Review: Grand Phil Choir/Bradley, Enns Modolo, Shaw, Watson
The Grand Philharmonic Choir at the Centre In The Square, Kitchener. (A lightly edited version of this review appears in today’s Kitchener-Waterloo Record.)
Rossini Petite Messe Solonelle
with Leslie Ann Bradley, Jennifer Enns Modolo, Eric Shaw and Sean Watson.
Howard Dyck, baton.
Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) hoped that Petite Messe Solonnelle, written in 1863 to satisfy the commission of a Parisian duke, would be his ticket into heaven and left a note to God in the margin to this effect. Having retired rich at age 37, (who said there was no money in the arts?) Rossini essentially did nothing but eat and entertain for the intervening years. With the exception of Stabat Mater (1839), he composed only small piano pieces and songs that he referred to as Sins of Old Age. Petite Messe was one of these Sins and is scored for harmonium, two pianos, SATB soloists and a SATB choir of 8, a scoring less unusual when its original performance venue, a private salon, is taken into account.
With choral forces multiplied by a factor of 12 at the Centre In The Square Saturday evening, the Grand Philharmonic Choir directed by Howard Dyck was out in full force for their first concert of 2008. The Choir was joined by soloists Leslie Ann Bradley (soprano), Jennifer Enns Modolo (mezzo soprano), Eric Shaw (tenor) and Sean Watson (baritone).
Rossini is famously to have quipped about Wagner’s music that, “it has lovely moments but awful quarters of an hour!” There is nothing in the Petite Messe that is awful however the writing is quite uneven, frustrating only because we know how good Rossini was at the top of his game. It’s rather like a child who gets 65% percent on a test when he perfectly capable of scoring 90%, a phenomenon with which I’m sure many parents and teachers are familiar. (Hi, Mom!)
It was pointed out both the program notes and by Dyck himself in the mini-lecture recital that preceded the concert that this piece was an opera in all but name rather than a true piece of sacred music. Fair enough, but I remained puzzled throughout as to why then, there was so little emphasis placed on the drama overall. An approach that was more bouffe than couth would have given the piece some much needed energy.
The Grand Phil is well trained and sings with uniform sound and excellent rhythmic unity. Most notable, for its rich but still agile tone, is the alto section. The two opening ensemble numbers, Laudamus te and Gratias agimus, revealed a quartet of soloists whose voices complemented rather than competed with each other.
Rossini once claimed that he could set a laundry list to music and his ability to create music divorced from the meaning of the text is most evident in the soprano/alto duet Qui tollis. The text asks God for mercy but the music is so overtly romantic it sounds more like an aria about a great love. Bradley and Enns Modolo were simply brilliant together and left me wanting to hear more. After spending so much time in the basement, Bradley and Enns Modolo were finally given music in the higher part of their registers. It was well worth the wait. Bradley was powerful without being heavy and Enns Modolo displayed a stunning evenness of tone throughout her range. Both were spectacular at full volume. What a treat it would be to hear this pair in The Marriage of Figaro (Mozart) or Rosenkavalier (Strauss).
Bradley shone again in the Crucifixus section. Nominally about acknowledging Christ’s crucifixion, the creeping, chromatic introduction brought to mind early 20th century popular song.
After the Credo, Rossini inserted a piece for solo piano that explored the harmonies he had been experimenting with in his piano pieces. Beautifully expressive playing by Daniel Durksen, the Choir’s accompanist for some twenty years, highlighted the mysterious quality of the interlude.
Contralto was Rossini’s favourite voice type and he reserved his best work for the final number. The drama I had been searching for most of the evening was here by the bucket load. Enns Modolo was incredible and delivered a performance that will stay with me for some time. The soaring lines and unapologetically romantic noodling was the perfect vehicle for Enns Modolo to display her superior sense of phrasing and gorgeous sound.
The best moments for the Choir were the two fugues, Cum sancto and Et vitam. The minor seventh leap (the first two notes of Somewhere from West Side Story) at the beginning of Cum sancto was a bit of a problem but the unaffected, rather jolly feel of two movements more than made up for this uncharacteristic slip.
The next concert by the Philharmonic family of choirs is on 23rd and 24th February. The Chamber Choir will be singing sacred music by Brahms, Tallis, Part, Langlais and Enns Saturday evening at 8pm at First United Church in Waterloo and Sunday afternoon at 4pm at St James Anglican Church in Stratford
