Mastersingers by the Sea Presents a "Stunning Choral and Orchestral Program"
Published on Friday, May 01, 2009
The following review of Mastersingers by the Sea's "Spring Concert" in April 2009 was done for the Falmouth Enterprise by Susan Pennington.
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Mastersingers by the Sea, conducted by David MacKenzie, presented a stunning choral and orchestral program Sunday afternoon at St. Barnabas Church (also performed Friday and Saturday). Opening with Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach’s Sinfonia No. 5 in b minor, the musicians (professionals, from the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, which Dr. MacKenzie directs) immediately displayed the graceful, lyrical charm of the music. Ably led by Andrew Eng, the strings entered into a lively dialogue between the trebles and bass, and played clearly and exquisitely throughout. Dr. MacKenzie kept the tempos brisk and energetic.
Songs for tenor Thomas Oesterling, by Heinrich Schütz and Christoph Bernhard, were characterized by a diligent attention to the German text of the two psalms (8 and 130) and a completely independent trio sonata by the strings and continuo, which was complex and gratifying in each. I was astonished to discover later that Randolph James, assistant conductor, was playing a synthesized harpsichord, programmed by Tim Jackson. It sounded truly authentic and masterful, a modern miracle, needing no timely tuning.
The Mastersingers joined in Johann Sebastian Bach’s Cantata No. 196, “Der Herr denket an uns,” a wedding cantata written for the minister who had married Bach and Maria a year earlier, in 1707. The singers were joyful, fresh and alert, thoroughly familiar with the music, creating great eye contact with Dr. MacKenzie and clear, understood German.
Patricia Tiedemann, soprano, sang the aria with beguiling sincerity, “He blesses those who fear the Lord, both small and great.” Paul Soper, baritone, and Mr. Oesterling sang the duet, offering more blessings, with hope and assurance. The fugal chorus ending the cantata was so ebullient, one would think the singers were experiencing a beautiful heavenly vision and finding there is nothing more compelling in this world than J.S. Bach in a major key. The strings and continuo easily followed Dr. MacKenzie’s varied dynamics and were always effortlessly enchanting.
James Wagoner’s “Song of Solomon,” premiered in 1986 by I Cantori di New York, held up to the program description as “a rapturous contemplation of beauty, desire, and the transforming power of love.” Since the text is biblical, Dr. MacKenzie feels it relates to a union with the divinity. Ms. Tiedemann and Mr. Soper were marvelous in their depiction of the personification of the lovers, singing the sensuous text (i.e., soprano: “He shall lie all night between my breasts”; baritone: “Thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine”) and then stayed in character, embracing, while the chorus sang.
The singers entered somewhat like a Greek chorus from time to time, commenting, with passion, on what the soloists had sung. “I am sick with love” was repeated ad nauseum, until we realized the pleasures of the curse. It was a very difficult piece for them to learn, sometimes atonal, as they were joined by the soloists and musicians only the night before the first performance, and many of their cues depended on them. It was truly a faith-based initiative rewarded by an incredible display of musicianship, virtuosity and well-met challenge. Dr. MacKenzie proved himself an impresario for modern music, detailing his efforts to track down the composer through the Internet, snailmail, and telephone.
The work opens with a murmuring modal ostinato by Emilia Wachter, harp, a winsome performance throughout and varied between glissandos, pluckings and sonorous effects that rustled and elegantly blended with the strings. Ms. Tiedemann gracefully sang in the stratosphere and was ravishingly engaged, as well. It was a truly memorable performance, one that the audience clearly appreciated with a standing ovation. We would hope to hear many more modern works of this enjoyable caliber.
(Susan Pennington is the music director at St. Anthony’s Church and teaches art appreciation at the Cape Cod Conservatory.)
