Voyces ensemble pays homage to Latin American choral music in Cantar at WA Museum Boola Bardip Hackett Hall

Percussion almost stole the show in Voyces’ homage to Latin American choral music, Cantar (“Sing”), at WA Museum Boola Bardip’s Hackett Hall on Saturday. James Chong and Marcus Perrozzi deployed an eclectic mix of congas, bongos, drums, cowbell, cajon (box drum), claves, ocarina, even a “death flute”, adding snap and crackle to a spicey mix of old and new-world traditions. Los Marcianos (Rosendo Ruiz, arranged by Maria Adela Alvarado), began the journey in Cuba, though its subject was a Martian mission to Earth. Rhythmic voices and percussion erupted in celebration of the cha-cha-cha, gleefully bending notes in the cadence. Voices alone then broached denser harmonies for Verano Porteno (Astor Piazzola, arr. Oscar Escalada), a slow burn from the Argentine tango master, multi-layered in colour and expression. Soaring sopranos pierced the air then fell back to a warm choral collaboration that burst its own bubble in the conclusion. Returning to Cuba, soprano Kira O’Dell led out a timeless lament for Wilma Alba Cal’s Portico, summoning images of nature in syncopation across the ensemble. Antiphonal lines tempered the mix before launching again enthusiastically in offbeats to close on a towering crushed chord. Ofulu Lorere (Osvaldo Lacerde), a Yoruba spiritual from north-east Brazil, used plangent drumbeats and rhythmic voices to weave a rich pattern in call and response between sections over sustaining bass. Undulating waves punctuated by percussion flowed to a peak, finishing on a high. Staying in Brazil, C.A. Pinto Fonseca’s Muie Rendera mashed up a tribute to weaving women and a torch song, opening in stark intervals then swaying on a tropical breeze with refrains cascading down range. A sonorous exclamation in bass triggered a melodious response in hymn-like tones. Alto Jessica Goodwin joined O’Dell in duet for the traditional Estrella E Lua Nova (arr. Heitor Villa-Lobos, adapted by Cristian Grases), interweaving crystalline tones over a cushion of intoned chords to close in a soaring soprano shoutout to the moon and stars. Percussion broached an intense Cuban beat with basses plumbing depths of tone and expression for La Maza (Silvio Rodriguez, arr. Juan Palacio), a muscular parable of “The Sledgehammer” and the quarry. Life’s inexorable grind seemed to infest every note of a paean to human resilience, rallying to a robust conclusion. Catholic faith inevitably featured in two pieces based on a prayer to Mary, Salve Regina. Isolated notes from sopranos picked out a glittering, bell-toned soundscape for Lars Jansson’s To The Mothers in Brazil (arr. Gunnar Eriksson), calling on tenors in counterpoint and intense bass harmony. Chorister Joshua Sumich stepped up on soprano saxophone, injecting a folkloric lilt to repeated alleluias. Wailing riffs tapped the work’s jazz influences, fading to a haunting cadence. Venezuelan Cesar Alejandro Carrillo’s Salve Regina followed in devout tones, with director Robert Braham teasing out harmony and discord in exquisite detail; a plea for divine mercy and grace finding consolation in the conclusion. Still with Venezuelan repertoire, successive half-tones built a profound harmonic structure to reflect the theme of Grases’ De Profundis (From the Depths), breaking to exaltation with vigorous hand claps and agile vocal expression in praise of the Lord. Tenor Kieran Lynch reset the style to worship in a serene solo supported soulfully by the choir. Chong and Perrozzi then punctured the mood in a scintillating percussion interlude to rekindle the opening hymn of praise, stepping through taut chordal progressions to a resounding climax. Mexico’s Day of the Dead dawned in Diana Syrse’s La Muerte Sonriente (Smiling Death), integrating Spanish text and Indigenous instrumentation. A series of curious striations launched a carnival of choral colour, exotic orchestration, spoken lyrics and broad unison phrases to close in a riot of sound. A Haitian tale of three drums inspired Sydney Guillaume’s Twa Tanbou, a programmatic sketch of percussive effects entirely portrayed in voice. Brightly evocative in its intricate rhythms shared across the ensemble, the constant tempo changes kept Braham on tip-toe throughout. Closing the bill, Grases’ Fiesta summoned a picture of Latin exuberance perhaps closest to popular imagining; melodious, harmonious, and good humoured to the last. Percussion then returned for the encore, Grases’ adaptation of Verde Mar de Navegar (Green Sea to Sail), a flamboyant dance measure to rock out the night. Voyces returns to WA Museum Boola Bardip Hackett Hall on September 20 with Vista.