Chestnut Street Singers present 'Where the Truth Lies'

The choice of repertoire was diverse, but united in two themes: “Conquest” and “Devotion.” The first half used songs from early North and South America and Renaissance Europe, and the group marched in singing Daniel Read’s “Windham,” a shape-note tune from the Missouri Harmony.

As the group marched down the aisle, one could hear individual voices, but the minute they entered the chancel, their harmonies blended.

Caroline Winschel’s light soprano was stark and sad in Maurice Ravel’s “Trois beaux oiseaux du Paradis,” a woman’s vigil for her lover’s return from war. Lucas DeJesus’s strong — yet not overpowering — bass-baritone voice was smooth, beautiful, and mournful in the American folk song, “The Dying Soldier,” about a Civil War soldier bidding adieu to the world.

The singers also performed a Renaissance Spanish work by Mateo Flecha called “La Guerra.” The composition includes radical style changes from verse to verse and the ensemble stayed together in each transition, a remarkable feat.

Devoted to their craft

The program’s second half, “Devotion,” started with a dreadfully difficult piece by Benjamin Britten, “Hymn to Saint Cecilia,” a setting of a poem by W.H. Auden. The demands for both high voice and difficult harmonies proved too challenging. Nevertheless, Joshua Glassman’s tenor solo stood out.

“I Am the Rose of Sharon,” by William Billings, and “I Love My Love,” by Gustav Holst, featured rich harmonic support from the group’s excellent male singers.

The encore, a spirited rendition of the Venezuelan lullaby “Duerme Negrito,” was the performance highlight. Sonja Bontrager sang the soprano solo with verve and simplicity over a chorus of rhythmic syllables imitating the sound of maracas.

For eight years the Chestnut Street Singers have remained a “cooperative chamber choir.” They select repertory as a group, and five of their members conduct when needed. They have so much individual talent, but no director makes those hard decisions about pieces that just haven’t reached the pinnacle needed for performance. Yet choosing a single leader would eliminate the ‘cooperative’ and might spoil their charming maverick spirit.