Review: Nashoba Valley Chorale considers, “What is This Thing Called Love?”

What is this thing called love? In a departure from their usual more classical programming, The Nashoba Valley Chorale (NVC) addressed this iconic question by performing modern madrigals composed by John Rutter in honor of jazz great George Shearing’s birthday, Songs of the Rose by Lauridsen, and a series of jazz pieces in collaboration with Jazz Trio Shawn McCann (piano), Justin Meyer (bass) and Abe Finch (drums). The concert took place at Acton Congregational Church on Feb.1. A second performance was planned for Feb.2 at Groton Hill Music Center.

As part of its mission since 2017, the NVC showcases an emerging artist as one way to engage and promote younger singers, and this year Sofia Santoro is in the spotlight. A Groton resident and music major studying with Kim Nazarian of New York Voices at Ithaca College, with an emphasis on jazz studies, Ms. Santoro, backed by the jazz trio, treated us to a nightclub vibe, singing songs by Edith Piaf and Louiguy, Duke Ellington, Cole Porter and Bill Withers. “It makes me so happy to be able to have a solo with a big group of voices and being able to just sing out at full volume…it’s magical,” Ms. Santoro wrote by email. Despite the fact that she is only a sophomore in college, Ms. Santoro’s skilled interpretations of these jazz standards made it a pleasure to sway in our seats as the notes wafted through the sanctuary of the Acton Congregational church.

Anne Watson Born, conductor, spoke to the audience at the start of the concert. She noted the juxtaposition of the suggestive, bawdy text with the lush harmonies and serious tones of “Les chansons des Roses.” Perhaps this juxtaposition is a nod to the complex nature of love, in which a deep and enduring connection may have an outer layer of playful flirtation at its surface. Watson said she appreciated the expansion in their repertoire for the concert, particularly rhythmically, and the need to learn how to swing.

Acton resident Thomas Ryder, with the chorale for eight years, said by email, “I love singing with the chorale because of the camaraderie and the shared accomplishment. I also have a special fondness for singing with Anne [Watson Born]. She’s an exceptional conductor and a wonderful teacher.”

Ryder and his wife, Sherry, both sing with the group. He also commented that these works represent a departure from the usual fare. He said he was surprised to discover that “it’s not the product we love; it’s the process, especially when it involves singing with a non-audition chorale.” Indeed, being able to be in the midst of these tight harmonies, evolving as colorfully as the turning of a kaleidoscope, must be a joy to learn and repeat, exposing the nuances and hues of these intricate pieces.

There are so many ways to look at love – its many forms and iterations, including the thorny side to which Rilke alludes in her poetry. How lovely that the Nashoba Valley Chorale has put together this Elizabethan, 20th Century to modern lens as a presentation and homage to an elusive, ever present, always vital infusion in our society.

My only wish during this concert was wanting to hear the sound more fully. The harmonies are so delicious, so layered and shifting, I wanted to hear it more crisply and effusively than perhaps the acoustics of the church allowed. I knew that the Chorale’s Feb. 2 would be at Groton Hill Music Center, and that performance space, with its state-of-the-art sound equipment balancing the voices and instruments, would surely enhance every aspect of the concert and deliver the very best of what this spirited group can do.

Meg Stafford is an award-winning author of two memoirs, speaker, storyteller and columnist. Her forty years as a licensed psychotherapist have provided invaluable insight into the quirks and passions of the human experience.