By Nancy Plum

The glee club tradition dates back to late 18th-century London, with musical groups informally gathering to perform short compositions and popular songs. Named after the Baroque-era English “glee” part song, these ensembles were until the mid-20th century comprised of male voices, with countertenors taking the upper parts. While late 19th-century glee clubs in London were superseded by large choral societies, they became very popular in U.S. high schools and universities, and more so after opening their ranks to women. A number of local collegiate institutions have glee clubs dating back to the mid-1800s, and Princeton University is no exception. The Princeton University Glee Club, founded in 1874, has grown far beyond the “short song” repertoire to become the largest choral organization in the University’s campus, with a commitment to complex works and commissioning new music.

The University Glee Club, currently under the direction of Gabriel Crouch, celebrated its 150th anniversary this past weekend with three days of concerts, rehearsals, and alumni reunions. Continuing its long-standing commitment to collaborating with world-class musical organizations, the Glee Club opened last weekend’s festivities with a join concert with The King’s Singers. Considered the “gold standard” of a cappella singing, the six-member all-male ensemble has been a pillar of choral excellence for the past 55 years. Glee Club conductor Crouch was a member of the chorus for eight years, and since then has built a solid partnership between the University choral program and the renowned vocal sextet.

Friday night’s concert at Richardson Auditorium was entitled “Legacies,” a fitting recognition of the impact both The King’s Singers and the University Glee Club have had on the choral field. Opening with an arrangement of two George Gershwin numbers, countertenors Patrick Dunachie and Edward Button, tenor Julian Gregory, baritones Christopher Bruerton and Nick Ashby, and bass Jonathan Howard showcased their collective trademark well-blended close harmonies. Evenly divided between upper and lower voices, the overall sound was light and clean, and the Singers proved they could be dramatic when appropriate.

Like many who have performed under the King’s Singers umbrella, several of the current members honed their skills in the British choral tradition. This background provided each of the musicians with solid choral technique and the vocal independence necessary to hold one’s own in a group of six. All of these skills were well apparent Friday night, as the ensemble moved through varied repertoire in multiple languages.

The bread-and-butter repertoire of The King’s Singers has historically been 16th-century British sacred music, and in the motets of William Byrd and Thomas Tallis, the chorus was true to form. Byrd’s rarely-heard “Vigilate” was sung with the two countertenor voices floating like icing on the choral texture. In both of these anthems, the sound spun through the Richardson Auditorium acoustic, with chordal passages well blended. Bass Jonathan Howard provided a strong vocal foundation in Tallis’ “If Ye Love Me, Keep My Commandments.” This piece is scored for only four voices, but the Singers used the fifth and sixth vocalists to reveal different colors in the work as melodic themes traveled across the stage.

The Singers also ventured into other lesser-known pieces from later eras, including a secular motet by 19th-century French composer Camille Saint-Saëns. The group presented “Sérénade de d’hiver” as a true ode to the season of winter, communicating effectively with the audience as if listeners were the “ladies and poetry.” They demonstrated solid rhythmic precision in the humorous “Pica-Pau” of Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, accompanied by imaginative and technologically impressive visual effects created by Camilla Tassi.

The University Glee Club, as well as the Chamber Choir, joined The King’s Singers in several numbers, including the world premiere of “Drum Major!” by composer Stacey V. Gibbs. Best known for his arrangements of spirituals, Gibbs has created a musical call for justice and peace, which both ensembles presented with sensitivity and hopeful passion, accompanied by Kendall Williams playing steelpan drums. The combined group of performers closed Friday night’s concert with an energetic and cleanly sung arrangement of Albert Hammond’s “I’m a Train.”

In the Glee Club’s 150th anniversary weekend festivities, conductor Crouch brought several missions of the University choral program to life. With an audience full of Glee Club alumni and fans alike, Friday night’s event celebrated the choir’s illustrious history. The weekend also included a Gala Concert for a “massed choir of Glee Clubbers past and present,” followed the next day by an informal “sing” of Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem. Interspersed were many opportunities for Glee Club members to mix, mingle and reminisce, and enthusiastically launch the University choral program into its next century of music-making.

The Princeton University Glee Club’s next concert will be Sunday, February 23 at 3 p.m. at Richardson Auditorium. This performance will feature the liturgical Misa Criolla by Argentine composer Ariel Ramírez. Ticket information can be obtained by visiting tickets.princeton.edu.