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On a cold, snowy night (what else?) in Syracuse, we were transported
back in time by the Irish Tenors’ holiday concert. As Tenors groupies,
we used to traipse all over the northeast to see the core group of Anthony,
Finbar and Ronan. In recent years we enjoyed concerts and CD’s with
John or Karl standing in for Ronan. While you can debate which combination
gives the best musical performance, there is no doubt that the trio we saw
last night is the soul of the Tenors. Ronan gives the group a distinctive
personality, which we haven’t yet found with the other configurations.

This seemed obvious the moment that Ronan walked on stage.
He entered first, and drew what seemed to be a collective sigh from
the audience, and then a swell of warm applause for his return. The
Tenors began with “Be Thou My Vision,” and then moved to a favorite,
the Ellis Island song, “Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears.” It begins with Anthony’s
soft and pure phrasing, and shows off the contrasting styles and voices
as each man takes his turn. The Tenors were loose and relaxed, and each
took liberties with the shaping of his verse. When Ronan sang, he was
the same as ever, with his dramatic mannerisms, exuberance and
marvelous range.

The Tenors then took turns with solos. The highlights for me
were Finbar’s warm and gorgeous rendering of “The Isle of Inisfree”,
which he introduced with a description of the lovely film in which it
appears, “The Quiet Man,” and sent what I believe were imagined
regards from one of its stars, Maureen O’Hara. Anthony chose the
spiritual “If I can Help Somebody,” from the Sacred album. Ronan
sang a moving version of “The Old Man,” but to me that is a song
that John owns. Ronan also won the audience over, if they were
not already there, with his amusing introduction to “Hallelujah,” the
song from the musical Shrek, for which Ronan claims he auditioned.

The trio gave a raucous rendition of “The Irish Rover,” with
Ronan and Anthony pulling whistles and clanging bells and having
a fine time. Finbar, who stood on the far stage left, looked like the
astonished schoolmaster of the group, while Ronan and Anthony
were the two misbehaving schoolboys. Throughout the evening,
they cut up and danced to the music, especially the upbeat numbers,
and played off each other. In view of Ronan’s own comment about
his “270 pounds of meat,” it is remarkable that he was so light on
his feet and moved so easily. He should have had a cane and top
hat. In the second half, when Ronan tried to take a swig from an
onstage bottle of what looked like nothing more than water, it
fizzed up in his face and all over the stage. I couldn’t help but wonder
if Anthony had set him up. Finbar cried out that it must be Holy
Water, and Anthony exclaimed that he’d better bring an umbrella
to the stage.

The second half featured traditional songs of Christmas, including
some of the Tenors’ familiar medleys, as well as their signature “We
Three Kings.” The men gave an upbeat and funny rendition of
“Fairytale of New York,” with Anthony and Ronan full of shenanigans
and mugging. The solos included Anthony’s lovely “I Heard the Bells
on Christmas Day,” which he told us was written by Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow in memory of his son’s death in the Civil War. Ronan gave
a moving “I’ll be Home for Christmas,” and it was clear that after this
lengthy tour the men longed for their Homeland. Before the obligatory
God Bless America and Danny Boy, both performed to standing ovations
as encores, the trio gave a glorious performance of “Oh, Holy Night,”
each man soaring on the high notes and meeting in beautiful
harmony at the end.

The group was backed by a fine pick up orchestra of local
musicians. Too bad there was no program to tell us the name of
the energetic conductor, whose talents the trio seemed to appreciate.

There is something uplifting and comforting in the sentiments
of these timeless seasonal favorites, that tell of loss (“The Old Man”),
of longing (“That dear lovely Isle of Inisfree”), of reunion (“I’ll be home
for Christmas”, “Through the years we all will be together, if the fates
allow.”), of caring (“If I can Help somebody as I carry on, then my living
shall not be in vain”), of hope (“Isle of Hope”) and of love (“Surely he
taught us to Love one another.”) In these difficult times, this concert
inspires us and gives us hope for a better world.

Robert J. Rabin