Pioneer Press: Two Minnesota choirs blend in fine harmonic form in Apple Valley concert

When two choirs converge, you never know what you'll get. Will it be a fine fit or a clash of sounds and styles? And then there's the conductor question: Who leads the combined forces of the two groups?

On Sunday afternoon at Apple Valley's Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church, one such meeting of the voices occurred when Minneapolis' VocalEssence Ensemble Singers and the Choral Arts Ensemble of Rochester concluded a home-and-home series of concerts (one in Rochester, one in the Twin Cities) by harmonizing remarkably well for a freshly assembled choir.

And the conductors — Vocal Essence's Philip Brunelle and Choral Arts' Michael Culloton — took turns on the podium before repeatedly pushing one another aside on a finale of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," providing a light-hearted end to a concert with lots of intriguing music, most of it of recent vintage.

Minnesota is filled with exceptional choirs, but Choral Arts Ensemble is among the few that seems to have followed the VocalEssence template, building their repertoire around new works and sometimes commissioning them. One such piece was among the highlights of the concert, a rich, reverent, psalm-inspired work by young composer Kentaro Sato.

Brunelle and the 30-voice VocalEssence Ensemble Singers responded with a set that exposed their adventurous side. Julian Anderson's "Beautiful Valley of Eden" was an intriguing work that separated the choir into four groups, spread them across the church's lengthy stage, and sent their phrases and harmonies careening off one another, often finding unexpected alignments. And imaginative Eric Whitacre's "Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine" was an inspiring sonic journey with a finale that sounded like floating on the wind.

When the two choirs combined for the second half of the concert, their voices immediately blended into a beautifully balanced whole on a Mendelssohn hymn. But their harmonies really reached full flower on two pieces by English composer Charles Stanford, the afternoon's best examples of the kind of lush, layered harmonies for which the Minnesota choral tradition is known.

It soothed listeners before Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo invigorated them by unleashing a menagerie of metaphors on "Unicornus Captivatur," the closest thing to a centerpiece on this varied program.

Rob Hubbard can be reached at rhubbard@pioneerpress.com.