A Tall Ship and a Star to Steer By

Adelfos Ensemble in concert at Trinity Episcopal Church on Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Most classical music groups have adjourned by late spring. After a flush of season finales in May, there suddenly falls a lull for music lovers, doldrums really. But recent years have witnessed one notable ship tacking to a different trade wind. I’m talking about that eighteen-voice wonder known as Adelfos Ensemble, directed for the past six years by early music expert and brilliant tenor, Temmo Korisheli. Last June Adelfos sang an exciting program of early American music, diverse in content, dense in substance, bright in execution, educational, ever surprising, and totally original. And this year’s June bloom went even further, with a fascinating program entitled, “Over the Stormy Ocean Tossed: Choral Songs of Seafaring, Adventuring, and Calamities.” What makes Adelfos so outstanding is partly the high skill set and musical maturity of its singers, many of whom are soloists and section leaders with other groups in town. They pull-off the harmonic heavy-lifting of tight intervals and funky key shifts with seeming intuitive ease. But the group also owes much to Korisheli’s bold thematic programming, scholarly breadth, and leadership skills that guide singers to master some very tough music. If there is one disappointment about Adelfos, it is only that they do not yet share more broadly what they so painstakingly prepare, season after season. Continue reading →