Somber Program for a Wintry Night
By George B. Parous
A program of curiously somber works, so close to the holiday season, was offered at Heinz Hall last evening, and for those braving the cold and construction, Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra gave one of their customarily fine performances, even if a shade of darkness permeated the evening. The huge Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh, under the direction of Daniel Singer, contributed much to the program, and in the final offering, soloists Joshua Hopkins, baritone, and Jeanine De Bique, soprano, lent their lovely voices to the ensemble.
Possibly the best all-round satisfying performance of the first half of the program was the opening number – Reena Esmail’s RE/Member. Commissioned by the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, the seven-minute work was to have premièred on that orchestra’s opening for the 2020-21 season. “But as the pandemic unraveled life as we knew it,” the composer has said, “the ‘return’ [to live performances] suddenly took on much more weight.” Cynthia Koledo DeAlmeida opened the piece from a box, her oboe’s intonations floating down to a dramatic drum roll that let the orchestra loose. It was a novel use of video projections that began and ended Ms. Esmail’s exciting, cinematic music. It was a PSO première, and a piece well worth its placement on a program of such a distinguished orchestra.
Maestro Honeck did an arrangement of Gabriel Fauré’s Cantique de Jean Racine, Opus 11, for the orchestra and choir. A thing of great beauty, though possibly more effective when done by a smaller choir, the large group on hand last evening sang generally with as much precision, time and tune as possible. Diction, in this piece, was another matter, but in fairness, looking for this quality among so many singers will almost always fail. They came as near as possible to this accomplishment in other numbers on the program, namely, Johannes Brahms’ Schicksalslied, Opus 54 (Song of Destiny). This short choral work has been described as a “measure of consolation… in a world of pain.” Certainly a description in keeping with the tone of the evening, but, avoiding the projected English translation made it one of the choir’s best efforts.
Adolphus Hailstork’s Lachrymosa, the second première of the evening, could not have a more appropriate title. Again, while the orchestra played with its customary academic precision, the music added to the mournful atmosphere of the theater. It couldn’t be otherwise, as the composer wrote the music with the atrocities committed against Blacks during “Red Summer,” the summer of 1919, as his inspiration. It’s music worth hearing, and the five-minute piece will hopefully be included on some future program. “I don’t write esoteric, ivory tower works,” the composer has said, “to be performed… for an audience of a few people.” Unfortunately that’s what happened last night; the floor yawned with rows of empty seats.
The program closed with Fauré’s Requiem, Op. 48. Here, as usual, conductor Honeck’s inimitable style kept the audience in silence between the seven movements. The orchestra and choir were at their best in this work, and the added attraction of two distinguished soloists made it a “best for last” occasion, even if a requiem is a mass for the dead. Joshua Hopkins did the lion’s share of the soloist work, singing with a rich, resounding and fresh baritone voice. Jeanine De Bique, the soprano with one of the most lovely and distinctive voices to be heard today, unfortunately placed between the orchestra and the choir, had but one solo to sing, and, as usual, it was a thing of great beauty, even her softest tones floating over the large auditorium with pureness and clarity. We’ll hear much more of her glorious voice at tonight’s Messiah.
TICKETS AND DETAILS
Last night’s program will be repeated on Sunday, December 8, at 2:30 p.m. Visit the box-office or the PSO website for more information and tickets.
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