Music Reviews : L.A. Chamber Singers at CSUN

Founded in 1990, the Los Angeles Chamber Singers have melded into a spirited and sensitive ensemble under its conductor, former KUSC program director, Peter Rutenberg.

Saturday night, along with guitarist Gregory Newton, the 24-member group offered a wide-ranging yet cohesive program of music for voices and guitar in diverse combinations, in the Recital Hall at Cal State Northridge.

Four American parlor songs from the 19th Century, arranged by various hands for guitar and vocal quartet, stood out in the profusion of unfamiliar music. Simple, charming and naive, with solo-singer verses and ringingly harmonized choruses, “Wait for the Wagon,” “The Lone Starry Hours,” “Uncle Sam’s Farm” and “Farewell My Lily Dear” (by Stephen Foster) were given sparkling readings by four different quartets, with Newton supplying relaxed accompaniments.

At the other end of the emotional and artistic spectrum, Ginastera’s “Lamentations of Jeremiah,” an austere, a capella setting, emerged moodily and powerfully. The 16th-Century madrigal “Prado Verde y Florido” by Francisco Guerrero followed in easygoing contrast--such was the intelligent flow of this program.

On his own, Newton offered low-key, technically faultless readings of the “Valsa-Choro” and “Gavota-Choro” from Villa-Lobos’ “Suite Populaire Bresilienne.”