December 6, 2007

Music on a small scale
Not all local holiday concerts must be blockbusters
By Jeff Rapsis jrapsis@hippopress.com

Bigger is better, but good things also come in small packages. For a change of pace this holiday season, try a live concert that dares take something other than the Mormon Tabernacle Choir approach. Here are a few choices.

• “Bringing Peace, Giving Light: New and Ancient Songs” presented by Concord Community Music School. Expand your horizons on Thursday, Dec. 13, with a multicultural program of music from medieval Jewish, Christian and Arabic cultures through the centuries to today. The free midday performance, while not a traditional holiday concert, provides a chance to consider the season from different perspectives.

Nancy Knowles and Frank Wallace, known together as “Duo LiveOak,” employ an eclectic set of performing skills, using a mix of voice, old and new flutes, and the guitar and its cousins, the lute and oud, to make music.

The concert will include a selection of Wallace’s settings of traditional and ancient carols, from his new Gyre CD, JOY: Songs and carols for a season of light. The concert, part of the Concord Community Music School’s “Bach’s Lunch” series, starts at noon on Thursday, Dec. 13, at the school’s recital hall at 23 Wall St., Concord.

• ‘‘Christmastime” presented by Belle Voci. The Manchester-based singing group presents an intimate holiday concert of classical and traditional carols on Saturday, Dec. 15, in Manchester. It’s a nice mix of pieces sung by some of the area’s most highly regarded voices: sopranos Karol Carroll and Martha Ebel, tenor Christopher Porth, and bass Mark Andrew Cleveland, who will be joined by singers Malia Lundahl and Kim Bolling. Pianist Kathryn Southworth accompanies.

Musical offerings range from a classical ensemble version of “Silent Night” to a quartet arrangement of “Christmastime is Here” from the Charlie Brown Christmas special. The last piece, by the way, is the source of the name of Belle Voci’s latest recording, Christmastime.

The concert is Saturday, Dec. 15, at 2 p.m. at Grace Episcopal Church, 106 Lowell St., Manchester. Tickets cost $15, $12 for seniors, and are available at the door. For more info, call 848-7986 or visit www.bellevoci.org.

• “Season of Fantasy” presented by Manchester Community Music School. Nothing like live harp music to add to your holiday soundtrack. Join local harpist Piper Runnion-Bareford in a free lunchtime concert of seasonal favorites on Wednesday, Dec. 19, at noon in downtown Manchester.

A well-known local freelance harpist, Runnion-Bareford is preparing a master’s thesis in urban ministry in part by focusing on how to use music to improve the lives of low-income people in the city of Manchester. Bring your lunch along and enjoy Runnion-Bareford’s free hour-long program starting at noon on Wednesday, Dec. 19, at Grace Episcopal Church, 106 Lowell St., Manchester.

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