Thursday April 25, 2013 - "Behold the sea!" is the ecstatic phrase intoned by the chorus at the start of Ralph Vaughan Williams' epic A SEA SYMPHONY. This evening the New York Choral Society offered this masterpiece at Carnegie Hall, along with Beethoven's CALM SEA AND PROSPEROUS VOYAGE.
The Beethoven unfortunately went for naught this evening because the people seated behind us could not settle themselves during the marvelous hush of the work's opening section; they continued to squirm and whisper throughout the 8-minute duration of the piece. Fortunately we were able to move further down our row to a quieter place for the Symphony.
A SEA SYMPHONY, which premiered in 1910 (on Vaughan Williams' 38th birthday; and he conducted the premiere himself), established the composer as a legitimate successor to Edward Elgar in the pantheon of British musical giants.
There are four movements:
I. A Song for All Seas, All Ships - Moderato maestoso
II. On the Beach at Night, Alone - Largo sostenuto
III. Scherzo: The Waves - Allegro brillante
IV. The Explorers - Grave e molto adagio - Andante con moto
In A Sea Symphony, Vaughan Williams evokes the days when Britain ruled the waves and her Empire spanned the planet. It is a sweepingly heroic pæan to the world's oceans and sailors, the Walt Whitman texts summoning up visions of billowing sails and flags flying aloft: ..."of dashing spray and the winds piping and blowing".
Tonight's performance unfurled splendidly under David Hayes' baton; the shining qualities of the Vaughan Williams score emerged through the finely-textured playing of the musicians and the rich harmonies of the choral writing. Chorus and orchestra have the symphony's Scherzo all to themselves and delivered optimum music-making in this evocative passage.
Actress Kathleen Turner, with her signature huskiness of voice, read the Whitman poems before each of the symphony's four movements. Clad all in black and taking on a professorial aspect as she donned her eyeglasses, she was a lecturer whose stance and gestures took on a seasoned and theatrical expansiveness as the evening progressed.
The raven-haired soprano Jennifer Forni appropriately chose a very pretty aquamarine gown for tonight's concert; the singer, who recently debuted at The Met as the First Esquire in the new production of PARSIFAL, displayed an unusually rich quality in her lyric-soprano voice. She sang with clarity, warmth and an attractive upper register. Undoubtedly she'll be asked for spinto roles thanks to the unexpected and appealing density of her timbre; I hope wisdom will prevail and that she will move carefully into the repertory, assuring herself of a sustained career. The soprano's singing was well-matched by the baritone Jordan Shanahan; his performance managed to tread a fine line between boyish eagerness and a more mature sense of vocal dignity. His poetic rendering of "On the beach at night, alone" was a highlight of the evening. Mr. Shanahan's vocal power and clarity were in ample evidence, and when the two singers joined in unison during the symphony's final movement, the combined effect of their voices was particularly pleasing.
Founded in 1958, the New York Choral Society have presented many of the masterworks in the choral genre, as well as offering eleven world premieres; and they have commissioned works by Paul Alan Levi, Morton Gould, Stephen Paulus, and Robert De Cormier. I love these lines from the Society's mission statement:
"Our passion is music.
Our belief is that choral music lifts the human spirit. It is a language that spans borders and cultures.
Our goal is inspiring and excellent performance.
Our great hope is that future generations will share our passion for choral singing."
Dance-lovers who follow my blog will note with pleasure that the long listing of choral artists of the Society includes the name of the great ballerina Martine van Hamel. I'll never forget a conversation I had with her one day when I was working at Tower; she was seeking some choral music on CD and explained to me that she'd been taking voice lessons and had joined the Society, pursuing a fresh aspect in her artistic career. I had to smile when I saw her name listed in the Playbill this evening, bringing back memories of that lovely encounter.
The concert's participating artists were:
David Hayes, Music Director and Conductor
Kathleen Turner, speaker
Jennifer Forni, soprano
Jordan Shanahan, baritone
Chorus and orchestra of the Society
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