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St. Andrew's Cathedral
March 11, 2011
Let me begin by praising the Victoria Philharmonic Choir for presenting such an ambitious performance. The Choir brought together members of two other choirs, a chamber orchestra (all of them kitted out with baroque bows), two baroque flautists (at least one of them enjoying an international reputation), two violas da gamba, a theorbo player and five first class vocal soloists. I have organised a few concerts in my time, so I might be prejudiced on this point, but to my mind the real heroes of this occasion were the members of the VPC Board of Directors who did not quail when they were told about the music director's ambitious plans – and about how much it would cost. Or, if they did quail, mastered themselves and carried on.
The evening began with a performance of Bach's Trauerode, BWV 198, composed on occasion of the death of Queen Christina of Saxony, celebrated for her devotion to her people and to Protestantism. The trend these days is to perform Bach cantatas with small forces – one to the part is not uncommon lately. While I am sympathetic to small-scale performances of Bach's work, there is a good deal to be said for the large vocal forces assembled on this occasion. A large choir of children and adults seemed appropriate: it was as if representatives of the people of Saxony were mourning the death of their popular queen.
The large choir and full orchestra did rather overwhelm the viols and the theorbo was virtually inaudible during the opening chorus. The oboes d'amore came through clearly, however, and added a nice plaintive touch.
In the ensuing soprano recitative and aria ("Verstummt! Verstummt, ihr holden Saiten"), Anne Grimm turned in a riveting, attention-grabbing performance. There was a lovely moment when she sang "be mute, be mute, ye lovely strings!" and the strings - which really were quite lovely - obedient fell silent.
Sarah Fryer's approach to the alto aria ("Wie Stard die Heldin so vergnügt") contrasted sharply and convincingly with Grimm's. Singing with a gentle grief, and accompanied only by dulcet viols (Martin Bohman and Natalie Mackie) and Douglas Hensley's pensive theorbo (now, thankfully, perfectly audible), Fryer provided one of the most touching moments of the evening.
The viols also showed to good advantage in the chorus, "An dir, du Fürbild Großer Frauen". This section of the piece, which praises Christina's adherence to the reformed faith, was suitably emphatic and the baroque flutes, played by Janet See and Soile Stratkauskas, also added a lovely touch. I have waited years to hear a large scale Victoria performance of Bach with period woodwinds, and I was not disappointed on this occasion: they sound so much better, particularly when played by two such accomplished players.
See's flute also contributed movingly to the serenity of the tenor aria, "Der Ewigkeit saphirnes Haus Zieht". Bach is often at his most moving when he contemplates the immortality of the soul and Benjamin Butterfield's singing was luminous, as if illuminated by the “sure and certain hope of resurrection” to which the Book of Common Prayer refers.
After the bass recitative (a nice cameo appearance by Dale Throness), the final chorus was dignified and taut, with the counterpoint emerging clearly despite the large choir.
After the interval, it was time for something completely different: Handel's Dixit Dominus, a bold, craggy work from the composer's early days in Italy.
In the opening chorus I was particularly struck by the pure, ethereal sound of the children's voices. There is something otherworldly about a children's choir that can really lean on the high notes and the members of VancouverVoices certainly could. In the ensuing alto solo, Christopher Bagan (harpsichord) and an uncredited cellist did a fine job of realizing the continuo and stylishly supporting Sarah Fryer.
Other highlights of the Handel included the "Dominus a destrix tuis", where Peter Butterfield pulled out all of the stops with thrilling results and the "De torrente in via" where the clear voice Grimm and Nancy Washeim wove lovely interlacing streams of sound over the strong chant-like accompaniment of the men's voices. The Dixit Dominus received a big finish as the concluding "Gloria Patri" was given a high-energy performance, with the soaring high notes particularly thrilling.
Throughout the evening, Peter Butterfield displayed a solid appreciation of baroque style and a strong sense rhythm. The choir had none of the amorphousness of many amateur choirs. The VCO generated the most convincing baroque sound I have ever heard from a Victoria orchestra. All in all, this was a fine performance that was enthusiastically received by the near capacity audience.
One could quibble about details of the performance, but it would be churlish to do so. I will only suggest that next time Butterfield undertakes a performance of baroque music on this scale, he may wish to have a positive organ as well as a harpsichord. I hesitate to suggest this – the long-suffering VPC Board of Directors will not thank me for adding another expense – but an organ would add another dimension to a future performance.
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