The vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth has evolved from being a cult favorite to one of the most acclaimed proponents for redefining choral music and the potential of the human voice. Their sound is best described as wonderfully weird and genuinely global, from classical Persian and Hindustani singing to Death Metal.
It’s been five years since Roomful of Teeth first made an appearance in Cincinnati, when they performed as part of the Contemporary Art Center’s Black Box series. On May 15, they return for a concert at the Woodward Theatre and on May 17, they’ll perform as part of the venerable May Festival’s opening concert.
Brad Wells founded the group in 2009, recruiting eight singers — four men and four women — to perform music that would be written for them that utilizes expansive vocal techniques.
“I didn’t see this as trend setting,” Wells says, speaking from Amherst, Massachusetts, where he heads the vocal department at Williams College. “We wanted a more open-minded approach to how the voice can sound, especially in a choral setting.”
In a recent New Yorker profile, Wells describes how hearing a Bulgarian women’s choir exploded his ideas of what choral singing could be, which inspired his commitment to exploring vocal techniques from across the globe.
He brought in experts in various styles to coach his singers; even as they struggled to master these techniques, they discovered that their voices weren’t damaged — far from it.
“We’re all continually exposed to the voice’s potential and how it can sound better in different repertoire,” he says.
As that repertoire expanded, both vocal and performance demands led to adding more members. The original eight vocalists still perform — as does Wells — but there are now seven additional singers who step in as needed. Three will be in Cincinnati.
“In the last five years, the amount of work has been heavy and we’re performing more frequently,” Wells says. “We don’t think of it as covering — it’s who’s available.”
Roomful of Teeth will join the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the May Festival Chorus and baritone Rod Gilfry for the U.S. premiere of British composer Mark Simpson’s The Immortal, a 35-minute oratorio that plumbs early-20th-century England’s obsession with seances, psychic research and the occult. May Festival Principal Conductor Juanjo Mena conducted its 2015 world premiere in Manchester, England.
In a review, London’s The Times lauded The Immortal as “the most thrilling choral work…heard in years.”
Because of Roomful of Teeth’s commitment to performing original material, Wells was at first reluctant to accept the May Festival’s invitation. After reviewing the score, he changed his mind.
“This is pretty unique for us,” he says. “It’s a huge work, and there’s a lot of attention to the kind of detail we look for. There’s reliance on close-miking because there’s no way a small chorus can be heard above an orchestra and large chorus.
“The semi-chorus does a lot of toggling between speaking and singing. There is a sense of invocation, of finding one’s way into a spiritualist world.”
The program also includes Brahms’ Schicksalslied and Vaughan Williams’ Toward the Unknown Region.
But to really experience Roomful of Teeth, get to the Woodward for jaw-dropping vocal X-games. The set list includes two pieces by Caroline Shaw, her luminous Partita for 8 Voices and The Isle; settings of texts from Shakespeare’s The Tempest; Caleb Burhans’ Beneath; and Merrill Garbus’ Quizassa, which is inspired by Bulgarian harmonic dissonance complete with low drones and occasional gasps.
Wells is encouraged by the number of choruses taking up the challenge of new works, including those written for Roomful of Teeth.
“Several groups are already performing Caroline’s Partita. Now with Teeth as a model, composers are being more intentional in the colors they’re looking for, and conductors and ensembles are open to that,” he says.
For him it’s been a process of discovering how Roomful of Teeth can expand their ensemble through “sounds different cultures found on paths” that resonate with them.
“We are all honored and careful how we present,” Wells says, “how we speak about the voice, opening new paths for creating (repertoire) and building skill sets for singers in exciting ways that take advantage of multiple vocal languages.”
Roomful of Teeth will perform May 15 at The Woodward Theater and May 17 at Springer Auditorium in Music Hall. More info/tickets: mayfestival.com.
This article appears in May 8-15, 2019.
