On Sunday March 20th, at Gladwyne Presbyterian Church, the yearly traditional celebration: Bach Birthday Gala featuring Maestro Radu on piano and organ along with the exciting sounds of  Rainer Beckmann's recorders and Kemper Florin's angelic voice!  

 
Then in all our fullest spring splendor, Ama Deus Ensemble performs the audience favorite on Friday, March 25th: Bach B-minor Mass at the Kimmel Center with a repeat concert at Daylesford Abbey on Sunday March 27!

  

Plus, in this newsletter, read the "behind the music" interviews with Megan Monaghan,  Timothy Bentch and Ed Bara.  For those who missed listening to it and want more: Maestro Radu has a great WRTI radio interview that goes into the history of "Vox" and the Maestro's own musical roots and legacy!

  

(And be sure to look at next month's concert: Rebels in Paris!  This is a very special mix of composers and selections, combined with our largest ever ensemble of voices and instruments that Vox Ama Deus has ever gathered together!  This rare concert is part of PIFA and is a unique treat for us to perform - it may never be repeated and is not to be missed!)

  

 

Last season during the Vox Ama Deus Mozart Gala on April 30th, audiences were introduced to the stunning vocal talents of Megan Monaghan.  That evening, Megan was Valentin Radu's soprano soloist in both Mozart's technically demanding Grand Mass in C minor and scenes from his ever-popular comic opera, The Marriage of Figaro, singing the role of the pert Susanna.  By happenstance Ms. Monaghan is also Mrs. Daniel Boring.  And Dan Boring is fondly known to Vox audiences as the fellow who fascinates audiences from behind that funny-looking guitar with the impossibly long, left-hand-side fret board.  I sat down with Megan and Dan to chat about their associations with Vox Ama Deus and matters musical.  I enjoyed learning a great deal about them and their music.  As I hoped when I opted to speak to them as a duo, this husband and wife engaged in a verbal duet that brought out insights that either alone might have glossed over.  Megan will be soprano soloist in the March 25 and 27 performances of Bach's B minor Mass.

 

RAS: Megan, I first met you when you performed during a benefit recital for Vox Ama Deus at the Romanian Consulate in Philadelphia; that was about two years ago.  As I recall that was an intimate affair with Metropolitan Opera basso Keith Miller, and with Valentin Radu at the keyboard.  Let's be honest - the ladies in the room focused on Keith; but I only had eyes--and ears--for you.  How did this come about?

 

MM: I first met Maestro Radu through my husband, Daniel Boring, the Baroque Guitar and Theorbo player for the orchestra.  Lucky for me, Dan asked Valentin to hear me...and he persisted and persisted... 

  

 DB: Yeah...Valentin must have thought I was the typical pushy stage-hubby.  But after a while of constant bother, he believed me, auditioned Megan and she sold herself, as I expected.   

 

MM: My first concert performance with Vox's Ama Deus Ensemble was the Mozart Gala at the Kimmel Center last year.  The concert repertoire was Mozart's Mass in C minor as well as excerpts from Le nozze di Figaro.  It was a wonderful program because it called for me to contrast the serious, sublime sacred music of the Mass with comically charged scenes from Figaro.  In Figaro both comic and serious ways of dealing with personal relationships, and sexual tensions, are always present.  In contrast, in the Mass Mozart found perfect expression for serious, universal matters.  That evening presented the audience, and the performers, with vastly different sets of circumstances, set to equally appropriate music by the same man who composed both works with the same musical vocabulary.

 

RAS: Before going on stage with Maestro Radu and Vox Ama Deus, you were a notable presence in the audience.  After all, Dan is a regular member of Vox's three instrumental ensembles...Vox Renaissance Consort, Camerata Ama Deus and the Orchestra of the Ama Deus Ensemble.  From this vantage point, and as a professional musician, what performances stand out and why?

