Bring on the Brahms with Boston Cecelia
“Bring on Brahms” with the Boston Cecilia, First Congegrational Church, Cambridge, MA
Brahms’ Liebeslieder Waltzes are some of my favorite songs, so the chance to perform them again was a joy. The contrast of the joyful tones from this work with others of the 2008-09 Cecilia season gave us a breath of fresh air for spring, and we inhaled deeply. I love Brahms for his ability to write songs whose musical lines are deeply rooted in text, but still maintain a folk-y nature.
I first sang the Liebeslieder in 2004 in Nordic Choir with guest conductor Craig Jessop from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and he instilled in us the playfulness of these waltzes and how they are meant to be sung in small vocal chamber groups. As a 72-member choir, we did our best to sing this way, and the resulting performance was great fun. In Cecilia, we encountered the same larger-vs-small group conundrum, but we sang through the waltzes expressively.
