Seattle Women's Chorus Performs Hallows in the Cathedral: Moonshadow

The "Hallows in the Cathedral: Moonshadow" concert by Seattle Women's Chorus creatively explores SWC's usual emphasis on building a sense of community through artistic expression. The structure of the concert achieves this by immersing the audience in the experience of song in several different ways.

SWC has performed an autumn show at St. Mark's Cathedral for a few years now, and it's clear that they love to sing there. The acoustics are great, and the architecture of the building adds to the feeling of artistry. The concert opens and closes with chorus members filling the aisles of St. Mark's, surrounding the audience with music.

In general, the physical arrangement of the space creates very little division between the performers and the audience. There's no orchestra pit for the compact group of accompanists, for example, and no podium for conductor Dennis Coleman, who warmly invites the audience to participate in a sing-a-long toward the close of the show.

At the very end of the concert, the chorus members stay in the aisles rather than returning to the stage, encouraging the audience members to end their evening with a friendly conversation with one or more of the performers.

The songs selected for the show are built around the image of the moon. The selections lean a bit toward 20th century American popular music of the stage and screen, with songs like "Moon River" (from "Breakfast at Tiffany's") and "The Man in the Moon Is a Lady" (from "Mame"). But as with other SWC offerings, the repertoire for the evening includes pieces which reflect a diversity of cultures.

A standout piece is "Raven Opens the Box of Light." Chorus member and Tlingit storyteller/song leader Elizabeth Clara Baty begins by sharing some background on the matrilineal Tlingit culture, and then tells the story of Raven opening a chief's prized box to release the stars, moon and sun.

During the intermission, a chorus member struck up a conversation with my guest and me, telling us that Baty had made the costumes (which included brightly decorated blankets and painted wooden headdresses) herself and had even bent the wood to hand-build the traditionally styled box used in the performance.

Several numbers include choreography and costumes, such as the colorful, circular paper lanterns turned into hats to represent the singing and dancing planets in the solar system. Composer Eric Lane Barnes (who is also the pianist for the concert) conducts his original song, "My Very Educated Mother," in which the (former!) planet Pluto laments her demotion from the list of planets, and here the choreography and costumes work particularly well in adding lightness and charm.

In reflecting on the concert, I can't help but choose a favorite. I loved the relaxed, dreamy arrangement of Glenn Miller's "Moonlight Serenade." The band for the evening consists of a four-piece string section and a piano, so the singers in the chorus provide the sounds of the familiar clarinet and saxophone music in the song. It's beautifully retro without being kitschy or ironic.

When I attend a SWC show, there's always a moment when I'm caught up in the sheer pleasure of the experience of a multigenerational group of women singing to and for one another. You can enjoy the show without making a date night of it, but why pass up the opportunity?

"Hallows in the Cathedral: Moonshadow" runs through Oct. 25 at St. Mark's Cathedral, 1245 10th Avenue E in Seattle. For information or tickets, call 206-388-1400 or visit https://www.flyinghouse.org.