It’s hard to believe, but Los Cantantes del Lago’s Christmas Concert “Lakeside for the Holidays,” is going to be even more impressive than ever!
Having been invited to attend a rehearsal, I came away feeling as if I’d had a week’s holiday. The music is so joyful, everyone is happy and clearly thoroughly enjoys what they’re doing.
The humorous rapport Director Timothy G. Ruff Welch enjoys with his choir, and with collaborative pianist Eleanor Stromberg, is unquestionably one of the key factors in the superb quality of the music and the choir’s unquestionable success.
This year, the opening piece “Gloria,” accompanied by Stromberg on piano, sets the tone for the entire event. It’s loud, vibrant and contains some exquisite harmonies.
Old favorites with new treatments, as well as some less well-known works, all jostle for attention on the evening’s program.
Hermann Schroeder’s clever arrangements of such popular carols as “Away in a Manger” and “Ding Dong! Merrily on High,” amongst others, are accompanied by three members of the Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra: violinist Diego Rojas, oboist Jorge Rivero and cellist Issac Ramirez, which adds yet another musical dimension.
The unusual variation on John Pierpont’s “Jingle Bells,” arranged by Mark Hayes, is a fascinating piece and will keep the audience busy spotting and trying to name all the other pieces of music encompassed within the work. The soloist is the versatile Jayme Littlejohn, accompanied by Israel Alcantar Medeles.
There are plenty of surprises in store, but one of the highlights of the show is “Let Gladness know No End.” It contains multiple harmonies and the music seems to rise and fall, rolling in powerful waves throughout the hall – utterly breathtaking and unforgettable.
Sung in Hebrew, thanks to the coaching in pronunciation of choir member Olga Kaplounenko, the song of peace, “Oseh Shalom,” is exquisite. Penned by Ben Steinberg, this arrangement was written by Welch himself.
Another moving carol is Schroeder’s arrangement of “‘Twas in the Moon of Wintertime” that has quite an interesting history. Canada’s oldest Christmas hymn, it is known as the Huron Carol and was based on a traditional French folk song written in the Huron/Wendat language by Jean de Preboeuf, a Jesuit missionary at Sainte-Marie. Its Huron title is “Jesous Ahatonhia” - Jesus he is born. The English version by Jesse Middleton followed some 300 years later.
Los Cantantes members have a hectic couple of weeks ahead of them. Interspersed between rehearsals and their Ajijic Christmas concerts, they will be performing the two regular fundraising concerts for the women’s hospitality industry school, El Centro Educativo Jaltepec, as well as a free recital in Guadalajara. Held on December 12 at the Andares Shopping Mall in the open air, this event begins at 6 p.m. and even includes snow!
Definitely the perfect way to set the mood for the festive season, “Lakeside for the Holidays” will take place at the Auditorio Ribera on Tuesday, December 9, 7 p.m. and Wednesday, December 10, 4 p.m. The bar and ticket office will open an hour earlier. Tickets are also available from members and via the Los Cantantes website www.loscantantesdellago.com.