 

MM: It is almost impossible to choose a particular performance or two.  Valentin gives so much of himself to every concert that each piece takes on a special quality that may not be the same it was in rehearsal or the performance the night before.  As a performer, I can feel, see and hear how Dan and our friends respond to Valentin when a new or different artistic idea hits him and they all go down an unplanned path for many thrilling moments.   

DB: Maestro Radu's dedication to the music and musicians that play for him are the strongest factors in keeping the orchestra playing at the highest level possible.  Our orchestra is more like a tight-knit family of extremely talented individuals who want to contribute to the greater good of us all.  And we have a great time too! 

 

MM: Dick, let me answer a follow-up question I feel you probably want to ask me, even before you do!  "What make Valentin and Vox stand out to me as a performing artist?"  It is the dedication that both Maestro Radu and Vox's musicians pay to the music that is remarkable, because it makes for a stellar concert experience every performance.

 

RAS: Your next concerts with Vox are on March 25 and 27 as soprano soloist in one of Western culture's most renowned--and probably most daunting to perform--works of musical genius and spirituality.  So Megan, what are some of your favorite moments in the B minor Mass?

 

MM: I would have to say that the "Laudamus Te"; it is one of my favorite moments in the Mass.  The duet between the violin and voice is just stunning.  I have long admired the playing of Thomas DiSarlo (Vox's concertmaster)and am really looking forward to singing the piece with him!  Another favorite moment I have is in the "Christe eleison," not only in the sweeping melodies as the two voices sing in harmony, but there is a beautiful ritornello for the orchestra's strings.

 

[Interviewer's Note: Ritornello is Italian for "little return."  Generally, a ritornello is a short instrumental conclusion to an aria after the singer's part ends.  But it can also indicate an instrumental introduction to an aria leading to the singer's entrance, or an interlude, giving the singer a little rest!]]

 

RAS: As you know, I am a professionally trained [Maestro's Note: Curtis graduate!] singer too.  So, I really want to hear your views about some of the mysteries concerning our side of the music business:  things like "What sort of soprano are you?" or "Do you sing Baroque and Classic period music the same way you sing Romantic or modern music or opera?" 

 

MM: No matter what I sing, the vocal technique is the same; the basics for healthy singing, for communicative, beautiful singing, remain the same.  But the stylistic approach differs in many subtle ways.  For instance, this spring I will sing two contrasting operatic leading ladies.  With Intermountain Opera I will portray Rossini's pert and headstrong Rosina in The Barber of Seville.  This is followed by Marguerita in Gounod's Romantic opera Faust in addition to the B minor Mass with Vox.   I think we all know the basics of the Faust story, as the heroine goes from innocent and pretty small town girl, to the lover of Faust who is a tool of the Devil, to an unwed mother accused of murdering her baby.  Her music ranges from innocent simplicity, to florid showcase arias, to very powerful stuff...especially the scene of her salvation.  Throughout Faust I sing with a vocal and musical style appropriate to mid-19^th-century opera.  For example, the musical phrases are often sung with a longer--legato (i.e., smoother)--line than in much Baroque music.  Usually in Romantic opera you gracefully connect the notes, although I don't mean I scoop and slide all around.  But legato singing calls for a different aesthetic effect.  And this especially is where technique comes in.  I think of producing a darker, richer, more dramatic and emotional sound.  I sing the words with darker, richer vowels...

 

RAS: What do you mean?

 

MM: You know, singers use lots of imagery to get their minds to a place where the voice responds with the sound they want to produce.  So, let's go back to the Mass in C minor ... when singing words like "Dona nobis pacem" (give us peace) I use a brighter and more hopeful sound.  In contrast, when Marguerita begs Faust and the Devil to have pity on her, there might be more edge to the sound, a different emotional intensity.

 

RAS: And in music of the Vox Ama Deus eras? 

 

MM: Generally...but not always...the music should be performed with a cleaner, more focused, lighter sound...both voice and instrument.  The vibrato must be much tighter and less obvious than in some other styles of music. 

