“Kelsey plied the full range and power of his supple voice in the Vaughan Williams songs, from a burnished top range in “Youth and Love” to potent, gravelly, world-weary bottom notes in “Bright Is the Ring of Words.” The cycle hit its apex in the almost surreal wonder of “The Infinite Shining Heavens,” followed by rueful nostalgia of “Whither Must I Wander?” The dual strengths of the baritone voice, sharp anger and dulcet murmur, both came through ideally.”
“Kelsey mined the riches of his voice for a luxurious and sophisticated take on “In Dreams,” a highlight of this section of the program. He continued the Vaughan Williams portion with a pensive performance of “The Infinite Shining Heavens” and a nourishing rendition of “Whither Must I Wander,” a paean to home, which probed the softened depths of his lower register. The program wrapped up with “Bright Is the Ring of Words,” which showcased Kelsey’s smooth transition from chest to head voice and more vibrato well-suited to the reflective tenor of Vaughan Williams’s music, and the gleaming pint-sized song “I Have Trod the Upward and the Downward Slope.””
