Voice, a British trio, featured a wide range of love songs as part of the Performing Arts and Concert Series
Three women in elegant dresses stood on the Baker Center Theatre stage and shared stories of love through their powerful voices.
Voice, the British trio consisting of Emily Burn, Victoria Couper and Clemmie Franks, brought a diverse range of repertoire to Baker Center Theatre on Tuesday night for an audience of about 50 people during the last stop of the “If Music Be the Food of Love” tour. This was part of the Performing Arts and Concert Series.
Between each song, the women paused and offered background information on each piece to give the audience a better understanding.
The group was able to makes transitions from more traditional pieces, such as a heartfelt piece in the tune of a Shakespearean song, to more lighthearted tunes that left the audience chuckling.
“Please feel free to smile,” Franks said before starting the piece “Happy Song” by Stevie Wishart.
Couper began beat boxing while Burn made kissing noises with her hand and lips. The trio slowly swayed from side to side to the beat of the music and captured the audience’s attention entirely.
“I enjoyed ‘Happy Song,’’ said Nawaf Abolola, a junior studying biomedical science. “They made a lot of beats. For a human to make that kind of beat and those kind of instrumental vocals is amazing”
Voice met in the Oxford Girls Choir while the women were in their early teens, Burns said to the crowd after intermission. They went every Saturday, became friends and learned an array of musical skills. Burns said they separated at the age of 18 but found themselves in London in 2006.
“We got in touch and just said, ‘Do you fancy singing?’ because there was something missing from our lives,” Burns said.
The group continued with songs on the theme of love. The group sang two catches, which are a type of round. The particular catches would’ve been sung in a gentleman’s club in the 17th and 18th century.
The women layered their voices upon each other in a seemingly effortless way. While each woman sang something different, they ended together as one strong voice.
The trio later sang “Light” by Marcus Davidson and as the room fell silent at the song’s conclusion, the intimate audience roared with applause and stood up in appreciation. Couper then stepped forward with a laugh and a soft smile and said they had one more song.
Couper offered a choice to the audience of either a piece from Scotland or the United States. The audience shouted out “Scotland,” and the trio began its final piece of the night.
“(My friends and I) were just talking about the beautiful harmonies, tight harmonies with dissonance and resolution, and (there was) such a range of different periods,” said Elizabeth Thompson, an English professor who attended the performance.
Andrew Holzaepfel, senior associate director of student activities for the Campus Involvement Center, said it was a challenging date and had a lighter crowd than preferred. He said he was glad to see at least some community members and students come out and fill the seats.
“It was a really special (show) for us because it was the final one on our tour,” Burn said after the show. “In the second half, we went back stage during the intermission and said, ‘Gosh, what a really warm, friendly crowd.’ So from the moment we came out, we thought ‘This is going to be a nice gig.’ The audience was wonderful.”
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