DB: So much of the music we perform with Valentin demands a different articulation of the notes than with more Romantic-sounding ensembles.  There's got to be a tiny space...a little bit of light...between the notes. 

MM: Valentin is fond of reminding all of us, "No ties...no dots!"  By this he means that if a "carry-over/connect" line is drawn between two notes of the same pitch and either a rest or a new note follows it, do not sing that second, connected note.  Lift!  And with almost any note that has a "dot" after it, do not sing the value of the "dot."  Lift and cleanly articulate the following note.  We do this hundreds of times in every concert!  But what a difference it makes to the life of the music!

 

RAS adds that Dan shook his head in agreement and brought up another important topic - Ornamentation.  This is the art of performing additional notes not found in the written music, but which were expected to be performed by the artist.  And we three recalled with smiles that during rehearsals for the Mozart Mass in C minor Valentin Radu (who is a master of ornamentation on the organ bench and at the jazz piano...yes Valentin can jam with the best of them!) kept singing unwritten, but stylistic notes and phrases for Megan to add to an already rather complete Mozart vocal line.  MM: Maestro wrote them for me!

 

RAS: When you think of other professional ensembles with which you have performed, what makes performing with Vox meaningful and/or different?

 

MM: Vox Ama Deus is an incredibly special group and Valentin fosters a family type atmosphere.  There is closeness within the group that not only allows for more precision, but a very special performance every time.

 

RAS: What important musical moments, the sorts of things that don't get into a program bio, have given you special musical or artistic happiness?

 

MM: If I had to choose a favorite moment or two, one would be singing Musetta in a performance of La bohème that was held in the Lucca, Italy home of that opera's composer, Giacomo Puccini.  And while I was performing I looked upon Puccini's own piano...only an upright...sitting within the orchestra while singing that magnificent work - and looked out of Puccini's windows at the pine-covered Tuscan mountain views that inspired him to compose such glorious music - saw the kimono worn by the original Madama Butterfly - and Puccini's tiny Baptismal gown - it was a magical experience.  And Dan and I have a photo of us sitting on Puccini's bed!  Another such special moment was singing Bernstein's Candide in Rome's legendary Teatro Argentina (built in 1732) where Rossini premiered his The Barber of Seville in 1816.

 

RAS: Megan, is there anything else you would like to tell the Vox Ama Deus readers and audience?

 

MM: With Valentin, I believe the music speaks for itself. But if I had to tell the audience something, I would say,  "Don't miss a single concert--each and every concert is incredible!"

 

DB: As always, my wife has the last word...

 

  

 

I first came under the spell of the vocal artistry of Timothy Bentch at a Daylesford Abbey performance of Messiah in December 2007.  I was living in Paoli, was free that afternoon, bought my ticket, sat down in the back of the crowded Abbey, waited for the magical E major chords in the orchestra which introduce the scene-setting recitative and aria, and then was transfixed by the voice of a man whose name I was ashamed to realize I did not recognize.  Tim Bentch's "Comfort ye my people" was exactly what I needed at that moment.  Not since experiencing the way in which the famed Canadian dramatic tenor Jon Vickers delivered those same words and notes (on a pre-Baroque revival recording conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham), was I so convinced that the voice I was hearing could indeed bring comfort to me and the other members of the musical congregation there assembled.  Soon I learned that Tim is a man of profound and seriously studied religious faith.  Aside from a second-hand, chauvinistic connection due to our shared Curtis Institute heritage, I felt it was this other attribute that made him so perfect an interpreter of this music and its meaning.  I urge all who read this article, and Tim's following message, to experience him on either March 25 or 27 when Valentin Radu leads the Ama Deus Ensemble in Bach'sB minor Mass.

 

RAS: How did you meet, and first perform with, Valentin Radu?

