Wednesday night I attended the 1st of 2
Messiah performances by
American Bach Soloists in Grace Cathedral. The setting was made even more stunning by seasonal decorations of long, shimmering ribbons hanging in the interior. There was a feeling of a special event. The
Rt. Rev. Marc Andrus, Episcopal Bishop of California, introduced the program, praised the musicians & conductor
Jeffrey Thomas, & urged us to act in solidarity with the poor.
The performance was immaculate & had the manner of a well-prepared ritual. My concert companion declared it "flawless." The cathedral's long reverberation time gave the music a gauzy halo. The orchestra often played softly to minimize sounding muddy. The overture was pianissimo, creating an eerie & expectant atmosphere. Tempos were measured, with occasional brief rubatos. "He shall feed his flock" had a slightly indulgent pace. Maestro Thomas liked to make clear dynamic contrasts between phrases, & the ends of numbers were always meticulously executed.
The soloists stood in the middle of the orchestra rather than out front. Soprano
Shawnette Sulker sang with a high, bright & tight voice. Countertenor
Eric Jurenas had a focused, narrow sound & was assigned "But who may abide the day of his coming," "Thou art gone up on high" & "If God is for us," besides the traditional alto arias & may have gotten slightly fatigued. Tenor
Aaron Sheehan was wonderfully consistent. His clear, bell-like voice carried well. I enjoyed hearing baritone
Mischa Bouvier's warm, furry & comforting sound.
John Thiessen accompanied him in "The Trumpet shall sound" on a mellow-sounding Baroque trumpet which he played with impressive accuracy. The chorus of 35 singers was split, with sopranos & tenors on the left of the orchestra, altos & basses on the right. They sang with precision & had a transparent texture. Because of the stereophonic separation, phrases bounced from one side to the other in fugal passages.
The serious-minded audience was as focused as the performers. The attentive silence throughout was palpable. Even though a couple at the end of my row slipped out after the Hallelujah Chorus, this was among the quietest audiences I've ever been in. Despite a program note debunking the origin story of the tradition of standing for the Hallelulah Chorus, the audience rose without hesitation for a "Hallelulah!" with a perfectly smooth & even surface.
§ Handel's MESSIAH
American Bach Soloists
Jeffrey Thomas, music director
Shawnette Sulker, soprano
Eric Jurenas, countertenor
Aaron Sheehan, tenor
Mischa Bouvier, baritone
with the American Bach Choir
Wednesday, December 11 2013, 7:30 pm
Grace Cathedral
The winter edition of the indie marketplace the Renegade Craft Fair was impressively crowded Saturday afternoon. It seemed to be a day out for lots of families, & there was much socializing among the predominately female attendees. According to the fair map, there are over 300 vendors, & they put a lot of effort into making their products look appealing. I saw plenty of jewelry, printed tea towels & clothing, as well as a range of items from baseball bats to toffee. Food products seemed to be popular with shoppers. Concert posters by John Howard, some in 3-D & inspired by the psychedelic '60s, were striking. It was nice to see wooden pie boxes made in Chicago. I bought one on-line for a wedding gift earlier this year, but up to now had never had a chance to see it in real life.
Wednesday night I attended the 1st of 2 Messiah performances by American Bach Soloists in Grace Cathedral. The setting was made even more stunning by seasonal decorations of long, shimmering ribbons hanging in the interior. There was a feeling of a special event. The Rt. Rev. Marc Andrus, Episcopal Bishop of California, introduced the program, praised the musicians & conductor Jeffrey Thomas, & urged us to act in solidarity with the poor.
The serious-minded audience was as focused as the performers. The attentive silence throughout was palpable. Even though a couple at the end of my row slipped out after the Hallelujah Chorus, this was among the quietest audiences I've ever been in. Despite a program note debunking the origin story of the tradition of standing for the Hallelulah Chorus, the audience rose without hesitation for a "Hallelulah!" with a perfectly smooth & even surface.
Over the weekend I visited the San Francisco Bazaar Holiday Show at the Concourse Exhibition Center, a sprawling marketplace of independent vendors & hand-crafted items. Just about everything was eye-catching, though this is not a cheap place to shop. The atmosphere & the offerings were generally girlie, & I walked by lots of t-shirts, stationery, jewelry, DIY kits & children's clothing & cupcakes. Stuff made out of other stuff was a common theme. I saw things like wallets made out of seat belts, Christmas ornaments made from maps & terrariums growing in discarded computer chassis. I enjoyed handling the finely constructed artist's books from Green Chair Press, some of which fit inside a matchbox & feature pop-ups & unusual bindings. Attendees, & maybe vendors too, were predominately women.
This Saturday I checked out the East Bay Alternative Book & Zine Fest. It's grown quite a bit in its 4 years. Close to a hundred exhibitors were crammed into a downstairs room at Berkeley City College. The space behind tables was so tight that some vendors took to crawling under their tables to get out. They were a diverse group, from artists to established independent publishers to first-time zinesters. It was nice to see some old-school zines, like Abigail Young's Camel Toe, which definitely wins the prize for best-named zine. It has content to match. It was fun to see zinester Jason Martin & recreate our scene from his story in Tablegeddon. I also had enlightening chats with the flat-capped Andy Warner & the ebullient Brian Herrick. There is speculation that the independent comics scene is reaching a crisis where there are more creators than readers & that these expos are just gatherings where creators sell to one another.
