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The Washington Men’s Camerata explored the depths of human emotions during its touching “Songs of War and Peace” program Saturday evening at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. From the regal-sounding “Men of Harlech” and the tenderly flowing “Song for Peace” to the earthy incantation and chant of Veljo Tormis’s “Varjele, Jumala, Soasta,” the 78-member ensemble, under Music Director Frank Albinder, presented pieces that stretched across the male vocal spectrum, yielding performances with prominently chiseled dynamics and carefully honed phrases. Such attention to detail and diction allowed the… Read more

Grace Jean

What could be more ingratiating than a choral conductor who shows up in
standard formal regalia — but with bright red-and-green socks? Like the
outfit of Washington Men’s Camerata Music Director Frank Albinder, the
chorus’s concert at Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church in Bethesda on Sunday
was an appealing blend of the traditional and offbeat.

It was a mixture of sacred and secular, too, although weighted more toward
seasonal religious songs — mostly sung in pairs. For instance, the 63-voice
chorus juxtaposed a particularly pleasant arrangement of “O Little Town of
Bethlehem” with Rachmaninoff’… Read more

Mark J. Estren