Why, yes, I was at Carnegie Hall this past weekend. Through a ticket giveaway (and some luck), I attended two choral concerts under the auspices of Distinguished Concerts International New York. Without delving into all of the ramifications, choirs are assembled with members from various musical groups around the world. Sunday afternoon’s concert had choristers from Minnesota, Illinois, Idaho, Indiana, Alberta (Canada), Georgia, Florida, Massachusetts, Mississippi, and North Carolina. Whew! The Of Life and Liberty program:
The Gettysburg Address, Matt Hayes, (world premiere for men’s chorus); The Testament of Freedom, Randall Thompson; and Requiem for the Living, Dan Forrest (New York premiere).
Setting historical texts of Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson (the Thompson work) presents certain difficulties in that, in order to not blur the texts, they almost have to be presented as incantations. Mr. Hayes’ composition was pleasant, if a bit too much of a wash of choral sound, for my taste. By contrast, Mr. Thompson’s work, also for men’s chorus, was a more well-rounded and varied composition. Perhaps this is because the Jefferson texts were taken from more than one writing, indeed, even from two different time periods (1774/1775 and 1821). The four movements, The God who gave us life, We have counted the cost, We fight not for glory, and I shall not die without a hope, were nicely varied, including quite a bit of martial music (snare drums, brass fanfares, etc.). On a personal note, I’m pretty sure I performed this work in high school—if not the entire work, at least one or two movements. Ah, memories.
Mr. Forrest’s Requiem, Introit—Kyrie, Vanitas Vanitatum, Agnus Dei, Sanctus, and Lux Aeterna, played free and easy with the usual layout of a requiem mass. The opening movement began quietly, and then built in intensity. The second movement was rather ominous and very rhythmic. A “Pie Jesu” text went sailing above in the sopranos, and a harp provided a mood change in the “Lacrimosa” section. Overall, this movement had a film score quality (not in a bad way). Agnus Dei featured a mezzo-soprano soloist, then with the choir added, in a gently rocking setting. Sanctus had harp arpeggios (xylophone, as well) with a calm choral opening that gave way to a broad wash of sound from the orchestra and choir, building to an up tempo section with driving rhythms in the percussion. Lux Aeterna led off with the choir, joined by the mezzo with the choir. In the middle there was a step-out tenor solo (I’m not sure whether it was a student or a faculty member). The joined forces at the end slightly overpowered the mezzo soloist, but throughout, all choirs, soloists, and orchestra personnel performed quite well.
Monday evening was The Music of Karl Jenkins, 70th Birthday Celebration, featuring The Bards of Wales (U.S. premiere), “Benedictus” from The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace, and Stabat Mater. As previously noted two years(!) ago, Mr. Jenkins’ compositional style is a little on the lite, modern side for my taste. The eight-movement Bards of Wales was no exception. An amassed choir (similar to the previous concert, but this time with much more of an international scope) sang well, as did four vocal soloists. I was a little surprised that the vocal soloists were amplified. Maybe that was part of the problem, but I felt that balance was pretty difficult to pull off here. And partially due to that, some of the texts were totally covered up and unintelligible. The same held for the 12-movement Stabat Mater, although that did provide my first exposure to a Turkish wind instrument called a ‘mey’, which is used to bend pitches lending a middle eastern flavor to some of the Stabat Mater movements. The tenth movement, a setting of Ave Verum, could possibly be a stand-alone piece, while the seventh movement, a repetitive setting of a vocal phrase, reminded me of a vocal version of “Bolero.” And not in a good way.
“Benedictus” came just before intermission and is a very nice (if somewhat easy-listening) movement taken from Mr. Jenkins’ Mass. I had recently heard a recording of it on the radio, and it was nice to then hear it live.
These two concerts are not exactly the type of music I would seek out in the future, but it’s good to be exposed to differing styles and performances.
ConcertMeister
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