The King’s Singers Ensemble Performs Like A Well-Oiled Machine

The King’s Singers Tuesday, Feb. 28, the Opera House

The King’s Singers are certainly the Maserati of vocal ensembles. They have the power, the grace, and they can turn on a metaphorical dime as they shift styles. With just six male voices, there is no room for extra baggage, and none of them is just along for the ride.

From deep bass up to countertenor, the members of the well-matched group were all strong, accurate and in fine voice last Tuesday at the Opera House.

Although the King’s Singers, as an entity, is celebrating its 25th year, none of the individuals in the ensemble have been on board for the duration. Only three members were in the group when I saw them last. The turnover, however, doesn’t seem to be a detriment, owing in part to a consistent tradition of choral singing in England, and also to the fact the ensemble concertizes constantly.

The real strength of the group lies in their repertoire and arrangements. Sure, they sing with perfect balance, pitch and phrasing 99 percent of the time. But if they had nothing but schlock to sing, the golden throats would soon turn to lead.

Over the years, the King’s Singers have added volumes to their library, from folk tunes to pop songs to commissions of new pieces. They publish some of the material from their concerts and recordings and, alongside arrangements by The Bobs, these are the most coveted by chorister wannabes.

Tuesday night’s opener was a set of American folk songs arranged by Bob Chilcott, one of the senior members of the group.

The setting of “I Bought Me a Cat” included all of the usual animal vocalizations, but the exuberance with which the pig’s line was executed was a continuing source of chuckles for the audience. In introducing this song, Chilcott shuddered at the barbaric American practice of buying spouses, which has all but died out in England. Political correctness dictated that the final purchase in this number be a horse; in his version the wife is now “found.”

Gian-Carlo Menotti’s “Moans, Groans, Cries and Sighs: A Composer at Work” was commissioned by the King’s Singers in 1981. This piece tells the story, in graphic and humorous detail, of the horrific pain a composer must endure while bringing a new work into the world. It was hilarious.

Singing ballads is a specialty for the King’s Singers, whether it be “Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair” or U2’s “MLK.” For the most part, however, this is ballad-bycommittee, since there is not a lead singer in the group. All six men are capable of taking the lead or singing back-up vocals and can switch instantaneously.

Some of the individual character of personal expression is lost along the path to homogeneity, but it can easily be forgiven while listening to the six functioning as a unit in close harmony. There were audible sighs at the end of Billy Joel’s “And So It Goes.”

Everything they sing, they sing equally well, but I still maintain a preference. Their renditions of Renaissance works by William Byrd and Thomas Tallis gave me the chills. It’s as if genetic memory from the 16th century dictated every nuance. This group sets the standard for pieces of this ilk. Atavistic or not, that is how it should be done.