 

TB: I first performed with Valentin in Bucharest, Romania, in 1997 when he led Handel's Acis and Galatea.  I was living in Hungary at the time, and the Romanian National Radio Orchestra invited me to come to Bucharest to sing the concert.  Musically we had a lovely concert together with the great Romanian soprano Georgeta Stoleriu.  Of course the whole experience became much more than an outstanding concert; being with Valentin in his native land became a lively experience of food, wine, and making wonderful new friends.  When he invited me to sing with Vox Ama Deus in Philadelphia I was delighted.

 

RAS: Since then, what performances do you consider to be the highlights of the Radu-Bentch association?

 

TB: Definitely Handel's Judas Maccabæus.  That performance and recording came together magically - both musically and expressively.  Judas is a great role for me, the orchestra played very well, and the chorus was outstanding.

 

[RAS' Note: I couldn't agree more.  From my vantage point as a member of the chorus and minor soloist in Judas, it was obvious that Tim was really "on!"  Tim's triumph was noted in a 5-star review posted on Amazon.com that urged the public to purchase Vox's compact disc set...and so you should!

Mr. Radu's Judas, Timothy Bentch, offers a heroic blend of ardent, trumpet-like airs, tender quiet moments and impressive coloratura.  He's as fine a tenor Judas as I've heard, avoiding the effete approach of some better-known British tenors, yet stylish too.  His singing alone is worth the price of the set. [Editor's note: you can purchase the CD online from the Vox Ama Deus website store].

 

RAS: Why does this happen when you collaborate with Valentin and Vox Ama Deus?

 

TB: Everyone involved with Vox is passionate - not only about music, but about life.  I have made good friends within Vox, and therefore the musical experiences seem much more than music.  There is spirit and genuine caring for all who are in the Vox community.  These elements add a huge plus to the musical experience which takes it to a different level.  This is a rarity in the musical world, where most of the time we fly in and out and only briefly connect with anyone.

 

RAS: During the Bach B minor Mass, what moments are especially challenging or meaningful to you?

 

TB: The "Benedictus"in the BachB minor Mass is an aria that stands by itself in the tenor repertoire - there is nothing else like it.  When I sing the aria, I always see Jesus right after his triumphal entry in Jerusalem.  The crowds were cheering and lauding him: "Hosanna to the Son of David!"  But then everything stops, almost as if the singer enters into a transcendent place, overcome with love as he gazes upon pure love and compassion.  As I sing, it is challenging to convey this with a purity of tone, with an arching phrase that is simple, but floating on a well-supported sound, being careful that no note jumps out of its place but carries through to the end.  As the words repeat over and over, it is the subtle differences in phrasing that make all the difference.  It only works if inside I have a lot going on that comes out through the musical phrasing.  I usually sit down feeling like I am completely inadequate for such perfect music, but with thanks that I get to sing such glorious, profound music that speaks of Jesus.

 

RAS: When you think of other professional ensembles with which you perform on a regular basis, what makes performing with Vox meaningful and/or different?

 

TB: All of the musicians in the Vox Ama Deus ensemble play at a very high level in their own understanding of the requirements for authentic baroque practice.  Under Valentin's direction, the music-making becomes an orchestra of individual musicians playing both with great ensemble, but also with that special individual character which is only possible in a chamber orchestra with really good players.  Valentin encourages this expression while giving shape to the overall style and dynamic.  Thus we can hear stylistic ornaments added by a small section in unison with one another, knowing that they are playing the style that the conductor wants and that is right for the performance.  This is perhaps best illustrated in Bonnie's [harpsichordist Bronwyn Fix-Keller] continuo playing - sensitive, authentic, but highly individualized as well.

 

RAS: What is next on your performance calendar?

