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Monday 26th September 2005

Irish tenors dish up tasty stew
By Ann Hicks ARTS WRITER

On my way to the newsroom Sunday afternoon, I was listening to the Stones' latest release, "A Bigger Bang" -- Mick Jagger wailing "You're driving too fast" -- while thinking about what lay ahead.

Hearing the Irish Tenors live, for the first time.

Well, these other lads of the British Isles -- one Scot, John McDermott, and two Irishmen, Anthony Kearns and Finbar Wright -- had in store a robust bang all of their own.

They came on stage smart in tails, Kearns and Wright sporting red rosebuds in their lapels, while McDermott had none. His, apparently, landed over the heart of spunky conductor Arnie Roth, who led the 29-piece orchestra, made up mostly of members of the Greenville Symphony.

What the trio unpacked couldn't have been more perfect for a Sunday afternoon concert in the Deep South. The Irish stew they dished had plenty of everything from the sacred to the amorous, the patriotic to the humorous.

The Peace Concert Hall audience roared and applauded over and over as the Celtic troubadours showed impressive dynamic range and expressive delivery -- in tutti as well as in solo -- throughout the concert.

After two stirring patriotic songs, each took the first of their numerous solo turns.

Kearns' expressive "Boolavogue" and McDermott's lyric waltz, "Believe Me," were followed by Wright's ardent delivery of "Forty Shades of Green."

Soon it was time for some ancient but beloved warhorses as Wright soloed "How Great Thou Art" and the tutti rendered "Amazing Grace." The audience loved both.

The second set, like the first, opened with an orchestral selection, after which the Tenors came together over a number of selections from their latest album, "Sacred."

They included in the mix the thumping liturgical chant "Deus Meus," and the rousing "Hail Glorious St. Patrick."

They dedicated the next number, "My Forever Friend," to the survivors of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Wright's particularly beautiful rendition of "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen" was the most operatic of his solos, delivered expressively and expansively.

McDermott -- one of 12 children -- followed Wright's beautiful performance with one of his own: "The Old Man," a touching ballad in remembrance of his father. Keane sparkled in "Grace."

What makes the Tenors' performance especially pleasing to the ear is the blend of their voices -- McDermott dusky, Keane radiant and Wright sonorous -- a rich brew.

In sum, theirs was a fine, committed performance no lover of song could fail to find pleasure in. Just ask the happy audience.