The Choir Indivisible: Scala & Kolacny Brothers Live

By Christian Lipski

Roseland Theater, Portland OR
March 9, 2011

Click for larger image.

Scala & Kolacny Brothers, a Belgian girls’ choir directed by Stijn Kolacny and accompanied on piano by brother Steven, has made its name by performing haunting covers of popular songs including Radiohead’s “Creep” from The Social Network‘s soundtrack. At the Wonder Ballroom last night, they gave Portland a taste of their European direction.

Even if you’ve heard their self-titled CD, which was recently reviewed in Popshifter, you can’t know what it’s like to hear these songs coming from 23 young women in an enclosed space. It gives the modern listener a glimpse into what early devotional music must have been like for medieval worshipers. Hearing so many human voices at once is incredibly moving, especially when paired with the right songs.

The song selection ranged from classical pieces to pop songs to original numbers, which writer Steven Kolacny referred to as “overcomposed,” laughingly. The choice of songs to cover is critical for a group like this; songs with no lyrical or musical strength behind them come off as merely novelties. There has to be an emotional component that is compatible with the chorale setting. This is where the Kolacny brothers have succeeded, though it can be difficult for domestic listeners to fully appreciate.

The audience laughed when they recognized Alanis Morrisette’s “You Oughta Know” begin. It’s hard for a listener who is steeped in modern hip ironicism to look past the superficial oddness of juxtaposing a pop song with a choir setting. But when one moves past the surface, the lyrics (obsessed, angry, hurt), borne on strong voices, penetrate as deeply as they do in the original song. Perhaps even more deeply, being made more haunting by the resonant delivery of the group.

Photo © Christian Lipski

The same can be said of the following song, The Police’s “Every Breath You Take,” which more effectively communicated Sting’s portrayal of a controlling lover than the original. This is no “Up With People” here. Chills ran as the volume swelled in the choruses, coming out of a wall of voices.

Between songs, the brothers traded jabs at each other in their charmingly-accented English. “I write original songs, and you don’t,” said pianist Steven, to which Stijn replied, “That’s because I know my limitations . . . and you don’t.” The two were very at ease with the audience, and kept the show from being overly formal. They had everyone sing “Happy Birthday” to a soprano who turned 27 that day.

Though the young women of Scala are the main focus of the group, they give the impression of being a human pipe organ, played by director Stijn Kolacny. That’s the goal of a choir, though, and in order to accomplish this goal, each element must respond perfectly, which the members of Scala did. It was interesting to watch them perform, standing at attention, eyes fixed on Stijn’s direction, and then “break character” afterwards to drink water or cough.

Photo © Christian Lipski

There were three encores: “Creep,” “With Or Without You,” and an original song that was a shoe-in for the European dance charts. Stijn claimed that Portland had provided the best audience of the tour, though it was only the third date of their North American route.

People are not really sure what to make of Scala & Kolacny Brothers. Aside from “Creep,” they haven’t have any real presence here, and their US label ATCO doesn’t seem to be promoting them. Stijn joked that they had sold 500,000 CDs in Europe and nearly 50 in the US. According to a source close to the group, it’s likely that their concert in Portland was moved from the Roseland Theater to the smaller Wonder Ballroom due to low ticket sales. Which is a shame if true, because a price of $18 is not much for such a moving experience.

There was a non-trivial amount of young people at the show, which was encouraging. With the success of Glee, perhaps it is time for choir to enjoy a period of coolness among school-age kids. Scala & Kolacny Brothers showed how it can be done with precision and style, but also with heart. And without Auto-Tune.

Don’t miss Scala & Kolacny Brothers on their North American tour. You can still catch them through May 1 in the following cities.

Tue-Apr-12: San Francisco, CA at The Independent
Thu-Apr-14: Los Angeles, CA at El Rey Theatre
Fri-Apr-15: Indio, CA at Coachella
Wed-Apr-20: Boulder, CO at Boulder Theatre
Fri-Apr-22: Minneapolis, MN at First Avenue
Sat-Apr-23: Chicago, IL at Park West
Mon-Apr-25: Washington, DC at 9:30 Club
Tue-Apr-26: Philadelphia, PA at The Trocadero
Wed-Apr-27: Boston, MA at House of Blues
Thu-Apr-28: New York, NY at Webster Hall
Sat-Apr-30: Toronto, ON at The Opera House
Sun-May-1: Montreal, QC at Club Soda