Missa Solemnis to conclude classics
By Matthew Heil
After months of work with Chorusmaster Gregory Gentry, our all-volunteer chorus has rehearsed time and again. The membership is also now over 100 singers, a magnificent feat, sure to make the power of Beethoven's "10th Symphony" all the more apparent.
Hopefully you'll come out this weekend, and see how The Phoenix Symphony celebrates a season! If however, classics are not your style, stay tuned for next week, where the Pops series concludes with The Flying Karamazov Brothers, a show sure to be full of music, mayhem and juggling!
Public Relations Manager
It's hard to believe after nine months that The Phoenix Symphony's 2006-07 Season is drawing to a close! What a year it's been, with Opening Night and Sir James and Lady Galway, Midori, Pinchas Zukerman and Amanda Forsyth, Michael Feinstein, and Yo-Yo Ma. There have been guest conductors from around the country and the world, including Carlos Miguel Prieto, Joana Carneiro, Robert Mealy, Jack Everly, Michael Krajewski and Loras John Schissel. It's been a busy year for our Education department and the many student-focused performances they oversee, and a stellar season of music making.
So, after all that, how do you cap it off? What piece of classical virtuosity is big enough, bold enough, and challenging enough to end a season? For The Phoenix Symphony, it was Missa Solemnis. Beethoven's choral masterwork is complex and stirring. At 90 minutes (without intermission) it is a musical marathon for the chorus members and musicians performing. It's also a fitting conclusion because of its inherent message: a call for peace in troubled times.
After months of work with Chorusmaster Gregory Gentry, our all-volunteer chorus has rehearsed time and again. The membership is also now over 100 singers, a magnificent feat, sure to make the power of Beethoven's "10th Symphony" all the more apparent.Hopefully you'll come out this weekend, and see how The Phoenix Symphony celebrates a season! If however, classics are not your style, stay tuned for next week, where the Pops series concludes with The Flying Karamazov Brothers, a show sure to be full of music, mayhem and juggling!
Best wishes!
11 Comments:
"10th Symphony" indeed ! This is perhaps Beethoven's greatest large-scale achievement - a marathon both for singers and orchestra alike. Beethoven tests vocal ranges to the limit in this masterwork, truly one of the most inspiring and original pieces of music written. I can't wait to hear the performance Saturday evening!
it was marvelous; thank you for the season.
Thank you for writing. We had a marvelous time presenting this grand work. It was sad to say farewell to the 06/07 season particularly given the excitement of the past couple weeks. It is gratifying to see the Association on such sure footing with great opportunities ahead.
Have a relaxing summer!
Saturday’s “Missa Solemnis” was absolutely mesmerizing. The only other LIVE performance of this masterpiece that I had experienced was the Alcantara-era ASU Choral Union intermission-divided one that I slept through. The CD that I had been listening to for the past week to learn the piece was the “Brahmsian” version by David Zinman. As anticipated, Maestro Christie worked his magic in shaping the dynamics, shorter note lengths, and vocal style into the ultimate Beethoven as the deaf composer wrote it. I don’t think I blinked during the whole marathon rendering.
I wholeheartedly agree with the characterization of this piece as Beethoven’s 10th Symphony, his true “Choral Symphony.” It is so much more complex in harmony and rhythm, especially the fugues, than anything he wrote in the 9th Symphony. It is more comparable to Gustav Mahler’s Symphony of a Thousand. Perhaps we 21st century musicologists will vote to reclassify it?
Most impressive was the Phoenix Symphony Chorus. I was very worried about our amateur singers after their poor showing in the Bach Cantatas last December. Chorusmaster Gregory Gentry must be commended for elevating these enthusiastic 125 voices to such technical and artistic heights. They should be more than ready for next season’s Brahms’ German Requiem.
Saturday Night: JEERS to the Symphony Hall Box Office staff! I arrived relatively early to pick up my "Will Call" tickets. To my surprise, there were only 2 Will Call windows open, both with long lines, and 2 current sale windows with very short lines. It event was not even sold out.
Where was the Box Office Manager! I would have immediately shifted one of the clerks to open a 3rd will call line. Then, I saw a man come in, who I thought would open another window. I could not believe it! This man simply RELIEVED a woman, who took her purse and left! This was customer service at its worst!
By the time I got to the front of my line, it was 8:05 p.m. And behind me both lines extended all the way down the stairs and to 2nd Street! I barely made it to my balcony seat to hear the presentation being made to our departing hero Peter Rosato.
I could not believe the orchestra started the Missa Solemnis with a hundred people with prepaid seats still missing! The box office should have communicated to the stage manager the situation that they had caused. All these people missed the entire "Kyrie" section that set the tone for this magnificent piece and this outstanding performance. Don't EVER let this happen again!
As a PS Chorus member, I was awed by the experience of performing this work. Admittedly, I didn't start "liking" it until the last few weeks and when put together with the orchestra..Wow! Dr. Gentry's work with us brought us, I think, to new musical heights with this work. Many of us wished we could have had a 3rd performance! Thank you, Dr. Gentry!
Sonny, I've been waiting to hear your feedback. Glad you liked it.
As a chorus member, I found it to be an exhilarating and moving experience, one I will relish forever.
