Any excuse to see music in the venerable venue that is Yale’s Battell Chapel is always welcome. On this evening, the Yale Institute of Sacred Music (ISM) hosted two vocal ensembles to illuminate the poetry of Harlem Renaissance wordsmith Hughes. The Cerddorian Vocal Ensemble ( Welsh for “musicians”) was a 25 mixed voice group and was directed by artistic director Dr. James John. The Unsung Collective is a non- profit organization “ devoted to celebrating people of color in Western art music in NYC” and was directed by Dr. Tyrone Clinton. We arrived late to catch the end of CVE’s set Three by Langston, America Will Be!. U C then took the stage (altar) and performed the Dream Keeper, The Negro Speaks of Rivers, and Dreams. Choral groups are outside of my musical comfort zone, but there is no denying the talent needed to cohesively sing as one. Several members of each group took solos and each had some spare piano accompaniment. From my balcony view, it was striking to see the Caucasian CVE followed by the African American UC. The ensembles “integrated” for the final Afro- American Fragments. Hughes made poetry relatable by ditching the Thees and Thous in favor of vernacular which afforded an artistic springboard for many black musicians.
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