by Jennifer Napier-Pearce
Walking into the Cathedral of the Madeleine is sensory overload. Vibrant colors and murals adorn every column and sanctuary of the building’s dramatic Gothic interior. Ornate wood carvings and delicate sculptures decorate the confessionals and shrines. Twenty-one stained glass windows depicting saints and Christian holy events draw the eye upward. But it was the acoustical possibilities that immediately appealed to a younger Barlow Bradford. “The European cathedrals were traditionally the great choral spaces,” Bradford says. “It’s that reverb time that is just inherent in these buildings that is so fun for a choir. It just puts this magic halo around the music.”
In 1995, Bradford wanted to create a surround-sound experience that would showcase the harmonic talents of his recently-formed ensemble, Utah Chamber Artists (UCA), and was looking for an equally impressive setting. UCA had performed at the reopening of the newly-renovated Cathedral of the Madeleine a couple of years earlier and Bradford knew the Cathedral fit the bill hands down. “While we’ve tried different venues for the Collage in addition to the Cathedral, we’ve never found anything that is even in the ballpark for the overall experience,” Bradford says.
The Collage
Conceptually, the Collage is a theatrical event featuring accomplished soloists, carefully choreographed lighting and UCA singers performing in different parts of the Cathedral. The evening is topped off with an exquisite demonstration on the Cathedral’s 4,066-pipe organ.
UCA Executive Director Becky Durham, who co-created the Collage, says the trick is using the building’s natural echo to the group’s advantage.
“For the first number for the first performance, we had Copland’s ‘Fanfare for the Common Man’ with the brass players in the back (of the Cathedral) and no one knew it was coming,” Durham remembers. “It really was a shock. In fact, we never did it again because we didn’t want anyone to suffer from cardiac arrest.”
For that first concert, Durham enlisted the help of Chip Dance, current stage manager for the Utah Symphony, and he’s been a partner in the Collage ever since. “Chiefly, he is a lighting guy and really knows his stuff,” Durham says. “This year, Chip is trying something he has wanted to do for a long time and that is shooting lights through the windows from the outside once it’s dark. The windows are gorgeous and this will feature them in a way they’ve never been showcased before.”
This year’s performance includes the music of Victoria, Walton, Bradford, Miskinis, Gjeilo, Howells, and Mozart with soloists Douglas O’ Neill on the organ and cellist John Eckstein.
Bradford says a highlight will be the world premiere of a piece by acclaimed composer J.A.C. Redford. Redford spent much of his youth in Utah before starting a career in Hollywood as a composer, orchestrator and conductor for films such as Newsies, Avatar, Wall-E, and more recently The Adjustment Bureau and The Help. The premiere of “Rest Now, My Sister” is a deeply personal and solemn tribute to Redford’s sister-in-law who was brutally murdered last year in Salt Lake City’s Fairmont Park. Bradford says this piece comes at the darkest moment in the program.
“We’re taking this journey depicting joy, going through difficulty and then coming out of it. And what we have at the central point of the concert – the lowest of the depths, if you will, is [Redford’s] requiem piece,” Bradford says. “This brings it to a very immediate human experience, that this is part of our lives right now. This is not a requiem from 500 years ago, and this is something that we have to know: that there is pain, there is trial, but there is also joy and there is also triumph from the pain and that’s what we’re giving in this concert. There is this ability to rise above and find this other-worldly peace.”
An Intimacy
For the performers, the Collage presents a singular experience as well as a challenge. In stocking feet, the 40 performers must stealthily roam from one location in the Cathedral, perform, then noiselessly move to the next spot.
Matt Hope, a first tenor who has been with UCA for 20 years, says singing behind the Chancel Screen in the front of the Cathedral is a highlight. “There is an intimacy felt amongst the group, creating a sound that, for the audience, seems to come from nowhere,” he says. “I enjoy the theatrics of it all, and appreciate the fact that the organization is serious about creating a multi-sensory experience for our audiences.”
Each year, audiences fill the cathedral to capacity, expecting the best from this ensemble. And for audience members, that experience can be transformative. Andrea Deming recalls attending the UCA Collage concert in 2008. “The whole time they sang, I closed my eyes and let the music paint pictures in my head,” she says. “It was amazing! I’ve never had that experience with music before.”
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15 Bytes is published by Artists of Utah, a 501 (c) 3 tax-exempt nonprofit.
UTAH’S ART MAGAZINE SINCE 2001, 15 Bytes is published by Artists of Utah, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Categories: Music
