Chorus turns reality to ethereality

Author: Melissa Marshall

It is a common occurrence for Middlebury students as well as faculty to read a poem or listen to a piece of music once a day, if not more. Sometimes one even gets adventurous and combines the two - just check out the numerous students in the library balancing a heavy volume of poetry on one knee and an iPod on the other. This integration of song and verse, a habit that many individuals perform with little thought, was the inspiration for Associate Professor of Music Peter Hamlin's "Nature Revisited," a set of choral arrangements based on selected poems from "House of Days: poems by Jay Parini."

Hamlin, the current chair of Middlebury College's Music Department, explained to the audience in a pre-concert talk how he was moved to compose "Nature Revisited" after reading a poem by Parini, Director of the Creative Writing Program. The poem, entitled "Swimming After Thoughts," is rhythmic and alliterative, lending itself well to musical interpretation. "Nature Revisited," which premiered on Saturday night at the Center for the Arts, examined the way that a piece of music can, in fact, be an extremely accurate reading of a poem.

The same elements that one looks for when examining a poem were magnified in Hamlin's interpretations of Parini's poetry - rhythm and meter were deftly displayed, for example, in the beats of "Willow Song." The music in "The Lake House in Autumn" conjured an almost tangible atmosphere and mood of reflection, while the ribbet-like melody in the bass of "Swimming After Thoughts" recreated the imagery of frogs. The extra notes beyond the traditional chords in "A Killing Frost" established a sense of tension, mimicking the biting cold that Hamlin grew so accustomed to in the 22 winters he spent in the Mid-West. This interweaving of various techniques, expertly carried out by the stunning performances of all the Middlebury College Chamber Singers conducted by Director of Choral Music Jeff Rehbach, skillfully carried out the mission of Hamlin.

Before the start of the performance, Hamlin noted that he hoped that all of the audience members would feel as if they were inside the poem. He remarked in the program that poetry is like a teacher. "[It is] perhaps something like a wise and learned companion on a beautiful long mountain hike, pointing out things along the way you hadn't noticed, excavating thoughts that have become buried beneath the bustle of daily concerns, reminding you that there is more to what you see than what you see," said Hamlin. "Setting poetry puts you… in a rich world of the poet's creation. At times, you actually forget about that other world, the one that we call the 'real' one."

Such an ethereal experience was most certainly created Saturday evening during the self-proclaimed "Choral Potpourri," especially with the opening rendition of Sanctus which was followed by such other religiously-themed recitals as "Veni sponsa Christi," "Ave Maris Stella," which included a striking solo by Kristine Varney, and the German "O Heiland, reiß die Himmel auf."

Gospel Johnstone '07 was a particular fan of the ensemble's poignant performance of "Sanctus," saying, "I loved [it] and the Chamber Singers' harmonies were spot-on." The night was concluded with versions of U2's "MLK," Bob Chilcott's "Londonderry Air" and an inspiring interpretation of the negro-spiritual "The Battle of Jericho."

The Chamber Singers capably showed that the voice can indeed be the most powerful instrument, able to recreate the stroke of a swimmer, capture the noise of waxy leaves, or praise a higher being. However, Hamlin's "Nature Revisited" was still the centerpiece of the evening that allowed the audience to become falling stars, swimmers in a peaceful pond and a solitary willow tree, all without leaving their seats.