Cantate, Latin Edition

Ten rehearsals and two concerts later, another whirlwind season of Cantate is over. This time, the theme of our program was Latin, meaning we had a hodgepodge of classical Latin pieces, Latin American folk songs, and Latin jazz numbers. Saxophonist and band leader Greg Ward accompanied us on several pieces, then his band led the second half of the program with Latin jazz numbers. When I read the program notes, I realized that Ward had been born in 1982, meaning he's only 3 years older than me. Considering that Ward travels, composes and performs all over the world (he just got back from Spain), I was immediately hit with a sense that I Have Accomplished Nothing With My Life. But I digress.

This program was stylistically more diverse and overall less challenging for audiences. Don't get me wrong, I love the lush, warm traditional choral works we performed last fall, but as with any piece with depth, it takes repeated exposure to fully grasp the motivation behind the pieces. We had a couple stunningly beautiful Latin pieces at the beginning of the concert, one dedicated to the passing of one of our own members from cancer, and I was happy to hear people comment that these were gorgeous. However, the most accessible piece was undoubtedly "Chili con Carne," a Latin jazz piece ironically written by Swedes. This is a fun, whimsical piece that is actually a recipe, with directives like "don't forget the Mexican spices/without them you won't get the flavor of Mexican sunshine" and "when your mouth gets full of fire/you might need something to drink/one or two or three or four or/seven beers will be enough."

Much to my relief, only two of our pieces were in Spanish; the rest were either in Latin or were some sort of nonsensical scat singing. Having studied French and Latin, I know just enough about romance languages to royally butcher the rules of pronunciation for Spanish. Conclusion: I will take the rapid-fire rhythmic challenge of "wa p t ba da da t ba ba chi ki ba tsao" over the trimmed diphthongs of Spanish any day.

On another note, the recessionary economy has damaged the finances of many groups, including performing arts organizations. Nowhere is this more evident than in the conservative programming that many groups have planned for the next year. In good years, ensembles are able to take risks, plan challenging programs, commission pieces and premiere new works. For next year, Chicago Acappella will be rehashing old standards (Beatles, "Holiday Favorites") in an effort to draw audience members and cut down on rehearsal time. Grant Park Orchestra will be performing Beethoven 9 and a lot of material you have probably already heard. Oh, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is performing Beethoven 9 too, the third time in 5 years that they've ended their season with the piece.

Cantate has always been entirely self-financed, depending on its members for publicity and to drum up an audience. When all is said and done, we usually clear about $100 in the bank when all the bills are paid. For this concert, we had enough saved up that we were able to take a chance and veer sharply away from recognizable names and pieces. It remains to be seen whether the gamble paid off, but I am extremely grateful for everyone that did come out to support us.

Anyway, I strongly encourage you all to continue supporting live music and the arts.