POP MUSIC REVIEWS : Inner Voices: Treat Worth the Wait

Inner Voices, like all celebrations of Christmas, comes but once a year. Understandably, packed houses greeted this group of four extremely talented women and its strictly seasonal repertoire at the Vine St. Bar & Grill on Thursday and At My Place on Friday. After all, we have to wait 51 weeks every year to hear them.

This is the sixth year the Inner Voices has sung in public, although the four worked together as studio musicians for five years previously. Towering over them, both in height and vocal range, is the stunning Darlene Koldenhoven. Moving on down the line, Morgan Ames is the alto, group leader, and writer of almost all the arrangements; Clydene Jackson-Edwards is the tenor; and Carmen Twillie the baritone, sometimes almost a basso profundo.

Though taped rhythm tracks were heard on a couple of numbers, basically the singers work a capella. The purity of the songs, the subtle interaction in Ames’ charts, the accuracy of their blend, must be heard to be believed. The material mixes sacred, standard and popular songs. “Silent Night” is sung wordlessly. “White Christmas” includes a rarely heard verse. Koldenhoven was superbly showcased in “I Wonder as I Wander” and in her own “The Angels Sang.”

Inner Voices represents a level of total artistry one sometimes fears is vanishing. Here’s a Christmas wish that the group builds a non-seasonal library so that next year, year-round, they can bring joy to the world.