The College saw its first Senior Concert in 1968 after senior members of the Glee Club asked to have a spring concert with music they had sung during their years with the Club. The concert concludes with the traditional passing of the wine-filled Senior Chalice.
Director of the Glee Club Mallorie Chernin said, "It's a tradition I inherited, along with the chalice, when I began working at Amherst as the Director of Choral Music [Activities] in 1986."
The program honored the Glee Club's two graduating members, Jean-Claude Desrosiers and Ben Kaufman.
The show began when the members of the group ran down the aisles towards the stage. Chernin then initiated the program and at once silenced an eager crowd when, with a prompt wave of her cue, the men triumphantly sang "The Last Words of David," composed by Randall Thompson. Junior Daniel Curtis accompanied on the piano. This was the first of 12 songs.
The program reflected an impressive variety of songs drawn from sacred, secular and popular music cultures. "The Last Words of David" began powerfully-fitting for a song commemorating God's might. Although initially highly rhythmic, the melody became incrementally more prominent during the song's latter half. It ended softly, perhaps to represent the tenderness that accompanies divine might.
The religious theme continued with the second song, "Ascendit Deus" by Jacob Handl. It began with overlapping voices singing the initial lines and ended equally remarkably.
In marked contrast to the program's solemn beginning, the Glee Club next sang a song that has become an integral part of the choral repertoire, "Brothers, Sing On!" by Edvard Grieg, and arranged by Howard Mckinney. The song had a youthful charm and palatable energy which helped to convey its central message of brotherhood and love. At one point, they sang "Errant minstrels, thus we greet you/List to our voices strong/With glad and open hearts we meet you/in our festival of song" and urged "Brothers in Song, Sing On!" Assistant Director and Mt. Holyoke alumna Katie Vogele directed this song and the next, called, "Down Among the Dead Men."
But perhaps the most exciting of the items, although each was impressively delivered, was a Japanese song titled, "Ue O Muite Aruko," by Hachidai Nakamura. The song had a distinct, almost peppy flavor that lingered throughout the evening. It was accompanied by the Glee Club men whistling and snapping which underlined its syncopated rhythm. The singers, grinning widely, were enjoying themselves thoroughly and the audience was equally enthused.
Oddly, a glance at the translation in the program revealed that the song's peppiness disguised what are, frankly, sad lyrics: "I look up when I walk so the tears won't fall/remembering those happy spring days, but tonight I'm all alone." The song was memorable regardless.
Other songs included, "Bushes and Briars," an old Essex Folk Song, "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child," arranged by Fenno Heath and "Old Man Noah," a sea chantey arranged by Marshall Bartholomew.
"Sometimes I feel like a Motherless Child" featured a solo by Michael Bernstein '08, whose performance won praise from several attendees.
The program concluded with two uplifting songs: "Manly Men" by Kurt Knecht and the "Senior Song," by James S. Hamilton, class of 1906. "Manly Men" parodies traditional stereotypes of choir men. At one point, while distancing themselves from their female counterparts in a light-hearted attempt to highlight their own masculinity, they evoked hissing from the back where the women's choir was seated.
Their self-deprecating humor drew chuckles and frequent applause from the audience. One popular line from the song read, "Singing still at twenty-three/Like we missed our puberty … Tight underwear's the key/To singing a high 'C.'"
The "Senior Song" capped a magnificent evening with a proud dose of tradition. The seniors of the club received and drank from the chalice during the performance and were applauded heartily by peers, the director and members of the audience. The song had an appropriately worded chorus that read, "So raise the rosy goblet high, the senior chalice, and belie the tongues that slander and defile, for we have yet a little while to linger, youth and you and I, in College days."
The seniors' voices changed noticeably after drinking, to which the audience laughed enthusiastically.
Chernin explained, "The tradition of drinking wine from the chalice started, again, long before I got to Amherst College. It's a tradition that clearly marks a rite of passage and that the guys really enjoy. It makes the upcoming commencement ceremony feel imminent, real."
Attendees had good things to say about the performance. Hung Ahn Kim '09 said, "I enjoyed it a lot. There were so many different kinds of songs it would have been difficult for them not to entertain." When asked about the tradition, he said, "It's nice to learn about these traditions. It gives us a sense of the history that created this place."
Alex Lee '09 echoed Kim's sentiments. "The chalice never gets old. The group always gives off a great vibe. Everybody in the audience I talked to enjoyed themselves. I certainly did," said Lee.
Chernin thought they did well especially given the program's difficulty. She also extended her appreciation to the club's leadership: "The Glee Club is lucky to have Mike Bernstein '08 as president and Steve Stewart '09 as vice president. Leadership also comes from other officers and the wonderful spirit and team work that exists in the group."
Although we expect the Glee Club to continue to impress us next year, it is sad that we have to let some members go.