Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, April 11, 1994 TAG: 9404110016
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SETH WILLIAMSON SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Blacksburg Master Chorale is on a roll.
The phenomenal success a year ago this week of its world premiere of Jon Polifrone's "Requiem: for those we love" led both to its first compact disc and to a tighter, better-sounding group.
Conductor Craig Fields led the choir in the first of a two-concert series Saturday night at Blacksburg Presbyterian Church. The program, consisting of Gabriel Faure's beloved "Requiem" and Leonard Bernstein's "Chichester Psalms," will be heard again this Sunday at 5 p.m. at St. Andrew's Catholic Church in Roanoke.
The Master Chorale turned in two persuasive performances Saturday night. While not the equal of, say, the Roanoke Valley Choral Society at its best, Craig Fields' ensemble is nevertheless among the better amateur choral groups in the state.
More importantly, if the choir continues along the rising arc of improvement evident over the past year, it has more world premieres and CD recordings in its future.
In an interview prior to the performance, Fields said, "Because of the [Polifrone] `Requiem,' we jumped a light-year artistically, it was so demanding. I feel it's paid off in many ways. It's created a higher sensibility in all the singers, a higher sense of musicianship, a higher sense of what makes music work well."
Fields chose the stripped-down John Rutter edition of the Faure "Requiem," a lighter, more transparent version of the work which electrified the choral music world when it appeared a decade ago. A fifteen-player orchestra plus organist James Bryant provided plenty of instrumental depth, a fact that may surprise those familiar only with the big, thickly orchestrated version of the work.
It was a proficient performance, with bass/baritone soloist Wayne Kompelien's typically professional contribution. The clear instrumental textures were lovely in the "Sanctus," Fields' rubato was expressive in the "Agnus Dei," and violin soloist Jennifer Savastano played sweetly.
Soprano soloist Amy Roszak could have varied her dynamic level to better effect in the "Pie Jesu," and an unfortunate horn clam marred the effect of the choir's "Hosanna in excelsis," but the final effect added up to a moving artistic experience.
The "Chichester Psalms" were a big contrast. An older concertgoer a few rows in front of me, lulled perhaps by the rapturous calm of the Faure's final bars, almost literally jumped out of her seat at the Bernstein work's jubilant opening cymbal crash.
Though seasoned with a dash of harmonic astringency here and there, this short piece is a rousing affirmation of tonality. As Bernstein humorously described it in verse,
These psalms are a simple and modest affair,
Tonal and tuneful and somewhat square,
Certain to sicken a stout John Cager,
With its tonics and triads in E-flat major.
This cut-down version featured choir plus organ, harp and one very busy percussionist. Though Fields dispensed with the boys' choir specified in the original score, he did feature boy treble Brian St. John (who only a few weeks ago sang a major role in a Roanoke production of Paul McCartney's "Liverpool Oratorio") for the middle-movement setting of the 23rd Psalm.
This is a difficult work, and there were shortcomings. The first movement's dance-like 7/4 rhythms were flat-footed and plodding at times.
On the other hand, the quiet, long-breathed and sinuous melody for men in the final movement, with its unexpected harmonic twists and turns - and especially the unison "Amen" in the work's closing moments - were gorgeous. The "Chichester Psalms" are rarely heard in these parts and were by themselves worth the price of a ticket.
Both works earned substantial applause, with a few concertgoers standing to applaud after the Bernstein.
by CNB