The Western Front, Christmas Eve, 1914. Out of the trenches comes a silence, then a song as a young German soldier steps into no man’s land singing “stille Nacht.” Thus begins a truce between allied forces and German soldiers and an extraordinary night of camaraderie, music, and peace. Bringing this historical moment to life, Cantus and Theater Latté Da beautifully combine theater and music including new arrangements of European carols and war-songs for a capella voices.
“And if a classic work is marked by its capacity to stretch and deepen in meaning on repeated viewings, then ‘All is Calm’ seems destined to become timeless. Even without an ornament or a shred of red drapery anywhere on its stark set, ‘All is Calm’ has no peer in the Christmas theatrical sweepstakes—on the terms of celebrating the possibility of peace on earth, goodwill to all” (Graydon Royce, Minneapolis Star Tribune“. More Information
Sweet and touching. However, I thought we would have more \action\ in the show, judging by the videos I saw on YouTube. The narratives bring vivid images to mind – so I’d say the show has the potential to be more theatrical and what it really is. But it is a very beautiful performance with a beautiful and necessary message.
The concert was very good but I expected to see real photos of the war in the background as were shown on the FAC website advertising the event.
Other than that it was well done and enjoyable.
This was absolutely one of the most beautiful and accomplished performances I’ve ever seen. A perfect start to the holiday season.
I agree with the first three reviews that the show was a little sparse, and quite simple in conception . But the choice of readings and their simplicity made the situation very human and clear. The quality of singing was high, and as a reminder of a miracle that undid war for a short time, it was very timely and moving.
I LOVED it! The message, the music, the text, the voices, the acting……just what I needed to get in the Christmas spirit now and in the coming year. It gave me hope.
I think they did a remarkable job with this story. I’ve seen the film depiction and knew the story line beforehand but think that the message was clear enough to the audience. The singing was superb as well. Thanks for bringing them to the FAC.
THE CANTUS PERFORMANCE WAS EXCELLENT! ANYTIME YOU CAN BRING THEM BACK I’M THERE!
Bring Cantus back whenever you get the opportunity, I will come again and again!
Really enjoyed the singing! However, the spoken sections were hard to understand over the audio system.
As always, Cantus was excellent … and the content of the performance was especially poignant during this time of war. Cantus was wonderful when they were here last, and I hope they will return each year.
We weren’t sure what to expect, but it was very moving. We loved it and bought CDs afterwards!
The production of “All is Calm” was an absolutely fabulous concert/drama. The singing was superb, the actors were superb and the weaving together of music and drama were outstanding. It was a deeply moving evening.
I’m going to have to disagree with several people in relation to the sparseness of the stage. I thought the lack of props, or pictures made the music and message that much more important.
The highlight for me was how \Silent Night\ and \Stille Nacht\ were interwoven throughout the entire performance. Absolutely beautiful, would definitely go again.
This show was one of the most beautiful and touching performances I’ve ever seen/heard.
Beautiful and wonderfully presented moment in history. Children enjoyed and were very thoughtful afterwards.
We had heard Cantus before and were mainly interested in hearing their marvelous harmony once again. We couldn’t have been more pleased with the combination of their voices and the context of the very moving story of a fleeting war-time truce. We wanted both the music and the truce to continue into the future. Thank you for bringing this to the FAC. We are pleased to be patrons.
“All is Calm” was a beautiful and moving performance – I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I used a voucher (from participating in a focus group late last spring) for the tickets but, had I paid $35 each for the tickets, I would have been disappointed and felt a bit ‘ripped off’ at the short length of the program (just over an hour). When the house lights came up it seemed like it should be intermission, not the end of the show. My suggestion for short programs in the future is to have some local high-quality group(s) perform as an opener… international Christmas Carols would have been nice in keeping with the theme of the evening. I loved all the local folks being on stage and involved when the Chieftains performed last year.
If this show was someone’s first time to the FAC then they might not return…. since it didn’t seem to be a good value for the length of the show. Just my two cents worth.
Lisa Sullivan-Werner
I thoroughly the show.
It was an incredibly powerful anti-war statement (something which is sorely lacking in our present age as we ignorantly ignore(?) history and continue to fight in Iraq, Afghanistan (& more than likely Iran)). Thoughts which came to mind during the show:
What if Churchill had used his influence to slow down or even halt WWI? Would the slaughter of WWII have happened along with the use of atomic weapons on the main island of Japan?
What if the “grunts” on both sides of those trenches had besides writing it in their journals, put their weapons down after that evening and simply walked away? To hell with the generals and leaders who wanted the fighting to continue?
This to me, is what, among many other thoughts went through my mind that evening
as listened to some of the best a capella (?) I have heard recently.
Also I would like to say that the acoustics in the auditorium were the best I have ever heard there. Being in section 5 (odd side) I could hear everything extremely clearly which only added to my enjoyment of the show.
I sincerely hope this group gets to perform not only for Obama but for our Congressional people. Maybe they can plant the mustard seed of peace that will one day stop all this continuous killing our country engages in.
Thank you so much for bringing this show to Amherst, and I would like to thank my wife who encouraged me to accompany her and her friends to the performance.
Kudos!!
Sincerely,
bill mcclung
Cantus provides extraordinary performances. And the content of this combined musical and theatrical evening was inspiring. We saw Cantus at FAC last season. Thank you for bringing them back.