 

TB: Most recently I premiered an opera in New York City as Lincoln in Lincoln, a Poetic Opera by George Andoniadis, and I recorded Janacek's Glagolitic Mass with the Warsaw Philharmonic for the Naxos label.  For many years I lived in Hungary, and last May returned to sing the title role of Titus in Mozart's late opera La clemenza di Tito with the Hungarian State Opera in Budapest, where I sang for many years.  I also had a delightful experience in January singing with Lyric Fest here in Philadelphia in a song and dance concert.

 

At present I am studying at Princeton Theological Seminary, and I am also acting.  For now, I have less emphasis on singing, and I'm glad to develop in other areas of life.   I am also the artistic director for the Crescendo Summer Institute of the Arts in Hungary (www.hungary.crescendo.org) where I return each summer to teach.  This summer we will perform Donizetti's Elixir of Love.

 

RAS: Any final words for the Vox Ama Deus readership and audience?

 

TB: Thank you to all of you who support Vox Ama Deus!

 

  

Ed Bara

Speaks From the Heart

About Vox Ama Deus and His Great Friend,

Valentin Radu

 

The stunning bass-baritone voice, as well as his sheer physical presence, have made Ed Bara a memorable fixture in scores of performances by Vox Ama Deus under Valentin Radu's musical leadership.  As a previous member of the audience, and now of the Ama Deus Ensemble chorus, I am continually amazed at how Ed can move his voice with such speed, agility and accuracy during the Baroque passages that Valentin conducts at higher rates of velocity than one hears in standard renditions.  But Ed stands and delivers...time after time...with seeming ease and endless breath.  Maybe it is easy for this superb vocal artist, but he leaves me breathless!

 

Ed Bara is one of Valentin Radu's oldest musical compatriots in the USA.  And so, I'd prefer to let Ed speak from the heart without the aid of my usual Dirksenesque side-bars.  Ed ... the E-Newsletter is all yours:

 

● I met Valentin in the fall of 1991 as a college student and began singing on a partial paid contract with Vox.  At that time, Vox Ama Deus was just in its infancy, and I was fortunate enough to have the low notes Maestro was looking for the in the Renaissance Ensemble.  He said to me, "Edwardo, you need some work, and I like you."  And with that, I was hired on a part-time basis, with the understanding that I would continue to study.  He talked to me about the importance of every audience member and how they deserved to hear the best music we had to offer.  He also noted that I needed to work on sustaining the length of my vocal lines - which is something I have worked hard on over the years, and which is now a noted strength of my singing. 

 
● Performance Highlights? ... Honestly, there are so many.  I have had the good fortune to have been part of truly great performances of Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Brahms and so many others.  I have enjoyed them all.  We have done obscure Baroque operas and rarely performed oratorios. We have sung "Passions" and "Requiems" with an energy that only Valentin can provide.  If I had to point to one concert, it may be the Verdi Requiem.  I enjoy singing that piece so much, and due to its size, it is not done as often as those of the earlier composers. For those that may not know, Valentin is fully fluent in numerous languages, including Latin, so when he talks about the text there is always something interesting to learn.  But my favorite memory of singing with Valentin happened in the city of Brno in the Czech Republic.  We were singing a Renaissance concert at a feast for that city's 750^th anniversary. There were giant, flaming torches all around Brno's tiny central courtyard. The moment was topped off by a fireworks display that burst right over our heads...and I mean right over, because the paper from the fireworks began to fall in small fiery, pieces onto us and onto our beautiful, velvet-covered costumes.  It was part amazing, part terrifying and part hysterical.  Incidentally, I hope we can take the Vox Renaissance Consort back to Europe for another tour soon.  You can imagine the bonding that came out of past tours, and that bond is part of what makes this group so wonderful.  Most of the people from past tours have long moved on, and it would be great to do it all again with some new people.

