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Alix Goolden Performance Hall
August 17, 2016
I would not necessarily go as far as George Bernard Shaw, who famously wrote of Brahms that "his Requiem is patiently borne only by the corpse", although I would certainly be more than willing to argue that Ein deutsches Requiem does contain rather more fugues than is healthy for any composition not by JS Bach.
Clearly, Brahms' Requiem is not a favourite of mine. It is, however, a favourite of Hilary Coupland's, which, as she was the one wielding the stick on Wednesday night, is rather more to the point. And, as the recent B minor Mass amply demonstrated, a performance of one of one's favourite works has a far greater potential for disappointment.
This was a "big" performance in every way (and I do mean that as a compliment), with a choir of almost 200 and an orchestra of around seventy musicians — I have rarely, if ever, seen the stage of the Alix Goolden so densely packed.
The chorus was arrayed in the gallery to either side of the stage and thus it was that the concert began with "Happy Birthday" — fortunately no longer subject to copyright — sung not only in tune, which is rare enough, but also in four(?)-part harmony, which is even rarer.
That part of the show not written by Mildred and Patty Hill quickly ensued.
When I wrote above that the Requiem is a favourite of Coupland it was not simply because she chose the work to celebrate her birthday: her affection for the music was writ large in every single bar from the very beginning of the work, which, taken at a flowing tempo, with some beautifully-sculptured vocal lines, revealed the essentially consolatory nature of the music.
Although it is clear from the second movement, "Behold all flesh is as the grass", why Brahms was wise not to attempt to set the "Dies Irae", the music was imbued with an ominous tread and the fortissimos were impressively powerful. And for some bizarre reason for which I cannot account, the simple four-note cell which keeps recurring during the movement was stuck in my head even before the performance; considering that I had not even heard the work in over two decades this must mean something, even if I am not entirely sure what.
It is also clear the the economics of performance must have been different in the Nineteenth century. Like Beethoven in his Ninth and Mahler in his Second, Brahms employs vocal soloists who spend much of the work simply sitting. While this no doubt helps to make the music popular with choral societies around the world, it probably leaves the soloists feeling somewhat under-appreciated: the baritone sings in only two of the seven movements, the soprano in only one.
Both Trevor Bowes and Eve-Lyn de la Haye were excellent for the relatively brief period of their vocal contributions. Brief they may be, but a less-than-stellar solo singer can easily undermine the entire performance. Bowes and de la Haye, by way of contrast, enhanced this one considerably.
The chorus, which included representatives of almost fifty choirs, not all of them located here in Victoria or even BC (or even Canada), sang very well throughout the evening; the only slight sign of vocal strain was the sopranos' top Fs at the opening of the final movement, otherwise intonation was good and if not every single word was entirely clear, I am more than prepared to blame the acoustics.
Similarly, the orchestra included past and present members of just about every significant instrumental ensemble in Victoria (and, once again, a few from further afield). They too did the event proud and, while the winds and brass were excellent, I must point out what a delight it was to hear a body of almost sixty strings, producing a wonderfully full and rich sound.
But the evening's triumph really belonged to Coupland, who not only got to cross another entry off her personal "bucket list" but did it in grand style while directing a performance which made radiantly clear both the affection she has for the music and the affection in which she is held by the performers.
The concert opened with a short performance by the Claire Coupland Band, an outgoing and enjoyable set in which Hilary's daughter, ably assisted by a handful of local musicians, demonstrated that musical talent can indeed pass down through the generations.
To misquote Wallace, "It were a grand night out, Grommet".
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