I too used the Zinman CD to prep for the concert. According to my computer, I listened to it 28 times in the past few months! That doesn't count the times in my car. After getting used to Zinman's version, other recordings sound downright lethargic. I highly recommend this version, particularly given its budget pricing.
NPR has a nice piece on the Missa. The discussion of the Agnus Dei, in particular, impacted my own performance.
A link can be found here
In any case, my gratitude to Dr Gentry, the Maestro, the chorus and the warm audience for this most wonderful event.
As a member of the Phoenix Symphony Chorus, I just have a few things to comment on your post, sonny the cat.
First of all, thank you for the kudos. The chorus worked extremely hard on the Missa. Due credit is definitely given to Dr. Gentry for getting us prepared and to Maestro Christie for his precise direction.
I do take exception with two things you mention.
1) You call the choir "amateur". There is a big difference between "amateur" and "volunteer". A large portion of the musicians in the chorus have degrees in music, and many of those members make part or all of their living as musicians (performers, conductors, teachers). To call the group "amateur" is a disservice to the notion of a volunteer group. Many of the finest choruses in the country are also volunteer.
2) Regarding the performances of the Bach Cantatas. This past December (2006), only 16 members of the chorus performed in the Baroque Christmas concerts. Those singers performed exactly 2 chorales. I don't recall them being anything other than lovely.
In December of 2005, 1/2 the chorus sang the Messiah, the other 1/2 sang both the Holiday Pops concert AND the Baroque Concert. While I was not in that group, I know that they worked very hard (adding several additional rehearsals) to try to pull together that difficult music. They also had approximately 6 rehearsals to learn all of the repertoire for Pops and the Baroque. That December was a learning experience for the chorus, its internal council and leadership, and for the scheduling of works. However, I take exception that it is indicative of the level of performance that the chorus has historically achieved (note performances of works such as Elijah or Kaddish for two examples).
The Phoenix Symphony Chorus has been and continues to work towards achieving the goal of being one of premiere symphonic choral ensembles in the U.S. That journey began in 2001 with the foundation of the group by Robert Moody and continues today under the leadership of Dr. Gregory Gentry.
I do agree with you on one other point, that we will most certainly be ready for the Brahms German Requiem.
-A Proud Member of the Phoenix Symphony Chorus
In response to "Anonymous 4" above. Sorry for my generalized use of the term "amateur" to describe the P.S. Chorus. I, too, am a proud member of an "all-volunteer" wind ensemble in Tempe consisting of music professionals, music educators, and otherwise professional-level players. Most of us get paid gigs elsewhere.
Your level of performance in the Missa Solemnis was very close to "professional" with a few mishaps in keeping up the most difficult fast tempos. A job extremely well done.
However, the performances of the two Bach Cantatas were embarassingly "amateur," at least at the Mesa Arts Center. One could hear warbly individual voices, which could be attributed to weak singers and/or lack of rehearsal time. Neither should be an excuse when singing with The Phoenix Symphony! You had me cringing and shaking my head. Shame on the Maestro himself for simply settling for the 12 "volunteers" he got!
Sonny,
I am very glad you enjoyed the concert this weekend. I do apologize you had to wait in line at the Will-Call window. All of the people who work the Will-Call and Courtesy Table for The Phoenix Symphony are volunteers who generously donate their time to help us out during our concerts. It is often very difficult to tell exactly how many people we will need helping us from week to week as we look at ticket sale trends for any given concert. If we realize it will be a busy concert, we will try and get a few more volunteers to help out if we can. This weekend we were caught off-gaurd when it became as busy as it did. When we saw the length of the lines, we did ask the operations staff backstage to hold the show, which they did. Again, I am sorry you had to wait.
On a related note, if you or any of our other readers would be interested in volunteering in The Phoenix Symphony Box Office to be a part of the excitement on concert night, we're always happy to have the help! Just e-mail boxoffice@phoenixsymphony.org to let us know you're interested.
Sara Cooper
Box Office Manager
I would like to chime in with a comment about the chorus and our future direction generally. Their work this season has really been very gratifying to witness. The ladies in the Planets were top notch as was the entire chorus in the Missa.
The burden rests on my shoulders when we talk about our non-traditional use of the whole institution; chorus, orchestra, production crew, Board and admin staff alike. Take Hansel and Gretel for example. Suddenly I put us in the opera business for one week of our 39 week season. I can tell you that the entire organization was living life on the edge during that week and the lead up to it. The risk paid off but it is a perfect example of how we are all going to have to approach the coming years here. This institution can do certain things very well. There are many things that simply haven't been tried yet.
In order to make this organization very strong and resilient we are all going to have to get used to the fact that somethings are only being done for the first or second time but that the general level is rising.
I look at it like going to the gym. Those first few months are difficult. You're learning how the machines work and even though you are ultimately lifting the weights, it isn't with the smoothness and confidence you'll have in a few months time.
All of the great orchestras had a defining period in their history when good or bad they enjoyed what they did well but worked through the things they really needed to improve on even if it meant some public displays of weakness.
Is this that defining moment for the Phoenix Symphony? Only time will tell. I will do what I think is best to help this Association grow into arts leader this region deserves.
Will some "voices" stick out along the way? You bet. Will they know better the next time what to do? So far it seems the people we have have proven the answer is yes.
Have a great summer! Hold on to your seats come September. It is going to be a great ride!
Post a Comment
<< Home