‘River in Judea’ flows in Methodist church

On Sunday, April 7, the Bay Area Chorus, one of the three branches of the Bay Area Friends of Fine Arts, held a concert at the United Methodist Church’s auditorium in Bayport.

Titled “Water and Music,” chorus director Martha Campanile selected songs that reveled in the spiritual, enticed the whimsy, and conjured the collective spirit that is integral to live performance.

Particularly, “River in Judea” was a brilliant performance and marvelous selection that carried the angelic soprano voices and anchored the tenors in a wonderful interplay.

Fittingly performed in church, the Jack Feldman, Linda Marcus, and John Leavitt piece has been a staple of choirs.

Under Campanile’s direction, the Bay Area Chorus sounded like a generous congregation welcoming back someone broken, but not without faith.

A number of soloists performed, with Joseph Hailey being a standout in his performance of “The Lordly Hudson,” a poignant description and love of the Hudson River based on a poem by Paul Goodman.

Hailey’s commanding and full voice vibrated throughout the space and the clarity of his phrasing was refreshing.

To end the spirited performance, the audience was invited to take part in a couple of sea shanties and the classic “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.”