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SPIRITUAL GRACE AND POWER
(Excerpts from a recent review of the Moses
Hogan Singers Concert at the Herbst Theater in San Francisco,
California on April 13, 2002)
…This professional ensemble of 28 singers
drawn from all over the country is a virtuoso instrument,
capable of exhilarating power and mystical quiet. In the past
decade, Hogan's arrangements and performances have revitalized
interest in the "arranged spiritual," continuing in the
tradition of Harry T. Burleigh, William Dawson, and Jester
Hairston.
…There is an inherent spirituality in their
performance that trusts the music itself, but of the "still,
small voice" variety. Transcendent moments of sustained harmony,
dynamic nuance, floating solo lines, and even silence drew the
listener into texts and melodies that needed no salesmanship.
The sound of the ensemble is rich and complex, pure without
being pallid, austere but warm and expressive.
The tradition of "classical" a-cappella
spiritual singing is alive and well at the hands of Moses Hogan.
REVIEWER- Bruce Lamott is choral director of
the Philharmonia Chorale and the Carmel Bach Festival. ©2002
Bruce Lamott, all rights reserved.
Click here
for full review |
THE MOSES HOGAN SINGERS
Moses Hogan, Artistic Director, began exploring the choral
music idiom in 1980 with the organization of the New World Ensemble.
In 1994, Hogan’s acclaimed Moses Hogan Chorale, which completed
its final touring season in 1999, came to the notice of the American
Choral Directors Association, which extended invitations to perform at
its conventions on both the regional and national levels, and these
appearances in turn led to invitations from around the world. The
Moses Hogan Singers continues this performance legacy while
preserving and celebrating the heritage of the African-American choral
tradition.
A nationally auditioned ensemble, the MOSES HOGAN SINGERS made
their debut in 1998 in New York at Alice Tully Hall during the World
Projects Corporation New York Choral Festival. The Moses Hogan
Singers made their recording debut in 1998 on the EMI record label
with acclaimed soprano Barbara Hendricks on the release entitled
Give Me Jesus, which features the arrangements of Moses Hogan.
The Singers recently completed two international tours with Ms.
Hendricks to Greece, Germany, Spain and Switzerland during the summer of
2000 and to the Netherlands and Belgium in December of 2001.
The Moses Hogan Singers made their European Orchestral debut with the
I Flamminghi Orchestra, Rudolf Werthern, conductor, for the
televised Christmas Special with Barbara Hendricks at Sint Jan
Cathedral, s’Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands.
The Moses Hogan Singers are a collaboration of musicians dedicated to
the preservation, integrity and excellence of the multiple aspects of
choral music. Special repertoire emphasis is focused on the choral works
of Mr. Hogan and works by African-American composers. Concert
performances in the United States during the 2002-2003 season will
include recitals in Michigan, Georgia, Louisiana, New York and
California.
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