![\"bb150126calmus3641end\"](\"http:\/\/sybariticsinger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/bb150126calmus3641end.jpg\")
While there were the prerequisites such as Stille Nacht<\/em>, The Twelve Days of Christmas<\/em>, and White Christmas<\/em>, Calmus’ “Christmas Carols of the World” program featured gems to keep even the most proficient\u00a0church musicians intrigued. An early selection, the Ravenscroft<\/strong>\u00a0Remember, O Thou Man<\/em> arranged by Calmus baritone Ludwig B\u00f6hme<\/strong>, began with soprano Anja P\u00f6che<\/strong> and countertenor Sebastian Krause<\/strong> ascending to the upper left and right staircases to perform their seraphic descending vocal lines into perfectly tuned intervals. In fact, there were quite a few instances of this sparkling pairing between soprano and countertenor throughout the program. The trio onstage: tenor Tobias\u00a0P\u00f6che<\/strong>,\u00a0B\u00f6hme, and bass Manuel Helmeke<\/strong> provided fascinating harmonic texture before P\u00f6che and\u00a0Krause joined them again onstage for a later verse that accentuated the sanguine middle voices. To this ear, the Alice Tegner<\/strong>\u00a0Betlehems Stj\u00e4rna<\/em> arranged by Robert Sund<\/strong> was the treasure of the evening. Imbuing the piece with dynamics to make the heart swell, the quintet displayed incredibly nuanced musicianship. Their ability to crescendo to the climax of the phrase while ever-so-slightly delaying the resolution of the suspension was exquisite.<\/p>\n When it comes to a cappella vocal ensembles, there can be an over-reliance on anemic vocalism to achieve blend within the group or a specific style. As their name suggests, Calmus allayed those fears immediately.\u00a0Like a prism, they used their outstanding technique and musicianship to begin the concert in solemn unison and then break out into the full manifestation\u00a0of their constituent vocal colors. While there were a few unfulfilled attempts at swagger, Calmus\u00a0never missed an opportunity to play for laughs. It is clear that they prize their dedication to diverse musical styles and diction across multiple languages. So much the better for\u00a0the audience was clearly\u00a0tickled with the sheer number of languages in which they sang. Finally, the technical ability of each member of the group, from sotto voce to their most resonant, was impressive as soloists as well as in ensemble singing.<\/p>\n Would that all the concerts filling up our calendars during this festive month be a cause for introspection, stillness, fascination, elegance, and laughter such as this one.<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When it comes to a cappella vocal ensembles, there can be an over-reliance on anemic vocalism to achieve blend within the group or a specific style. As their name suggests, Calmus allayed those fears immediately.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,1],"tags":[1165,1178,1286],"class_list":{"0":"post-5073","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-performance","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-calmus","9":"tag-des-moines","10":"tag-vocal-ensemble","11":"entry","12":"has-post-thumbnail"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/sybariticsinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/sybariticsinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/sybariticsinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sybariticsinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sybariticsinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5073"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/sybariticsinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5073\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/sybariticsinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sybariticsinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sybariticsinger.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}