One of the best-kept secrets of the Bahá’í world must be the Voices of Bahá. Created almost as an afterthought to the Second Bahá’í World Congress in New York in 1992, it remains its most enduring legacy: the gorgeous choral music swept the assembled away, and the subsequent recording, played at thousands of gatherings, is perhaps the only music that has some claim to be well-known throughout the Bahá’í world community. But the “secret” part is that the Voices of Bahá embarked on annual tours that took them not only several times to the great concert halls of Europe, often with first-rate symphony orchestras (Madrid, Paris, Budapest, Warsaw, Prague), but to the former Soviet Union, the Caribbean, and the Far East. Sandwiched in amongst these were a Heartland of America tour and a Mississippi Riverboat tour, on which concerts were given where the riverboat docked.
The entire enterprise was intiated and shouldered by Nashville composer, arranger, and conductor Tom Price, who virtually single-handedly (Ohio’s Barbara Baumgartner became his right hand in the mid-90s) arranged all aspects of the tours, from travel and lodging to arranging all the music, auditioning singers over the telephone, producing practice recordings of all the parts, and the multitude of vagaries involved. The local Bahá’í communities would arrange the venues, advertise the events, and distribute the proceeds to charities. Two of his daughters were perpetually featured soloists.
Wherever they performed, not only did thousands attend the concerts, but local and national Bahá’í communities arranged a multitude of teaching events and initiatives in order to optimize the energy generated by the tour, for in many of these places the actual Bahá’í communities are rather small. For instance, in Thonon-les-Bains, France, near Geneva, there were only two believers (one of which was in the hospital), but an intense radio campaign and bus shelter advertising ensured a sellout in the Sports Palace in spite of a scathing newspaper article attempting to denigrate the Bahá’ís.
The singers represented as many as 22 countries, all who paid their own way. A few stalwarts, such as American Steve Brisley (pictured above) have participated in virtually every performance of the Voices of Bahá. After preparing individually for weeks via printed scores and practice recordings, 2-3 days of intense rehearsal would be all before the performances began. The programme consisted of music in styles ranging from ethnic folk to classical to gospel to several composed by Price himself, in a variety of languages, and in every locality some attempt was made to sing in the local tongue. One song, in particular, “O God My God,” has been sung in at least a score of languages from Slovak to Catalan to Hungarian, and local debates on pronunciation were often very lively indeed.
Highlights are more than can be counted, and surely someone will write a book to accompany the various video and audio archives. Here I’ll just mention a very few. While recording in Moscow, a revolution broke out, and everyone was confined to their hotel while the government buildings were under siege. Yet when the curfew was lifted, a full house attended a concert without any advertising.
In 2001 Tom Price decided it was time raise the international profile of the choir, and so in addition to concerts in France, Slovakia, Spain, and Germany, the choir was entered into several categories in a prestigious international choral competition in Wernigerode, Germany. 186 singers rehearsed Mendelssohn and Brahms in snatches between concerts, after meals, and on long bus rides, and switched from performance mode to Olympic-type competition, from unity to striving for excellence. Far from embarrassing themselves, they earned silver or gold standards in all categories entered, and were specially invited to sing for the throngs of tourists in the city square at the close of the competition. 2003 saw a return engagement.
In 2002, Price arranged a New York City Arts Festival to mark the 10th anniversary of the Second Bahá’í World Congress that started it all. As well as a slate of daily theatre, dance, visual, and mixed-media presentations around Manhattan, three grand concerts were given: a Persian concert shown via satellite in Iran, a full gospel concert, and a Carnegie Hall performance by the largest edition of the Voices of Bahá ever assembled: 550 voices and a full symphony orchestra.
Perhaps the most gruelling day for the Voices of Bahá was in Caracas, Venezuela in July 2005. The day began with a morning recording session of a full concert programme at the national television studio, followed by a live performance in front of television cameras of the same programme in the early afternoon. Another 6 hours was spent re-recording bits and pieces, and after the outer limits of exhaustion, they lip-synched the entire show again to their own recording for the benefit of the cameras. This was all for a documentary film to be used throughout Latin America. And these were largely amateurs of all ages with little experience of the rigours of touring.
On the same tour, the plane set out from Miami to the Dominican Republic and had to fly around Hurricane Dennis. After stops in Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and Trinidad, they arrived in Jamaica just two days after a hurricane had hit there, so they became media darlings of the Tourist bureau. Not two weeks later Hurricane Katrina hit.
An element of gospel music has been a part of the Voices of Bahá from its inception. Van Gilmer (pictured above, with Rachael Price) pioneered in bringing gospel music into a Bahá’í context with his groups and many popular compositions, and in 2004 he led a full gospel tour to Britain and Western Europe in lieu of the regular Voices of Bahá tour. In 2007 and 2008 the large choral tradition has been continued by a festival at the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, where Gilmer serves as Music Director.
