Lakewood08rev - Page: 1 of 1

It's not really St. Patrick's Day without an Irish Tenors concert. The men
were happy to oblige an almost sold-out audience, in Lakewood, New
Jersey, Sunday afternoon. Yes, the songlist was the same as in the past,
but the mens' glorious voices were balm to the ears and the soul, Arnie
Roth was back on the podium, and for a little over two hours, all was right
with the world.

To begin with, the men were in wonderful voice, and the solos and trios
were very well done. Anthony sang a gorgeous "Grace." He should
have a copyright on the song by now. Absolutely no one sings it as
beautifully or movingly as he does. And "She Mov'd Through the Fair"
was exquisite. With his diligent attention to the words, and his soft high
notes, it was a lesson in the way to present a song. By the way, Anthony
is using more and more vocal embellishment in his songs, and he does
it very naturally. Vocal embellishment should fit into the structure of the
song, so it appears as if the composer actually wrote it. "She Mov'd
Through the Fair" had an ethereal, almost sean-nos quality to it.
Finbar continues to be in sumptuous voice. It's evident that his recent
tours have been most beneficial to his vocal cords. He sang a beautiful
"I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen," and the audience roared with
approval. "Little Brigid Flynn" was a delight, and I've never seen anyone
get as much mileage from the line.."....but there's lots to look after, and
I'm living all alone..." as Finbar Wright does! Now to speak of Karl
Scully. In the past, American audiences have not heard the full scope
of the Scully voice. At this concert, Karl's voice was very strong and
powerful, with soaring high notes. He sang a lovely "Last Rose of
Summer" prefacing it with an anecdote about Moore plagiarizing
it in its entirety. And "Lift the Wings" and "The Water is Wide"
were both marvelously sung, with a fine legato line. The last time
I heard Karl,he was coming down with the dreaded cold. For a singer,
a cold is about on a par with the bubonic plague, so it was reassuring
to hear him sounding so good. He is much more relaxed onstage
now, and his comic timing is approaching superb.

The trios were all well known, but the highlight at this concert, as it
has been at every concert at which they've performed it, was "My Heart
Will Go On," from the film Titanic. From the moment the velvet voice
of Mr. Wright introduced it, through the mens' beautifully lyrical singing,
the entire theatre was absolutely still. The audience was mesmerized
by the history of the famous ship, and the mens' wonderful voices. It's
a keeper! And following up their success with "Marie's Wedding"
which had been taken out of the program for awhile, the Tenors brought
it back again, and it was just as fine. They've mastered the intricate
tempi and the musical segue into "I Know My Love" and it's now a smooth
one. It's a great song. The medley of county songs was beautiful, with
Finbar singing "The Banks of the Lovely Lee". Anthony singing a rousing
"Boys of Wexford" and Karl singing "Rose of Mooncoin." It was a
fitting tribute to their home counties. I know Karl's song comes
from Kilkenny, but as Anthony said last year, "Karl has lived so many
places, he could sing a song from just about anywhere." One of my very
favorite pieces was "There is an Isle." It was marvelously sung, and
gloriously harmonized. Throughout the program, Arnie Roth conducted
the excellent orchestra, lovingly and spiritedly. Welcome back, Maestro.
After "Danny Boy" and the requisite encores, the men sang "God Bless
America" with the standing audience singing along, and then cheering loudly
.
Lately there has been a plethora of "Irish" musical groups popping up,
some good, many not so good. It was appropriate to once again realize
that The Irish Tenors are the best.....the absolute best. End of discussion.

Berta Calechman