“The Cardinal Domenico Bartolucci Choir”- Latino Art Beat review by Julia W. Rath

[rating=4]The clouds parted on a rainy day when the Cardinal Domenico Bartolucci Choir, direct from Italy, enthralled a huge audience at Northeastern Illinois University’s Auditorium, on Friday night, April 22nd. Sponsored by trustees of NEIU and introduced by Don Rossi Nuccio, founder and president of Latino Art Beat, the choir gave a rare and historic performance, consisting of sacred music, sung in Latin, followed by secular music in Italian. The artistic legacy of this ensemble is without equal: Cardinal Bartolucci, who died in 2013, was once the choirmaster for the Vatican Sistine Chapel Choir and was considered the “musician of the popes” and the “musician of the saints.” His own melodies and arrangements for choir made him one of the most celebrated composers of religious music in the present-day.

Gregorian chant and somber four-part harmonies sung a cappela were followed by compositions created by the late Cardinal Barolucci himself, which were accompanied by pianist Denis Volpi. This treat of choral music, led by director/conductor Adriano Caroletti, was enhanced by the incorporation of several featured soloists. They included sopranos Carla Ferrari, Maria Tomassi, and Jennifer Tomassi; mezzo-soprano Maria Ratkova; tenor Francescantonio Bille, and bass Paolo Claverelli, all of whom were all extraordinary. To my mind Bille was the most amazing of all. His voice was so powerful that he could spellbind the entire audience. As a whole, the choir is unrivaled in its tone, diction, phrasing and dynamics, balance and blend, and entrances and exits. Above all, the shift in emphasis from the first half to the second did not go unnoticed, and many concertgoers perked up the moment the performance changed gears, as the secular music was much more recognizable to the general public. For example, the rendition of “O Sole Mio” was without equal—but it was also unusual, and this made the audience laugh. The most memorable part of the evening, however, was when dancers Luis Beltran and Nalanie Molina from the Ensemble Español (Spanish Dance Theater)—currently artists in residence at NEIU—teamed up with the choir to perform Bizet’s “Habanera” from his opera “Carmen.” The flamenco dancing was extraordinary in its precision and beauty! The costumes were phenomenal in their authenticity! The props for this segment were meant to resemble a café, with other diners seated at tables watching the show. As mezzo-soprano Ratkova sang her opera, it was clear that her red dress mimicked the female dancer’s red dress, as if the two artists were meant to be one and the same.

The few downsides to the performance had to do with the venue. The show was supposed to start at 7:30 p.m., and the doors had not yet opened at that time. The program finally began at 7:50 p.m., but then there were a few too many speeches all at once: that of the m.c., followed by the president of Northeastern Illinois University Dr. Gloria J. Gibson, and then Don Rossi Nuccio who had brought the choir to the United States. While all these speeches were good, it would have been better had they been interspersed throughout the course of the evening. For instance, there were several moments when the choir filed out and left the stage in anticipation of a soloist with piano accompaniment. Those were the times when the curtain could have closed, and we could have heard a speech about why it is a joy to see this choir live. This would have speeded things up a bit and added variety. There was also a bit of audio distortion when the singers stepped up to the solo microphone. But considering how strong each of the soloists were, the sound of their beautiful voices overpowered the amplification. Finally, while the stage lighting was okay, the spotlight was often missing when the various vocalists took their bows.

In sum, this enthralling combination of a world-renown Italian choir with a world-renown Spanish dance company created a fantastic convergence of forceful energy with a subtlety and gentleness that permeated the room and transfixed the audience. It was the perfect event in recognition of the week between the two Easter holidays: the one celebrated by Western Christianity and the one celebrated by Eastern Orthodoxy.

There were only two performances of the Cardinal Domenico Bartolucci Choir at the Northeastern Illinois University auditorium: both were held on April 22nd, one in the morning and the other in the evening. NEIU is located at 3701 West Bryn Mawr Avenue, in Chicago. Parking was available at lot F, adjacent to the auditorium and Fine Arts Building. Other recent shows took place The Des Plaines Theatre on April 20th and at Our Lady of Pompeii Shrine on April 23rd.

Note that Cardinal Bartolucci’s purpose was to disseminate and promote knowledge of religious music from the Renaissance to [the] present day” as well as to combine the “values of the Catholic faith and the Italian arts.” The choir is in the process of raising funds so that its members could make this special trip to perform their opera live in several U.S. cities. Through the National Catholic Community Foundation – Cardinal Barolucci and Sacred Music Fund, a U.S. 501(c)3 organization – the plan is to raise enough money to cover the costs of all the participant artists. For those interested in making a donation to support their efforts, please contact Alessandro Biciocchi, executive director of the Cardinal Domenico Bartolucci Foundation. His direct email address is a.biciocchi@fondazinonebartolucci.it.

For general information about the Bartolucci Foundation and its mission, go to www.fondazionebartolucci.it. You can also ask general questions at info@fondazionebartolucci.it.

For information about Ensemble Español (Spanish Dance Theater) and to learn about their future offerings in the Chicago area, please visit https://www.ensembleespanol.org/.

To learn more about Northeastern Illinois University and their fine arts programs, see https://www.neiu.edu/.

For information about Latino Art Beat and their programs, please visit http://LatinoArtBeat.org or their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Nonprofit-organization/Latino-Art-Beat-419495158128361/.

P.S. And parents, please, if you are going to bring children to see this concert or any other, please tell them that it is rude and inappropriate for them to play with their cellphones during the performance. Even if they are on night mode or dark mode, this is still distracting to other members of the audience who are trying to focus on the show.

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