Dear CVNC:
As a member of the Concert Singers of Cary Symphonic and Chamber choirs, I appreciate very much John Lambert’s review: “Around the World and Home Again with the Concert Singers of Cary.”
However, I wonder if one word in the review is a typo (or perhaps simply a difference in musical opinion…)? Of Jacob Groff’s premiering piece, “Intrigue,” Mr. Lambert wrote, “It is a very attractive, decidedly traditional work….” As a singer who initially struggled with, and eventually delighted in, the numerous accidentals and interesting dissonances and harmonies in the C-major piece, I would describe “Intrigue” as a “decidedly untraditional work.” Or perhaps modernist in the tradition of Stravinski?
Thanks for your consideration,
Jeffrey G. White
Raleigh, NC
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A reply: Thanks for writing. I actually did mean “traditional” inasmuch as the sound of the piece reflected what i perceived to be mainstream musical roots. Isn’t it curious that works that are difficult or challenging to performers can sometimes be perceived by listeners as far less complex? John Lambert