DATE: Sunday, September 28, 1997            TAG: 9709280080

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B9   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Music review

SOURCE: BY LEE TEPLY, CORRESPONDENT 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   73 lines

SHOUP MAKES LOCAL DEBUT WITH CHORALE, TOASTS BRAHMS, SCHUBERT

Friday night marked the long-anticipated debut of the new conductor of the Virginia Chorale. The event drew to Norfolk's First Presbyterian Church a large audience that was eager to observe Robert Shoup, the new director of Hampton Roads' only professional concert chorus.

For the occasion, he chose music by Franz Schubert and Johannes Brahms, the two 19th-century masters whose works are being celebrated this year in recognition of important anniversaries - the 200th of Schubert's birth, and the 100th of Brahms' death.

In evaluating Shoup, it is hard not to recall the Chorale's last concert, when Dale Warland conducted an all-American program that was one of the group's best performances ever. It also is impossible to forget the many, fine performances led by Donald McCullough, the Chorale's founder.

While those may have been the obvious comparisons, it was more interesting to consider last Monday's superb recital by mezzo-soprano Annette Daniels in the Diehn Recital Series at Old Dominion University. Her program was much like Friday's - several groups of short vocal works, mostly in foreign languages, in which musical expression of the text was of utmost importance.

Daniels' singing was a model of fine diction and phrasing which, when coupled with expressive skills that included a wide range of dynamics, tonal colors and facial expression, brought the music to life for the audience. It was not necessary to know all the languages she sang to feel the impact of the music.

Of the many tools a chorus can use, Shoup concentrated on beautiful sound. The blend of voices within each section was quite fine. At many times, members of a section sang in such careful unison that it sounded more like a single voice.

The balance between sections was not as well controlled. The men of the Chorale continue to be its strength, with the altos offering a particularly rich sound. But the sopranos were frequently overpowered by the others.

In the long program, which included almost enough music for two concerts, the only music familiar to most people was Schubert's ``Mass in G,'' an oft-performed piece suited to church choirs. The tempo was unusually slow and the singing a bit perfunctory. But there were a few moments, as in the ``Sanctus,'' when the power of the music shown above the technical control.

As if opening a door to allow the music to emerge, soprano Billye Brown Youmans gave sensitive expression to her solos, although her final ``Agnus Dei'' crossed the border into a more theatrical type of drama.

In sacred motets, a uniformly serious mood was maintained. The fiendish difficulties of one motet seemed to be no problem for the talented singers. But here, too, the meaning of this disjointed writing was not made clear. The clash of dissonance rarely suggested pain as was intended.

The second half of the program surveyed the secular music of the two composers and, perhaps not surprisingly, the singers showed a little more emotion. One highlight was Schubert's ``Standchen'' for alto soloist and men's chorus. With welcome warmth, Kathleen Franz gave shape to her phrases, and this was nicely copied by the men.

Accompanying instruments added variety to the program. In one group of songs for women's chorus, interesting counterpoint came from the horns of Dennis Herring and Beth Torres, as well as from the harp of Elisa Dickon. In other pieces, challenging piano accompaniments flowed freely from Bobbie Kesler-Corleto.

To a program that had too many main courses, the final dessert - in which Kesler-Corleto played a key role - was Brahms' ``Zigeunerlieder'' (Gypst Songs). Suffice it to say, while the group did sing with more expression here, the 11 little jewels in this set did not sparkle with a variety of colors. They were, instead, a lovely but tame conclusion to a long evening. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

MUSIC REVIEW

Virginia Chorale

Robert Shoup, conductor

When: Friday evening

Where: First Presbyterian Church, Norfolk

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