... with a concert. This was a group I know, New York Repertory Orchestra, in a venue that I didn’t know, Church of St. Paul the Apostle. It's a pretty church—just not well suited, acoustically, for orchestral/choral music.
The program:
Water Music, Suite No. 2 in D Major (George Frideric Handel)
“Let the Bright Seraphim...” from Samson (Handel)
Gloria in D Major (Antonio Vivaldi)
Water Music, Suite No. 3 in G Major (Handel)
Magnificat in D Major (J.S. Bach)
The opening Handel was played nicely—including the famous Hornpipe movement (Da-da-da-DA-da, da-da-dada-DA-DA). The conductor kept the tempos going, even with the reverberation in the church. There were some slight intonation discrepancies between the winds and the strings in the Minuet, but really very slight.
The soprano, Jennifer Grimaldi, sounded very good in the next piece. Unfortunately, she was placed behind the orchestra, so her sound was a little bit lost. Alas, that was more the room's fault than hers or her placement.
The same was tremendously evident in the choral sections and vocal solos/duets in the Vivaldi. Text was incomprehensible (a key component of vocal music, in my book), choral sound was lost behind the orchestra, etc. In that space, I’m not sure there was a solution.
The second half started with the second “Water Music” suite. Once again, nice playing. Knowing what was in store with the choral and solo movements of the Bach, I packed it in. Listening to vowel sounds à la Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise is not my cup of tea.
I’m glad I went; I’ll continue blogging in the new year.
ConcertMeister
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