REVIEWS
"Baritone delivers a challenging and beautiful recital of art songs for the Voces Intimae gala." -
- Gregory Sullivan Isaacs, Theater Jones, pub. February 17, 2015
Read more here.
- Gregory Sullivan Isaacs, Theater Jones, pub. February 17, 2015
Read more here.
" There is something honest and commutative about a song recital that other concerts can’t approach. A composer’s take on a text, which is then handed off to a singer to bring it to life and an audience to be affected by it is one of the great transformations in the musical world. This is why Sarah Titus worked with the Dallas Opera to establish an art song series and it is the mission of a dedicated board of directors that brings us Voces Intimae... Under the artistic direction of baritone Christian Bester, the art song group is pointed in a new and revitalized direction. The concert on Feb. 16 at Zion Lutheran Church in Dallas was a good example. The program, called "Texas Lekka: Roundup of Texas Composers," featured songs by Simon Sargon, Francis Osentowski, Robert Xavier Rodriguez, Joelle Wallach and Margaret Barrett."
- Gregory Sullivan Isaacs, Theater Jones, pub. February 24, 2015
Read more here.
- Gregory Sullivan Isaacs, Theater Jones, pub. February 24, 2015
Read more here.
"Greater love hath no person than to have given up Sunday afternoon’s glorious weather for an indoor concert. But Voces Intimae, Dallas’ spunky art-song series, had a decent audience for a particularly enterprising and enjoyable program of art songs by Texas-based composers. The music was all fairly conservative but capably crafted."
- Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, pub. February 17, 2014
Read more here.
- Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, pub. February 17, 2014
Read more here.
"Albert has a stupendous voice of galactic size. There is no way to describe the huge, deep, perfectly place and resonant sound that comes out of his burley body. It is as if he is surrounded by an invisible shower stall. At full tilt, it made the walls of the very large room virtually vibrate as his voice filled every cubic meter. But he is also able to pull it down to a lyrical soft and floating pianissimo, which is surprising in such a big voice."
- Gregory Sullivan Isaacs, TheaterJones, pub. January 13, 2014
Read more here.
- Gregory Sullivan Isaacs, TheaterJones, pub. January 13, 2014
Read more here.
"Taking over as artistic director this season is Christian Bester, a South African baritone who studied at Southern Methodist University’s Meadows School of the Arts before pursuing doctoral studies at the University of North Texas. Bester acknowledges the perception of art song as an esoteric medium, even within the field of classical music. For maximum effect, it requires careful attention to words as well as music from singer, pianist and audience. But it’s hard to sit through, say, Schubert’s Die Winterreise (The Winter Journey) without feeling the emotional wallop of hopes dashed, love lost and, finally, profound isolation."
- Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, pub. Octover 11, 2013
Read more here.
- Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, pub. Octover 11, 2013
Read more here.
"Given the vast riches of the art-song repertory, from Schubert through Jake Heggie and Ricky Ian Gordon, it’s a shame it’s treated as such a poor stepsister to operas, symphonic works, chamber music and solo piano fare. So we must be grateful to Voces Intimae, Dallas’ art-song series, now starting its eighth season... Soprano Bronwen Forbay was appealing, radiant and communicative in her performance in the Voces Intimae program at Zion Lutheran Church."
- Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, pub. October 14, 2013
Read more here.
- Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, pub. October 14, 2013
Read more here.
"Overall, it was a delightful afternoon of singing. Let us all join in with a hearty “Bravo” to Voces Intimae for continuing to present art song in the area."
- Gregory Sullivan Isaacs, Theater Jones, pub. October 15, 2013
Read more here.
- Gregory Sullivan Isaacs, Theater Jones, pub. October 15, 2013
Read more here.
"Once in a great while there’s a singing voice so beautiful that we can’t quite imagine it’s coming out of a merely human throat. Jason Awbrey has a baritone like that... Having admired his brief solos in groups such as the Orpheus Chamber Singers, Dallas Bach Society and a church choir, I’ve long hoped he would do a song recital someday. Wishes were answered Sunday afternoon at Zion Lutheran Church, thanks to the art-song series Voces Intimae."
- Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, pub. January 27, 2013
Read more here.
“There is something about hearing a skilled singer interpret a song. It grabs you on a gut level. It can bring tears or laughter. The best folk, pop and country singers know this very well…Artistic Director Elizabeth Racheva complied a concert that took the audience on a fantastic voyage through the Greek Isles. Represented were great composers from the past (Brahms, Ravel, Schubert, Debussy, Wolf, Hahn, Lully, Haydn, Vaughn Williams) and of our time (Cowell, Bolcom, Herman, Andoniadis)...Songs by this highly disparate group of composers was ingeniously knit together by a tenuous, but effective, narration that was available in the program.”
- Gregory Sullivan Issacs, Theater Jones, May 2010 on The Greeks concert
“With Latinos now outnumbering gringos in Dallas, it’s almost a scandal that local classical music groups have shown so little interest in music from south of the Rio Grande. Voces Intimae, Dallas’ still-young art-song series, went some way to redressing the neglect Saturday night.”
- Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News on Feel The Rhythm: Song of Latin America concert
“Before Voces Intimae, chances to hear art songs around here were rare indeed. And even in cities where the medium gets more attention, repertories from Western Europe are performed far more often than Russian and Scandinavian. Saturday's selection provided revelatory variety……communicative performer with a voice nicely balancing warmth and tang….. sang expressively”
- Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News on White Night & Northern Lights: Russian & Scandinavian Art Song concert
“Voces rescues Wolf's little-heard prize…… Rare's the concertgoer, even the most dedicated one, who's heard – even had a chance to hear – a live performance of Hugo Wolf's Italienisches Liederbuch…… Dallas' newish art-song series Voces Intimae provided a rare, and imaginative, performance of the work Sunday evening at Grace United Methodist Church…….The four young singers brought not only powerful, expressive voices but also physically gripping presences…..”
- Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News on Italian Songbook
“Voces Intimae, Dallas' new art-song series, had the nice idea of tailoring its Saturday afternoon concert, in Horchow Auditorium at the Dallas Museum of Art, to the DMA's current Van Gogh exhibition...French composers dominated, but Germany, England and Russia were represented, too.… magical performance..clear diction and a gracious way with phrases…riveting drama [with] singing [that] radiates intelligence, culture and sensitivity….sang with sophistication…expressive savvy…plenty of good ideas, and passion…”
- Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News on Impression of Nature: Harvest of Song concert
“……There are zillions of art songs but not many opportunities in this area to hear them. A new Dallas group took a small step toward addressing that problem on Sunday afternoon. Voces Intimae… launched a series devoted to the neglected form…[The performers were] a confident group that projected strongly when forcefulness was in order but took care to observe subtle varieties of mood.…haunting performance…. exceptionally appealing….a nice variety of moods …. confident and generally sensitive piano accompaniments….”
- Olin Chism, Dallas Morning News on Los Colores Del Amor: A Recital of Spanish Song in Celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month
- Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, pub. January 27, 2013
Read more here.
“There is something about hearing a skilled singer interpret a song. It grabs you on a gut level. It can bring tears or laughter. The best folk, pop and country singers know this very well…Artistic Director Elizabeth Racheva complied a concert that took the audience on a fantastic voyage through the Greek Isles. Represented were great composers from the past (Brahms, Ravel, Schubert, Debussy, Wolf, Hahn, Lully, Haydn, Vaughn Williams) and of our time (Cowell, Bolcom, Herman, Andoniadis)...Songs by this highly disparate group of composers was ingeniously knit together by a tenuous, but effective, narration that was available in the program.”
- Gregory Sullivan Issacs, Theater Jones, May 2010 on The Greeks concert
“With Latinos now outnumbering gringos in Dallas, it’s almost a scandal that local classical music groups have shown so little interest in music from south of the Rio Grande. Voces Intimae, Dallas’ still-young art-song series, went some way to redressing the neglect Saturday night.”
- Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News on Feel The Rhythm: Song of Latin America concert
“Before Voces Intimae, chances to hear art songs around here were rare indeed. And even in cities where the medium gets more attention, repertories from Western Europe are performed far more often than Russian and Scandinavian. Saturday's selection provided revelatory variety……communicative performer with a voice nicely balancing warmth and tang….. sang expressively”
- Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News on White Night & Northern Lights: Russian & Scandinavian Art Song concert
“Voces rescues Wolf's little-heard prize…… Rare's the concertgoer, even the most dedicated one, who's heard – even had a chance to hear – a live performance of Hugo Wolf's Italienisches Liederbuch…… Dallas' newish art-song series Voces Intimae provided a rare, and imaginative, performance of the work Sunday evening at Grace United Methodist Church…….The four young singers brought not only powerful, expressive voices but also physically gripping presences…..”
- Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News on Italian Songbook
“Voces Intimae, Dallas' new art-song series, had the nice idea of tailoring its Saturday afternoon concert, in Horchow Auditorium at the Dallas Museum of Art, to the DMA's current Van Gogh exhibition...French composers dominated, but Germany, England and Russia were represented, too.… magical performance..clear diction and a gracious way with phrases…riveting drama [with] singing [that] radiates intelligence, culture and sensitivity….sang with sophistication…expressive savvy…plenty of good ideas, and passion…”
- Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News on Impression of Nature: Harvest of Song concert
“……There are zillions of art songs but not many opportunities in this area to hear them. A new Dallas group took a small step toward addressing that problem on Sunday afternoon. Voces Intimae… launched a series devoted to the neglected form…[The performers were] a confident group that projected strongly when forcefulness was in order but took care to observe subtle varieties of mood.…haunting performance…. exceptionally appealing….a nice variety of moods …. confident and generally sensitive piano accompaniments….”
- Olin Chism, Dallas Morning News on Los Colores Del Amor: A Recital of Spanish Song in Celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month