The Catskill Chronicle

Review by Barry Plaxen

WOODBOURNE, NY (December 20, 2013) – The Sullivan County Community Chorus’ winter concert on December 22, 2013 (the snow date) at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Woodbourne was titled “The Unknown Treasures of Christmas” but might have been subtitled “Joy to the World,” or even more appropriately “Joy to Lucille Horton.”

37 years ago, Lucille Horton co-founded the Chorus, and has since served as an officer, accompanist, choir member, soloist and conductor. She announced this year that she would be “retiring” from the chorus, and conductor Kevin J. Giroux and the Board of Directors chose to honor Lucille and her many years of service and friendship by dedicating the concert to her. Lucille is at bottom left in photo with Lou Setren (left), David Coon and Barbara Konvalin).

I mention this because it is an important part of relating to you what the afternoon was about and what it felt like.

Suffice it to say that the sense of Lucille’s importance to the Chorus was understood clearly, BUT also, the emotional outpouring of love for her was easily and immediately felt by those, including myself, who did not know her (I do now). The joy that Board President Louis Setren expressed in his opening statement permeated throughout the entire afternoon.

Conductor Giroux, known for his clever and innovative programming, interspersed witty comments throughout the concert that included various versions of “Joy to the World, from an anonymous 1820 setting, progressing to 1828, 1834 and 1835 to two arrangements of Handel’s earlier 18^th Century version, the last being the one we all know. The various versions offered different harmonies and fascinating variations of the melody and choral parts.

The “Unknown Treasures” included 20^th-century music by John Tavener, Daniel Pinkham, David T. Plank, R. Fisher Biyce, Pietro A.Yon and, for good measure and good humor, one of Peter Schickele’s P.D.Q. Bach compositions, “Throw the Yule Log on, Uncle John” (with Schickele’s own whimsical liner notes). The song included many sentences like the title BUT without the comma.

There were French and English folk tunes and Carols, including a lovely solo offering by soprano, Rachel Kleinman for “The First Nowell,” and a Renaissance motet with six soloists. One of the altos was the Chorus’ accompanist, Keira Weyant, following in the footsteps of Horton by both accompanying and soloing.

Giroux gave us two instrumental ensembles to enhance the afternoon’s enjoyment. His own creation of two brass choirs, made up of many of his former students, assisted in Pinkham’s “Christmas Cantata” and, familiar faces to the Chorus’ concerts – guest string artists from the Music Institute of Sullivan & Ulster Counties (MISU) – performed an unscheduled “Seasonal Suite”, a trio of well-known Carols arranged for guitar, viola and cello. A MISU string quintet also accompanied the Chorus and soloist David Coon for Yon’s “Gesu Bambino” and an arrangement of “Silent Night,” for which the audience was invited to sing-along.

The chorus did itself proud, as did the many soloists, and the variety of a capella, piano accompaniment, and the brass and string players made the afternoon joyfully varied.

I would personally like to thank the many program advertisers who made it possible for the program to be not only a wonderful souvenir, but allowed for much space for translations of the non-English texts and for joyful thoughts and thank-yous to Lucille Horton by chorus members, and fabulous liner notes of great interest, making the concert even more joyful.