Above: baritone Takaoki Onishi; photo by Simon Pauly
~ Author: Oberon
Monday March 2nd, 2020 - Oratorio Society of New York offering a beautiful and moving performance of the Brahms Requiem at Carnegie Hall. The large chorus and orchestra sounded sumptuous in the venerable space, and - on the podium - the Society's Music Director, Kent Tritle, presided over the abundant flow of melody the composer has devised.
Most settings of the requiem mass utilize the classic Latin texts of the 'mass for the dead'. Johannes Brahms, for his Deutsches Requiem, chose instead to draw on passages from the Bible (in Martin Luther's German translation). Unlike the immortal Verdi Messa da Requiem, the German composer steered clear of musical depictions of the Judgement Day, and of the terror of damnation and eternal hellfire. Brahms's take on the Requiem is consoling and uplifting.
And it is just such music we urgently need to hear in these perilous times. Daily stories of man's inhumanity to man abound, whilst the planet continues to be ravaged and dark clouds descend over our once-radiant homeland.
Brahms calls for two soloists: the soprano is given a single 'aria' whilst the baritone has more to do. Susanna Phillips brought a lyrical lustre to her singing, which was suffused with pastel light. I was hearing Takaoki Onishi, the prize-winning Japanese baritone, for the second time: his 2019 performance as Sibelius's Kullervo for Oratorio Society put him emphatically on my vocal radar, so that I was very eager to hear him again. This evening, Mr. Onishi's voice filled Carnegie Hall with rich, steady tone; his singing had a sense of urgency and deep commitment. There is so much music I would love to hear him sing.
Tonight's highly enjoyable musical presentation was unfortunately marred for me by the thoughtless people sitting in front of me: whispering, nudging, laughing, unable to sit still. It seems my fate nowadays to have concerts spoilt by such people; it's another case of the triumph of indifference, when people who don't care ruin things for people who do.
~ Oberon