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Christ Church Cathedral
December 15, 2007
So much has been written about Handel's Messiah, so many performances -- and so many reviews, I doubt that I can add much. So I will focus on the performance and the experience.
The performance was very well done indeed. And the experience of listening to large forces in a sold-out Christ Church Cathedral was rich, and new for me.
I have sung there often, but audited less frequently. So I have not found that sweet spot, where an orchestra, chorus and soloists are in balance. But I got two out of three: in the south gallery I heard the soloists clearly and the orchestra well. The first chorus entrance was, however, disconcerting, in that they sounded rather distant (my neighbours agreed). I'm sure it was the acoustics and that the chorus sound was well sufficient; and once I adjusted, I could enjoy. And enjoy I did.
The Victoria Choral Society's sound was rich, and each voice had its standout moments. The homophonic sections (such as, but not limited to, "the Lord hath laid on Him" at the end of "All we like sheep") were well-balanced. For the most part each voice also emerged clearly in polyphony, although at times the tenors were a bit thin and the sopranos not quite unanimous in pitch in a couple of high passages. Enunciation was clear most of the time, but I would have liked crisper final consonants in "Their sound has gone out". A good range of dynamics was evident in such movements as "Lift up your heads". "Glory to God" done by the three upper voices was, well, glorious.
"His yoke is easy" is perhaps the most difficult chorus to do well, and the VCS handled it. In particular, the longer melismas -- some stretching several bars -- were clear. The only weakness I noticed was that the forte of "His burthen is light" was not well contrasted with the piano of the "His yoke is easy" passages.
So kudos to the VCS and its music director Joey Pietraroia for the preparation of the choir and its energy.
While so many of us (especially we choristers who have sung them) think of the choruses as the heart of Messiah, it is the soloists who can make -- or break -- a performance. We half sing along, are critical at rough points from having been there, done that, and in the end forgive even a weak choir performance. But the soloists, with such wondrous material to work with (after all, Handel was a most successful opera composer for a living) can make us sit up and take notice, cringe, or merely let us snooze until the next chorus.
I found myself sitting up quite often. Tonight's performance by tenor Colin Balzer showed me that the most telling moment in Messiah is the opening aria "Comfort ye". His expressive use of his beautiful voice brought out the theme of the entire work. And his handling of a quite contrasting piece, "Thou shalt break them" was equally effective. I liked his touching, empathetic handling of "Thy rebuke hath broken His heart", with an even sound over all dynamics and range. His careful emphases resulted in long runs not only being negotiated cleanly and clearly but also sung as commentaries on the text emphasized in the initial statements.
Nearly as striking was Tyler Duncan. The recitative-aria sequence "For behold"/"The people that walked in darkness" exemplified his strengths. A bass should sound as though he has at least four notes below the lowest his part calls for, and that the highest passages are easy. So did Duncan sound. And the rich, understatement of opening of the recit gradually intensified to the level of the aria. At the other extreme, his singing of "The trumpet shall sound" matched as closely as a voice can the timbre of the trumpet.
I liked less Duncan's handling of melismas in, say, "Thus saith the Lord". They were clean, well articulated, but too even: all their notes were treated as equal, and to my taste, beccame dull. He also clipped vowels before labial consonants: "the trumpet" became "the tr'mpet", and so on. He is young, these flaws can be treated; and I'd like to hear him again as his technique develops.
Meredith Hall also excelled. Her voice and style are just right for Handel. She told the story of the angels' announcement to the shepherds clearly, dramatically. She shone in "Rejoice greatly", with flexible, well placed singing in the cascades. "How beautiful are the feet" was nicely understated and expressive. I did find her body movements distracting at times.
Mezzo Rosemarie van der Hooft was less effective, but only because the strength of the lower end of her range didn't match the upper; at time she was overpowered even by a gently-playing orchestra. Perhaps these arias really should be done by a contralto or countertenor rather than a mezzo. I would love to hear her doing Bach or Purcell in a more intimate setting.
Since that's my only reservation, be it assumed that her handling of her pieces was otherwise excellent. Her phrasing, ornamentation, dynamic expression were so right for the Baroque. In "Behold, a virgin", she made it a story. "He was despised" was a sit-up moment, conveying the pathos.
The orchestra's role in Messiah is accompaniment, and it was played well. This was exemplified by the closing "Amen"; each part's account in this massive fuge was clear and well-blended with the chorus. My only quibble was occasional string intonation difficulties at the high end of large upward intervals.
Tania Miller's conducting was appropriate and unobtrusive. She held the forces together very well, except for a couple of ragged chorus entrances at closing adagio cadences. Few arias had less than ten instruments accompanying; she was careful to keep the balance between soloist and orchestra as much as possible. I liked her use of dynamics in such choral movements as the aforementioned "Lift up your heads". I found "He trusted in God" a bit brisk for the Christ Church acoustics; but I liked the staccato "if He despised" in the closing adagio.
I went home exhilarated and satisfied. Thank you.
Well done Messiah indeed.
MiV
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