The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception was filled with sublime musicality and sheer sonic beauty on Sunday, Oct. 4, as the combined forces of the Kansas City Chorale and Te Deum performed Alexander Gretchaninoff’s Passion Week.
This is, of course, the first performance for the Chorale in the post-Bruffy era. The joint concert with Te Deum, another outstanding regional chorus, had been planned before Bruffy’s departure as director. Matthew Shepard, founding Artistic Director of Te Deum, conducted the presentation.
Passion Week was composed in 1911-12 and is comprised of 13 pieces containing liturgical texts from the week before Russian Orthodox Easter. Te Deum is is no stranger to Russian liturgical works of the 20th century, featuring them in several performances in recent years. The Kansas City Chorale has a history with this work. The Chandos recording label released a joint performance with the Chorale and Phoenix Bach Choir of Passion Week nearly 20 years ago (2007), resulting in a Grammy Award. One of the soloists on the recording, Paul Davidson, was also featured as soloist at Sunday’s performance.
For those of us who are used to seeing one or another of these two choruses, it was an impressive sight to observe all the approximately 48 singers. The a cappella ensemble wrapped all the way around the altar steps and on to the floor on both sides.
From the opening strains of “alleluia,” it was apparent that this was going to be a special performance. The rich and extremely well blended sound seemed perfectly suited to the cathedral acoustics. The music in the thirteen movements of the work is simply beautiful—rich harmonic writing throughout, with occasional chantlike sections. The composer effectively used the music to enrich and express the liturgical texts.
Shepard is a very talented and sensitive conductor, responsive to the text and faithful to the composer. His technique is fluid and clear, and the singers responded well.
In the second movement, “Thy Bridal Chamber,” Shepard elicited strong dynamic contrasts. Also evident in this movement was the impressive low bass sound characteristic of some Russian liturgical works. The basso profundo tones were strong, clear and resonant. “In Thy Kingdom,” the following movement, featured soloist Gail Nakano in chantlike passages alternating with the chorus singing the familiar texts of the “Beatitudes” (“Blessed are those…”). The music was simply rhapsodic at times.
“Let My Prayer Arise” featured soloists Shuqi Zhang, Lauren Suchy and Bryan Pinkall. The solo passages featured strong and well-articulated voices. However, the intonation in the women’s choral sections was not always secure. The first half of the concert ended with “Of Thy Mystical Supper,” with solos by Paul Davidson and Kayla Bradley. This movement was one of the best of the program, with fluid tempos, and dramatic swaths of dynamic contrast.
Highlights after the brief intermission included “Do Not Lament Me, O Mother,” a text from the Orthodox liturgy for the Great and Holy Saturday. The words were very touching: “Do not lament me … seeing Me in the tomb … for I shall arise and be glorified.” This movement was particularly beautiful, with a long crescendo and warm vowels.
The finale, “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent,” featuring soloist Tara Boydston, was more complex harmonically than many other movements. Alongside textual changes, the harmonic palette continuously altered until the final soft “alleluias.”
A program like this is not easy to present successfully. The harmonies are so rich and the slow tempos constant. Carefully thought-out phrasing and dynamics, warm unified vowels and crisp diction resulted in a constantly shifting choral landscape.
There will be one more performance of Gretchaninoff’s Passion Week on Tue., Oct. 6 at 7:30 pm at Village Presbyterian Church. Tickets are available at either of the websites listed in the following paragraph.
The Kansas City Chorale and Te Deum will present a variety of concerts in December. The Chorale has five different concert programs throughout the month, and there is more information on their website: www.kcchorale.org. Te Deum will perform “Then the Angel Said: Christmas Carols of Hope, Courage and Promise” on December 14 and 15. See their website: www.te-deum.org.
When I spoke to the KC Chorale’s Interim Executive Director Jonathan Thomas last week regarding the future artistic leadership of the ensemble, he replied, “we have no comment at this time.” I asked about the plans for the upcoming five Chorale concert programs in December, and he stated, “we will be utilizing the wealth of local conducting talent to step in for the holidays.”
This concert was reviewed on Sunday, October 4, 2026.
