Recordings
The Boar's Head Festival (1999)
The Boar's Head Festival and Yule Log Ceremony is one of the oldest continuing
festivals of the Christmas season, having been presented at least as early
as 1340 at Queen's College, Oxford. It in time became a part of the Christmas
celebration of England's great manor houses and the tradition was continued
in the homes of colonial America. Its first known public presentation in America
was in 1888.
The version of the festival performed by Vanguard Voices at
Cherry Hill Presbyterian Church, Dearborn, was inspired by the ceremony held
at Christ Church Cincinnati since 1940. Dearborn native Steven Errante set
familiar and ancient carols such as Deck The Halls, The Holly And The Ivy,
The Wassail Song and O Come, O Come Emmanuel as well as original
music for the elaborate costumed pageant in 1972. Performed here with choir,
organ and orchestra, The Boar's Head Festival is conducted by G. Kevin Dewey,
himself a performer in the festival since an early age.
American Vanguard (2001)
Unmistakably American choral music was prepared for Vanguard Voices' first
international tour in July 2001. The selections include Randall Thompson's
The Peaceable Kingdom; spirituals Steal Away and Elijah Rock;
the traditional Home On The Range; Gene Puerling's arrangement of Rodgers
and Hart's My Romance; as well as Michigan composer Theodore Mann's
setting of the Dylan Thomas poem, Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.
Vanguard Voices alumnus Lawrence Wik contributed his Haec Est Dies
toward this all a cappella recording.
Vanguard Voices & Brass (2004)
Exuberance is the essence of this eclectic mix of twentieth- and twenty-first
century music. The collection opens with Steven Errante’s Sing
to the Lord a New Song, a work commissioned by Vanguard Voices in
honor of its tenth anniversary season. Other sacred music selections include
British composer John Rutter’s symphonic and syncopated Gloria,
and American composer Norman Dello Joio’s dramatic Mass. Also
featured are three works with a unique Vanguard Voices connection: each
was written or arranged by artistic director G. Kevin Dewey. His Trösterin
Musik (Music the Comforter), composed in 2002 for Vanguard Voices
& Brass, celebrates the healing power of music. Vocal jazz arrangements
of the Disney classic When You Wish Upon A Star—with a bossa
nova beat—and the Gershwin brothers’ tune They Can’t
Take That Away From Me round out the playlist and showcase the versatility
of Vanguard Voices & Brass.
Vanguard Premieres
Volume 1: 2003-2005 (2006)
Vanguard Premieres is an initiative to promote the creation of new choral
works by established and aspiring composers; the program is a combination
of commissions and composition contests. Vanguard Premieres Volume
1: 2003-2005 features the debut performances of fourteen choral works:
twelve by Vanguard Voices and two by Renaissance Voices & Con Spirito.
The recordings include Steven Errante’s Sing to the Lord a New
Song and Augustus O. Hill’s Song of Reflection/Psalms of Praise,
both commissioned by Vanguard Voices, as well as the winning and honorable
mention compositions from the inaugural contest in 2004: Choral Suite
(Larry A. Christiansen, Winner in General Category); A-nir (Antonio
Gervasoni, Winner in Emerging Composers Category); A Basque Lullaby
(Dan Forrest); The Earth Is the Lord’s (Alan Smith); Eli,
Eli! (Frank La Rocca); Gloria (Edmund Jolliffe); Gloria
(Ryan D. Neaveill); O Bone Jesu (William So); Olympiad (John
White); Psalm 42 (Andrew Bleckner); Usquequo, Domine? (Dan
Pinkston); and When Your Song Rang Out to Me (Mark Dal Porto).