DVD: Doc: Camerata Vocal Musica Aurea UK Tour June - July 2012

2 x DVD, Voces de Cuba 2013
A must for lovers of choral music. Performances of this inspiring choir from Santiago de Cuba plus workshops and interviews. See review.

£13.00 inc p&p

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Following on from their excellent CD, recorded live during a highly successful UK tour, comes this intriguing DVD set from the Cuban choir Camerata Vocal Musica Aurea from Santiago de Cuba. Featuring young singers with exceptional talent, this choir played to full houses throughout their tour across the north of England which was supported by the Music Fund for Cuba charity.
The DVD features high quality concert footage with excellent audio from three concerts: at Sheffield University, Sheffield cathedral and in the round at the famous Crucible Theatre. The variety of settings gives the choir an opportunity to show their versatility, not just in their choice of music (which ranges from renaissance pieces from Spain, through contemporary music from northern Europe to Cuban classics) but also in their use of movement and visual effects.
What is most evident from this DVD, apart from the quite brilliant singing throughout the concerts, is the way that the inspirational director Delvis Ramos not only communicates the rises and falls of the pieces through her energetic conducting but also uses an inspiring variety of placings for the singers – sometimes in a circle, sometimes in a close group, sometimes even moving around the platform - in order to better communicate this evocative music to an appreciative audience.
For those not fortunate enough to have attended these concerts, this is a worthy souvenir of an exceptional group at their peak and a tribute to those involved in such great music making.
A second DVD shows the choir at work in schools and giving workshops, as well as enjoying their time in and around Sheffield, including interviews with members, along with a dedication to the leading light of Cuban choral music and a particular inspiration to this choir, Oscar Mesa Menezez, who died shortly after the tour took place.
Dave Willetts. This review appeared in CubaSi magazine Spring 2014

The audio CD of Camerata Vocal Musica Aurea is also available.