Choral groups to perform the challenging 'Vespers'

Brady Allred likes a challenge. Which also means he likes to challenge his singers.

But when Allred, who directs the University of Utah choral program, decided to perform Claudio Monteverdi's gigantic, two-hour-long "Vespers," he didn't quite realize what he was getting himself into. Which was probably a good thing; otherwise, he might have skipped it in favor of a work of more manageable size.

Instead, he's doing what will be the work's first performance at the U. and quite possibly the first performance in Utah.

"I still keep thinking, 'Did I really program it?"' Allred said jokingly when he spoke with the Deseret Morning News. He isn't having second thoughts — the preparation and rehearsals are too advanced to replace the "Vespers" with a substitute.

And Allred would never do that anyway. "I like to challenge myself," he said, "and I wanted the students to experience this. This is new territory for a lot of people," not only for the student chorus members but also for most of the soloists and orchestra members.

The "Vespers" will be performed twice this weekend: Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in Libby Gardner Concert Hall at the U. and April 13 at 8 p.m. in the Cathedral of the Madeleine, as part of the Madeleine Festival.

Performers will be the University of Utah Singers and A Cappella Choir. Vocal soloists will include Carol Ann Allred, Shawna Gottfredson, Laurel James, George Dyer and Todd Miller, among others, and an orchestra consisting of U. faculty members and area musicians.

One interesting and unexpected obstacle Allred encountered early was finding a chittarone player. A chittarone, the largest instrument in the lute family, was a popular accompanying instrument in the early 17th century when Monteverdi wrote the "Vespers."

Today, it's obsolete. There are only a handful of people in the country who play it.

"Period instrument ensembles aren't big in Salt Lake, and there is nobody here who can play it," Allred said.

After making inquiries and sending letters across the country, Allred was able to track down someone who plays the chittarone. "We're bringing in August Denhard from Seattle, who is a wonderful musician and director of the Early Music Guild in Seattle," he said.

As is typical for composers of the 17th and early 18th centuries, Monteverdi seldom specified what instruments are to accompany the singers. "That has been a gargantuan task," Allred said. "And since we're performing it in two different venues, with very different acoustics, I'm going to have to change the accompaniment to take that into account."