Sunday 18 January 2009
7:00 pm
St. Mark's Lutheran Church
American Bach Soloists
Jeffrey Thomas, conductor
Abigail Haynes Lennox, soprano
Ellen Hargis, soprano
Judith Malafronte, alto
Derek Chester, tenor
Joshua Copeland, bass
American Bach Choir
J. S. Bach: Mass in B Minor, BWV 232
I was fore-sighted enough to have had a ticket in hand for this sold-out concert in advance. People tried to buy it off me as I entered the venue! Clearly the American Bach Soloists continue to do a great job developing their audience.
ABS had much larger forces than usual this evening, though still minimal for this large work. The chorus numbered only 27, including the 5 soloists who also participated in the choruses. I've seen them do one-per-part, but here the orchestra included 4 first violins, 3 second violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos & 2 double bass instruments (Violone grosso & Contrabass) for extra weight. I doubt you could give an effective performance with fewer personnel.
It was an evening of music-making without weaknesses. Everything was very clean. The chorus was well-prepared & was the strongest element of the performance. Though small in number, they made a powerful, focused sound. It was easy to hear even the inner voices, especially the steely tenors. The chorus executed a wonderfully dramatic pianissimo at the end of the Crucifixus, which was a highlight of the evening. The soloist were all fine & fluid singers. Derek Chester was a stand-out. His sound is clear & even, & his singing very musical.
The tempos were generally fast, but for the most part avoided sounding too bouncy. This is serious stuff after all! The orchestra does a good job, though one still occasionally hears the performers struggling with those original instruments.
I like the setting for these concerts in a Lutheran church, but the acoustic of St. Marks sounds surprisingly dead to me. It seems like the sound dies away immediately. There is none of the reverberation or aural halo I associate with performances in churches.
The ABS audiences are attentive & appreciative. No one clapped between movements, but there were audible murmurs of approval after several numbers. On the way out of the venue, I received a very nice glossy brochure for the ABS season, along with a free CD containing excerpts from their recordings.
3 comments:
Pardon my confusion, but are you saying they didn't use winds at all in this? Just curious!
They had all the necessary brass & wind players as called for in the score: flutes, oboes, trumpets, etc. I mentioned the beefed up string section because one time I saw ABS & they had only player per part even in the string section. So if the score said violin I & II, we just got 2 violins. Sorry for the confusion.
I believe there is some historical justification for one player per part, but I prefer at least more strings & singers.
Ah, got it. Thanks for the clarification!
With the # of winds I'd prefer a fuller string section as well.
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