 

● Valentin has an instinct for knowing what his performers want or need.  I know, without hesitation, if I decide to hold a line in performance longer than we rehearsed, or add an ornamentation (although afterwards he may ring my neck), I know that he will be right with me leading the orchestra in exactly what I want.  He has a phrase he uses called stick override.  Some singers do not like it. They like music neat and tidy and perfectly rehearsed.  That's not to say he is unrehearsed or unprepared - quite the opposite - but Valentin is so well prepared he can flow with those changes as if he planned it.  Stick override does not mean "I am the conductor and you must do what I say."  It means, "The spirit of this music may take us someplace tonight that we did not expect, and we must be prepared for it."  I love singing with him for many reasons, but that is a big one. When you come to a Vox Ama Deus concert, you will likely be part of something that will only happen on that one night, and it makes it exciting and so rewarding.

 

Since I have been with the group for so long - as a part-time singer, as a paid choral singer, and for some time now as a soloist - I must say that this is simply a wonderful bunch of people.  There are some truly amazing musicians and singers that I get to work with on a regular basis.  And Vox Ama Deus has the most dedicated and giving Board of Directors imaginable.  In a time when many groups are doing less and less, Vox keeps adding bigger and better.
 
● Coming up, I'll be singing the bass solos for our concerts of the Bach B minor Mass.  This work poses an interesting challenge for the bass in that the two solos are so drastically different in tessitura.  [Interviewer's Note: "Tessitura" means whether the average range of a vocal work is high or low.] The first aria, the "Quoniam," is a big, round, bass piece with long sustained lines and accompanied by the corno da caccia, which is a big, round and loud, natural, brass "hunting" horn.  That is followed later by the "Et in Spiritum."  This aria sits much higher in the voice (although it has a few pitches which are actually lower than the"Quoniam") and is accompanied by oboe, which is a much lighter instrument.  It's almost as if you need to be two different singers in one night.  I love the challenge of it - not to mention they are both beautiful pieces to sing, and I get a great seat to hear the rest of this amazing work.
  
● I think my greatest vocal strength is versatility.  I met my voice teacher, Richard Johnson, through my association with Vox, and he helped me build an instrument that is very reliable.  Richard completely developed my top registrations when I had none - and without losing my low notes.  My voice has enough size that I don't have to over-sing to be heard.  It has enough heft to sing Verdi and Beethoven and is still nimble enough to move through the difficult melismas in Handel and Bach.  So, yeah, versatility.  [Interviewer's Note: A "melisma" is also known as "coloratura," those thrilling and challenging rapid runs and trills that are not just for sopranos!]   
  

● I love the spontaneity of Valentin in rehearsal and on the podium.  He is a consummate professional, but he is absolutely 100% fearless, and it is addictive to sing with him.  I love the people.  Everyone involved with the organization is dedicated and genuinely in love with making great music.  I know that with Vox Ama Deus, things will be handled professionally and first class-: from their choice of musicians to the venues, to the amazing after-concert parties!  Everything is done with attention to detail and to make the whole experience as much fun as possible.

 

● I have recently gotten back into staged works with large productions of Kiss me Kate as Fred/Petruccio and The Mikado as the Mikado.  Both productions were good-sized runs - about 6 weeks each - with 7 or 8 performances per week.  It was quite an undertaking.  I really enjoyed being fully immersed in stage show.  The Lights...The Costumes...The Giant Sets.  I didn't realize how much I had missed it until I did one.  I will be doing more work of that nature in the near future.  This summer I will be music director for a production of The Music Man starring David Masenheimer, who recently finished playing Javert in Les Miserables on Broadway.
  

● Valentin and I have a very long relationship and a deep friendship.  We have made music in the happiest and the saddest of times.  We have sung together in countless churches, concert halls, city courtyards, taverns, homesand hotels.  We have played jazz together at the Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center, and sat quietly together watching a sunrise over Albertville, France.  I met my beautiful wife, Jennifer, through Vox Ama Deus, and this March we will celebrate our 15^th anniversary.  I am truly grateful to have had the opportunities to work with, perform with, and be with this ensemble.  I believe it will continue to grow for decades to come, and I hope to continue to be part of it.