For these events and tours, singers save up all year, endure pickpockets, laryngitis and other ailments, and local food; they often witness crushing poverty, yet travel and work as one big happy family, running on adrenalin physical and spiritual, and nowhere where they’d rather be than spreading this message for the healing of the world. Furthermore, this “parent choir” has spawned local chapters around the globe, especially in Canada and the United States, enriching celebrations and developing a Bahá’í artistic life.
The entire enterprise was intiated and shouldered by Nashville composer, arranger, and conductor Tom Price, who virtually single-handedly (Ohio’s Barbara Baumgartner became his right hand in the mid-90s) arranged all aspects of the tours, from travel and lodging to arranging all the music, auditioning singers over the telephone, producing practice recordings of all the parts, and the multitude of vagaries involved. The local Bahá’í communities would arrange the venues, advertise the events, and distribute the proceeds to charities. Two of his daughters were perpetually featured soloists.
Wherever they performed, not only did thousands attend the concerts, but local and national Bahá’í communities arranged a multitude of teaching events and initiatives in order to optimize the energy generated by the tour, for in many of these places the actual Bahá’í communities are rather small. For instance, in Thonon-les-Bains, France, near Geneva, there were only two believers (one of which was in the hospital), but an intense radio campaign and bus shelter advertising ensured a sellout in the Sports Palace in spite of a scathing newspaper article attempting to denigrate the Bahá’ís.
The singers represented as many as 22 countries, all who paid their own way. A few stalwarts, such as American Steve Brisley (pictured above) have participated in virtually every performance of the Voices of Bahá. After preparing individually for weeks via printed scores and practice recordings, 2-3 days of intense rehearsal would be all before the performances began. The programme consisted of music in styles ranging from ethnic folk to classical to gospel to several composed by Price himself, in a variety of languages, and in every locality some attempt was made to sing in the local tongue. One song, in particular, “O God My God,” has been sung in at least a score of languages from Slovak to Catalan to Hungarian, and local debates on pronunciation were often very lively indeed.
Highlights are more than can be counted, and surely someone will write a book to accompany the various video and audio archives. Here I’ll just mention a very few. While recording in Moscow, a revolution broke out, and everyone was confined to their hotel while the government buildings were under siege. Yet when the curfew was lifted, a full house attended a concert without any advertising.
In 2001 Tom Price decided it was time raise the international profile of the choir, and so in addition to concerts in France, Slovakia, Spain, and Germany, the choir was entered into several categories in a prestigious international choral competition in Wernigerode, Germany. 186 singers rehearsed Mendelssohn and Brahms in snatches between concerts, after meals, and on long bus rides, and switched from performance mode to Olympic-type competition, from unity to striving for excellence. Far from embarrassing themselves, they earned silver or gold standards in all categories entered, and were specially invited to sing for the throngs of tourists in the city square at the close of the competition. 2003 saw a return engagement.
In 2002, Price arranged a New York City Arts Festival to mark the 10th anniversary of the Second Bahá’í World Congress that started it all. As well as a slate of daily theatre, dance, visual, and mixed-media presentations around Manhattan, three grand concerts were given: a Persian concert shown via satellite in Iran, a full gospel concert, and a Carnegie Hall performance by the largest edition of the Voices of Bahá ever assembled: 550 voices and a full symphony orchestra.
Perhaps the most gruelling day for the Voices of Bahá was in Caracas, Venezuela in July 2005. The day began with a morning recording session of a full concert programme at the national television studio, followed by a live performance in front of television cameras of the same programme in the early afternoon. Another 6 hours was spent re-recording bits and pieces, and after the outer limits of exhaustion, they lip-synched the entire show again to their own recording for the benefit of the cameras. This was all for a documentary film to be used throughout Latin America. And these were largely amateurs of all ages with little experience of the rigours of touring.
On the same tour, the plane set out from Miami to the Dominican Republic and had to fly around Hurricane Dennis. After stops in Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and Trinidad, they arrived in Jamaica just two days after a hurricane had hit there, so they became media darlings of the Tourist bureau. Not two weeks later Hurricane Katrina hit.
An element of gospel music has been a part of the Voices of Bahá from its inception. Van Gilmer (pictured above, with Rachael Price) pioneered in bringing gospel music into a Bahá’í context with his groups and many popular compositions, and in 2004 he led a full gospel tour to Britain and Western Europe in lieu of the regular Voices of Bahá tour. In 2007 and 2008 the large choral tradition has been continued by a festival at the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, where Gilmer serves as Music Director.
For these events and tours, singers save up all year, endure pickpockets, laryngitis and other ailments, and local food; they often witness crushing poverty, yet travel and work as one big happy family, running on adrenalin physical and spiritual, and nowhere where they’d rather be than spreading this message for the healing of the world. Furthermore, this “parent choir” has spawned local chapters around the globe, especially in Canada and the United States, enriching celebrations and developing a Bahá’í artistic life.
1 comment:
I know this man... he is the Oldest Living Bureaucrat in America,... he has been serving in his position since Shoghi Effendi was at Baillol College, I believe.. he answers to the name "Steve" and is a superb concert bass....
Post a Comment