PRESS
Schoenberg’s “Friede auf Erden" (Peace on Earth), its explicit humanity by turns ecstatic, serene and emphatic but always on display, contrasted startlingly with Stravinsky’s ritualistic and determinedly unemotional Mass. Conductor/Music Director Gisèle Becker and her 36 singers projected both of these extremes well, emphasizing beautifully balanced and glowing sonorities in the Schoenberg and an astringent sense of timelessness in the Stravinsky. Lucy Bowen McCauley’s choreography, commissioned for the occasion, highlighted the form and structure implicit in Stravinsky’s music and was danced fluidly and with appropriately muted energy.
Joan Reinthaler, The Washington Post (online)
The Cantate Chamber Singers and an excellent group of vocal soloists brought rarely heard music by Handel to Bethesda on Friday at St. John's Norwood Parish, performing the three-hour-long "Brockes Passion." ...While Handel's work follows the traditional Passion story -- the course of events leading to Jesus's crucifixion -- it does so with fire and ice, combining high dramatic tension, an emotionally wrought cast of characters and even fast-paced dialogue. Together these elements suggest live theater laced throughout with blood and gore in explicit, endless detail.
Friday's soloists, chorus and orchestra not only offered splendid performances, they also portrayed characters caught up in the emotions of the moment. The Cantate singers played the role of an ancient Greek chorus, commenting with a finger-pointing moralistic twist. Conductor Gisèle Becker took a speedy pace that, along with pungent dotted rhythms, further heightened the sense of theater; the mood of anguish was intensified by the virtuosic orchestra's involvement.
Cecilia Porter, The Washington Post
Menotti's rarely heard, allegorical tale of artistic iconoclasm and social conformism, "The Unicorn, the Gorgon and the Manticore," is written as a series of a cappella choral madrigals, interspersed with movements -- scored for an unusual ensemble of winds, lower strings, harp and percussion -- that are intended to be danced. The Cantate Chamber Singers teamed with the distinctive and prolific D.C. ensemble Bowen McCauley Dance at Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church on Sunday for a fine production of Menotti's work....Conductor Gisèle Becker found the wit and neoclassical grace in this piece, and drew lovely, text-conscious singing from the Chamber Singers. Earlier in the program, the 34-member choir (divided into subgroups of 17) sang enchantingly through a program of short, animal-themed pieces (with Hindemith's rapt Rilke-setting "A Swan" and Josquin des Prez's onomatopoeic "The Cricket" proving most memorable).
Joe Banno, The Washington Post
Conductor Gisele Becker and her Cantate Chamber Singers delivered a performance of Haydn's exuberant oratorio "The Creation" on Saturday evening at Westmoreland Church in Bethesda. With a choir of 35 and orchestra of 30 -- just the right size for the warmly immediate acoustics of the church -- Becker shaped introspective moments with sensitivity and kept faster movements surging forward at a smacking pace.
Joe Banno, The Washington Post
The Cantate Chamber Singers, under Music Director Gisele Becker, reliably present programs that feature both unfamiliar repertoire and intriguing themes... Becker and the Cantate Chamber Singers put equal commitment into every note of their precise, riveting performance.
Andrew Lindemann Malone, The Washington Post
"..a version as transfixing as it was bold...riveting in its fresh, impassioned and personal vision..."
Cecelia Porter, The Washington Post
"..the group retained impeccable diction and superb intonation...overtones floated throughout the room, as seductive harmonies were brought out with rippling waves of sound."
Bob Waters, The Washington Post
"The program was not only beautifully sung, expertly paced and balanced, it was a series of revelations for the thoughtful listener. "
Joseph McLellan, The Washington Post
"Cantate Singers, Hitting It Big. . .The choir wept and exulted, knocked off florid coloratura...all with polish and scrupulous sectional balancing."
Joe Banno, The Washington Post
"..the 35-member Cantate Chamber Singers reveled in agility...conductor Gisèle Becker has molded her group into a well-balanced and responsive ensemble....focused, intelligent music-making..."
Joan Reinthaler, The Washington Post
"The depth of talent in the ensemble was evident from the quality of the soloists and Gisèle Becker led the singers in a truly virtuoso performance..."
T. Elizabeth Cason, Gazette Newspapers
"A Fauré Requiem to die for...enviable balance and emotional precision...intricate webbing of voices...diaphanous."
Thomas May, The Washington Post
