Oberon's Glade

Tag: Collegiate Chorale

  • Collegiate Chorale: Glass and Golijov

    Toltec

    Above: A Toltec star-shield

    Wednesday February 27, 2013 – A few minutes into this concert by the Collegiate Chorale, an expression from the 60’s came to me: “Mind-blowing!” The evening, one of the most purely pleasurable I have ever spent in a concert hall, featured two great contemporary works: the Toltec Symphony (#7) of Philip Glass, and OCEANA, a marvel-filled cantata by Osvaldo Golijov. The cumulative sonic effect of this music was like that of a mystical drug: I felt both vividly stimulated and wonderfully relaxed: a paradox, but there it is.

    The Glass dates from 2005 when it was commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra to honor the 60th birthday of conductor Leonard Slatkin. The composer was inspired by the ancient culture of the Toltecs, remnants of which may still be found in Northern Mexico. Like many wise peoples, the Toltecs lived in close harmony with nature; the symphony evokes not only that link but the mysterious harmonies of forgotten rituals.

    The term Minimalist doesn’t really apply to Philip Glass; his view of music is in fact panoramic and the Toltec is universes away from Minimalism. It’s a vast and grand piece. The composer’s signature motif of repeated rhythmic patterns is very much in play, but there are layers of sound bulit on that foundation.

    The work opens subtly, with harp, maracas and celeste; as the first movement (entitled The Corn) develops, there is a spine-tingling ebb and flow of dynamics and textures from huge tutti passages that pulsate thunderously to trancelike delicacies that float on air. The second movement (The Sacred Root) is a grand choral tapestry, veering in song from seductive sway to hypnotic chant; at one point four singers step forward to deliver a counter-song. The chanting, sustained over timpani, finally dwindles magically into silence.

    The symphony’s final movement opens with a chorale of brass and violins into which the woodwinds and harp soon join. At this point there was an annoying late seating which broke the mood of the piece; with only a few minutes of music left, was it really necessary to seat people at that point?  Better to have taken a pause between the second and third movements and gotten the stragglers in place before continuing.

    Trying to recover my focus, I was intrigued by a passage for harp and strings, interrupted twice by the timpani. The winds join in a grand welling-up only to subside again. A four-square rhythmic, benedictive choral finale develops with halting pauses between segments, inducing an ecstatic feeling. With luminous high-flutes sounding over gently rocking strings, the Toltec vanishes into the mist like a lost civilization.

    There was no intermission but rather a longish pause in which the stage was re-set for the Golijov. I’ve recently become fascinated with this composer thanks to hearing his music used by choreographer Lydia Johnson. For OCEANA, the brass and woodwinds leave us as do the percussionists: aside from a quartet of flautists and three musicians playing small percussion instruments, OCEANA is all-strings – including guitars – and singing. 

    Neruda_0

    The enigmatic and perfumed poetry of Pablo Neruda (above), from Cantos Ceremonial, gives wing to Osvaldo Golijov’s matchless musical imagination. In this cantata, modeled on Bach, the illusive words of the poet will rise up from the mystic murmurs of harp and guitar and the sounds of the rainforest which open the work.

    Biella

    The sensational Venezuelan vocalist Biella Da Costa (above) revealed a mellow, sultry voice of huge range and capable of entrancing vocal effects woven into her alluring sound. Wow!  As the work progressed from one movement to the next, I found myself thinking: “What sonic magic will we experience next?” Between the orchestra, the chorus and the soloist, the ear is constantly seduced while the soul veers madly from the realms of the spiritual to the sensual.

    In a splendid aria, the jazzy singer bounces her voice around a big range, joyously carefree in this litling vocalise which percolates over guitar, bass and flutes. Then the chorus takes over, rocking and rolling like a sailing ship on a breezy day. Folkish percussion with harp and guitar tingle as a group of young women from the Manhattan Girls Chorus join in the music-making: wind and waves carry us forward, making me want to dance.

    Finally we reach the choral finale: the Oceana chant, a dreamlike invocation, makes us feel like we’re in church. The vision of the sea and the clouds fades like a dream as the music evaporates into a hush.

