bit of everything ... perhaps too much, as it turns out."

At more than 2½ hours, it is something of an embarrassment of riches. But it's hard to know which of the treasures might be dispensed with. Hill's focus on snow has illuminated the spirit of the holiday season.

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