A breezy night, March 27th, 2010 my friend Sean and I strolled through the University of Texas at Dallas campus, battling bothersome construction to find a couple seats in the Jonsson Performance Hall by 8 P.M. to test our eyes and ears with the school’s Chamber Singers’ presentation of “Shakespeare in Song.” Now, I have not been exposed to any Shakespeare in quite a while so I did not know what to expect. Sean and I grabbed a couple programs then quickly took our seats near the back and immediately soaked in the elements of the polite, quaint venue. The charm and warmth of the small hall seemed quite fitting for a choral concert lending itself on this cool night to medieval and renaissance-inspired works from the famous English dramatist.
As we waited for the performers to enter and take their places on the tiny bleachers, I felt right at home among the audience. Looking around, I see that fellow students are filling in most of the seats. Most are as casually dressed as I am. Upon further scanning of the audience in front of me I even notice a couple classmates. Although I would find it quite safe to assume that the greater majority of the audience, including myself, is not familiar with Shakespeare, I felt that my demographic during this student performance ruled the roost so to speak. Naturally though, there were a few of what appeared to be parents or perhaps faculty that carefully chose their seats just a few rows from front with an exact center view. In any case, a happy chatter could be heard from all sections of the seating area as the clock ticked closer and closer to eight.
Next, applause surrounds me as the performers begin slowly filing in one by one from stage left. One man makes his way across the stage to sit with his back facing me at the bench of the chordophone followed then by the director. Most noticeable at this point is the performers’ attire. They have all donned somewhat elaborate costumes relevant to the performance’s Shakespearian roots. A few enthusiastic cheers carry above the clapping as audience members provide special recognition to their colleagues on stage. Once the excitement from the crowd dies down, the mood quickly takes on a more serious and dramatic feel.
After that, a couple quick notes sound from the piano establish the key for the upcoming selection. The director cues the opener and I am immediately surprised by the full, rich sound resonating throughout the small hall. After a few songs, I begin to notice that the pitch is generally higher, and the timbre generally lighter, because the abundance of female voices somewhat overpower the men’s lower tones. Overall, though, the sound is well balanced and as the production carries on, the diversity of the performance becomes more and more apparent. The music was very dynamic with the changing time, key, loudness and use of crescendos. Pieces ranged from ballads with slower tempo and smooth, soulful singing to more upbeat, rhythmic and chipper melodies, from complete ensemble works to isolated vocal groups or even a few arias. Often the music was briefly interrupted by performers making their way down the stands to the front of the stage to act out scenes from one of the various Shakespeare plays that were represented in the performance. The transition between scene and song was usually quite fast and seemed to begin without hesitation immediately once the performers reached their places on stage or back in the stands.
Lastly, after the director waved her final cutoff and the last lingering sound dissipated, the performance was recognized with another bounding round of applause. Sean and I watched those costumed performers exit the stage in the same cool fashion they once entered and I could not help but reflect on the variety of visual and musical elements that had just been presented over the course of the previous ninety minutes. Noteworthy was the constant fusion of scene acting into the musical numbers including solos, or with the full chamber. Another example of the mixture presented could be found in the contrast between high-tempo songs representing a cheerful mood and tone to those that were more slow, dark, and ominous. Overall, the University of Texas at Dallas Chamber Singers utilized a multiplicity of musical elements with time and space which, in turn, created a very diverse production.