    IMG_1862Chorale

    Conductor James Bagwell (above, in an Erin Baiano photo) is to be praised not only for his steering of the musical ship tonight but for this imaginative and wonderfully satisfying programming.  Ms. Da Costa was nothing short of a revelation, and let’s have some special roses for harpist Sara Cutler who played so marvelously all evening. 

    Osvaldo Golijov susrprisingly joined the singers and musicians onstage during the applause; I’m not sure the audience recognized him though.


    -Osvaldo-Golijov -Oceana

    OCEANA is available on CD…

    Philip-Glass-Glass -Symphony-No.7-'Toltec'

    …as is Glass’s Toltec Symphony.

  • Ives 4th + Mahler 8th @ Carnegie Hall

    Mahler 2

    Above: Gustav Mahler

    Friday October 26, 2012 – The  Collegiate Chorale and the American Symphony Orchestra teamed up at Carnegie Hall tonight for a symphonic double-bill, with a delightful ‘prelude’ in the form of Leopold Stokowski’s arrangement of The Star-Spangled Banner. I rarely have the opportunity to work symphonic concerts into my calendar of dance and operatic events (and I continue to suffer from a lack of chamber music in my diet). So I am grateful to the Collegiate Chorale and publicist Michelle Brandon Tabnick for this evening’s invitation.

    The evening marked the 50th anniversary of the American Symphony Orchestra and in celebration, tickets were sold at 1962 prices, with a $7.00 top. There was a nice atmosphere in the house and a warm reception for all the musicians involved.

    Maestro Leon Botstein swept his forces thru the ‘Stokowski’ Star-Spangled Banner with its wonderful deeper sonorities near the end.  Players and audience alike stood for the anthem, and I personally felt a pang of sadness at the state of our country today. But we won’t go into that here.

    The players then settled in and the Ives began. This is a fabulous score and I found myself smiling and even chuckling softly to myself as the work progressed: it takes itself so seriously, yet to me it abounds with wit and irony. It seemed clear that some in the audience had not previously encountered Ives’ work: they didn’t know what to make of it. But for me, this was 30-minutes of pure sonic pleasure.

    Ives

    Above: Charles Ives

    The wondrous layering of sound, the floating cacophonies wafting over the dense militaristic undercurrents, the dazzling individual instrumental voices shining forth: the ear is constantly titillated. In a stunning volte face, Ives gives us straightforward melody in the 3rd movement which must have felt like a sonic oasis to the uninitiated. Throughout, the piano (expert playing from Blair McMillen) gives the symphony the unexpected feel of a concerto trying to make itself heard thru the waves of sound. A terrific performances, and the players have my admiration for what must be a nightmare of counting.

    After intermission, the vast tapestry of the Mahler 8th unfurled itself in the venerable hall. Relentless in its cresting waves of vocal sound flooding over the massive orchestral forces, this is a work like no other. The two choruses simply pour it on all evening, whilst an octet of principal voices – the sopranos often kept in the upper reaches of their range – trade off solo passages of melodic intensity.

    Duncan-Tyler-01[Colin-Mills]

    Of the vocal soloists, three stood out: baritone Tyler Duncan (above, in a Colin Mills portrait) brought a welcome sense of lyric beauty to his solo. Basso Denis Sedov was equally fine, using his expressive hands to shape the music. In the taxing top soprano line, Rebecca Daviss’ voice gleamed beautifully all evening.

    Maestro Botstein was a few minutes into the symphony’s second half when he suddenly stopped; I could not hear his over-the-shoulder remark, but with a tap of the baton he started over. The performance then surged onward, and the audience stayed on at the end to cheer.

    • Blair McMillen, piano
    • Rebecca Davis, soprano
    • Abbie Furmansky, soprano
    • Katherine Whyte, soprano
    • Fredrika Brillembourg, mezzo-soprano
    • Susan Platts, mezzo-soprano
    • Clay Hilley, tenor
    • Tyler Duncan, baritone
    • Denis Sedov, bass
    • Brooklyn Youth Chorus
    • The Collegiate Chorale