"The choir carried
the audience into a magical, enthralling world."
Lüdenscheider Nachrichten, Germany
"The end of the Proms concert was highlighted by the Phoenix Chamber Choir, an ensemble of such brilliance rarely heard in Trier."
Trierischer Volksfreund, Germany
"A virtuosic choir of remarkable quality, both technically and musically."
2002 CBC National Choral Competition
Jury comments
"There are few Christmas concerts that feel as genuine a gift to their audience as the one that Phoenix Chamber Choir give each year."
The Vancouver Sun
"One of the most elegant and heart-warming evenings of choral music I have experienced."
The BC Catholic
"They make a beautiful and perfectly blended sound...[and]
are capable of singing the most demanding music. Rhythmically
difficult works are sung with natural ease, but even more
impressive is the group,s ability to deal with harmonically
challenging music. Cole Porter's Let's Do It, which the choir
delivers with classy aplomb, is dazzling, and it quite rightly
brought the house down."
Classical Music Magazine, September, 1997
I congratulate you for the high quality of the performance
of the entire programme. Above all, I appreciate the great
sensitivity and the perfect understanding of the subject
in my two pieces [Gondolar; Le jardin d'antan]. I can tell
you
that I have not often heard my vocal music sung with such
results. Bravo and thank you!"
Jacques Hétu, composer
"I must say, your group has a fine blend, marvelous intonation
and they certainly seem to enjoy taking on rather challenging material!"
Gene Puerling, composer
"Bravo!
Very sensitive and musical approach…Masterful sense of styles.
High level of control and expressivity…Beautiful sonority.
Wow!"
2000
CBC National Choral Competition - Jury comments
The following is a review
of our 2003 CD, LIVE FROM EUROPE, taken from
the Russian magazine, St. Petersburg Scene.
The CD review is followed by two reviews from the live concerts.
Phoenix Chamber Choir
Director, Ramona Luengen
LIVE FROM EUROPE
Recording of choral concerts in churches of Germany
and Luxembourg. Self released.
This double album will introduce you to one of
the best chamber choirs in North America, the Canadian
choir Phoenix. Seven-time
winners of the CBC National Choral Competition
and other presitigious competitions, this choir,
created in 1983, has sucessfully recorded (during
its 2002 European tour) chamber and sacred
music of the last nine centuries in the cathedrals
of Trier and Mainz.
Especially convincing is the choir's interpretation
of sacred music based on
Gregorian chant and music of the 20th century,
such as Rakhmaninov's Bogoroditskye Dyevo
and folksong arrangments by Schoenberg, Ligeti
and
Ellington.
This choir is conducted by director Ramona
Luengen, composer and theorist, who demonstrates
a virtuosic
mastery of the choral forces, a precision
in achieving appropriate timbres while maintaining
the integrated
blend and exactness of the ensemble.
Ekaterina
Blajkova
St. Petersburg Scene, April 2003
Monday, August 12, 2002
Trierischer Volksfreund
Local newspaper of Trier, Germany
The following is an excerpt from a review of a LAST
NIGHT AT THE PROMS
concert which featured Phoenix and the Deutsche Bläserphilharmonie
(August
10). Due to inclement weather, the outdoor courtyard
venue was changed
shortly before the 8:30pm curtain call, causing a
much-delayed start to the
programme. Luckily the capacity audience of 2000
waited most patiently in
the St. Maximin Basilika until the last timpani and
music stand had finally
been put in place - um…around 10:30pm!
The end of the Proms Concert was highlighted by the
Phoenix Chamber Choir,
an ensemble of such brilliance rarely heard in Trier.
The Canadians, under
the direction of Dr. Ramona Luengen, delivered artfully-arranged
folksongs,
Spirituals and Jazz standards - a performance of
choral music of ultimate
sophistication and polish. The next required assignment
of the
Mosel-Festwochen (the sponsoring organization) is
to engage the Phoenix
Chamber Choir again and have them perform in a more
intimate venue.
August 19, 2002
Lüdenscheider Nachrichten
Local newspaper of Lüdenscheid, Germany
Chamber music doesn't require instruments - it
impresses with the quietest
of notes and intoxicates with brilliant voices.
So it was with the concert
of the Phoenix Chamber Choir - a most gratifying
trip to an entirely
different world. On Sunday evening the 20 singers
of this Canadian choir
transported the audience to another place where
the quietest of singing made
an impressive impact.
The venue for the concert could not have been chosen
better. While the
evening sun shone through the stained glass windows
of the Erlöserkirche,
the voices of these musical artists rose reverentially
in the nave. Under
the direction of Dr. Ramona Luengen, the ensemble
captivated the audience
from the very first seconds. The concert began
quietly with O süsses Licht,
composed by the conductor herself, and the listeners
was quickly overcome by
the magic of the music. During the pause which
followed each piece one could
detect a hush of amazement. Even more contrasting
was, therefore, the roar
of applause which deservedly followed the masterful
performance of each
work. With Latin works such as Ave Verum Corpus
and O Quam Amabilis, the
choir carried the audience into the world of the
Middle Ages, a magical
world so enthralling that one didn't even hear
the rustling of a
handkerchief. "After every piece I get goose-pimples," whispered
an
enthusiastic spectator.
The choir did not distinguish itself solely through
sacred music, but
through an especially wide spectrum of musical
styles.
After a rousing end to the first half with two
American Spirituals (I Got
Shoes and the Deep River), the choir presented
a very international second
half. In the Hungarian folksong Hortabagy the life
in a village is praised.
Shenandoah made the audience familiar with a beautiful
American folksong and
Dat du min Leevsten büst proved that these Canadian virtuosi were
equally
successful singing in the German language.
The singers were responsible for creating goosepimples
not only as an
ensemble but as individuals, especially Danielle
Hoskins-Hamilton, with her
fantastic solo in Deep River, and Rob Hollins and
Mark Metzger for their
work in the well- known George Gershwin tune Somebody
Loves You. Small
wonder then, that the audience, after their enthusiastic
final applause,
needed a few moments to remove themselves from
the magical world of these
quietest of sounds and re-enter into the noise
of everyday life.
