By Susan Miron

The program was a delight, especially for those, like this reviewer, who, for years, have yearned to visit Paris again. Aurally, Skylark flew us there.

Skylark Vocal Ensemble, performing at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Newburyport, MA. Photo: Carolyn Guard

A veteran of many Skylark Vocal Ensemble concerts over the past eight years, I still remain surprised by just how thrilling their performances are, time after time. The group’s choice of material is always inspired, and Matthew Guard’s musical direction is dependably impeccable. Saturday night’s concert (to celebrate the release of their album La Vie en Rose) at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Newburyport was no exception. The evening featured 12 Skylark singers. All were given solo roles, and support was provided by the excellent pianist Joy Schreier.

Envisioned by Matthew Guard several years ago as a classical, jazz, and musical theater mash-up for Valentines Day, the program included French songs by Debussy, Fauré, and Lili Boulanger next to 20th-century jazz classics by Edith Piaf and Charles Trenet, and songs chosen by the singers themselves, selections that stretched into ’80s and ’90s French pop. The lineup was a delight, especially for those, like this reviewer, who, for years, have yearned to visit Paris again. Aurally, Skylark flew us there.

The varied playlist included a number of highlights. Two cherished songs I had heard before: Carrrie Cheron opened the program with “La vie en rose” and Sarah Moyer sang a mid-20th-century standard, “Sous le ciel de Paris.” In between those standards came a terrific barber-shop number, “Serenade d’Hiver,” by Camille Saint-Saëns. This and two other vocal works by him were utterly charming; “Calme des nuits,” sung by all 12 Skylarks, was ravishing, as was his “Romance du soir.” I must reevaluate this composer, whom I knew mostly through his charming instrumental works.

Mezzo-soprano Clare McNamara crooned the famous “La mer” by Charles Trenet (made famous by Bobby Darin via “Beyond the Sea”). She was terrific. This preceded the hilarious “Rabbit at Top Speed” sung charmingly (and speedily!) by Erik Gustafson, who explained (tongue firmly in cheek) the story behind this madcap 65-second recipe for cooking rabbit by Leonard Bernstein. Megan Roth’s rich alto was perfectly suited to “Vien, mon bien-aimé,” as was Janet Stone’s beautiful soprano solo in “Le ruisseau” by Gabriel Fauré, with its babbling brook, harplike piano part.

“Je t’aime” (from the ’90s) was sung with heartbreaking beauty by Michael Hawes, while Sophie Amelkin charmed with “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miz. Michael Hawes showed up playing a mean flugelhorn in the profoundly sad “Comme d’habitude,” sung beautifully by Carrie Charon and the always amazing Enrico Lagasca. After a piano solo, “D’un jardin clair” by the no longer underappreciated Lili Boulanger followed. The filled-to-capacity audience was then seduced by the great baritone Dana Whiteside, who gave a standing ovation–worthy performance of “What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?” (Lyrics by Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman, original music by Michel Legrand: the tune was written for the 1969 film The Happy Ending.)

“Cole Porter in Paris” was the perfect finish to this kaleidoscopic tour of the City of Love. Three singers each received a solo, and we finally were given an opportunity to hear from one of my favorite singers, tenor Jonas Budris. Pianist Joy Schreier was a major reason everything went as seamlessly as it did. Kudos to Peter Mansfield, who created some excellent arrangements with just these voices in mind.

To me, the church’s acoustics seemed to favor the lower voices. But the sound on Skylark’s new Sono Luminus CD is fabulous, almost uniformly better than at the concert.

Susan Miron, a harpist, has been a book reviewer for over 30 years for a large variety of literary publications and newspapers. Her fields of expertise were East and Central European, Irish, and Israeli literature. Susan covers classical music for the Arts Fuse and the Boston Musical Intelligencer.