THE ADVERTISER, FEBRUARY 17, 1984
High standard in Verdi Requiem
WHATEVER
view
we
may take of it, or has
been taken over the past
110 years — ecclesiastic
opera, humanist Mass,
or monument to liberation — Verdi’s great
Requiem still holds its
supreme place as his serious masterpiece.
Although liturgical in text
but intended for concert performance, it still needs a cathedral to set off its sacred
purpose at its best, and its last-
ing popularity was again
proved by the enthusiasm of a
full audience at Guildford
Cathedral, when the Guildford
Philharmonic Choir and
Orchestra brought it there last
Saturday.
It was conducted by Brian
Wright,
one
masters
of
of our younger
the larger choral
repertory and until very
recently conductor of the BBC
Symphony Chorus. The fine
Guildford choir, singing at
their well-balanced best, was
supported by a contingent
from the Goldsmiths Choral
Union, of which Mr. Wright is
also director.
Operatic it may be in texture, but only Verdi could have
written such telling. heartwarming melodies as the
Re-
cordare and the Lacrymosa in
such a context.
And, as usual, the intense
drama of the Mass was enhanced by the thunder and
lightning of the tremendous
Dies Irae -- a mixture of tumultuous swirling themes,
shattering chords and frightened whispers which, strangely,
battered the cathedral’s notorious acoustic into terrified
acceptance.
Let me deal with the orchestra next. Mr. Wright sensibly
kept their massive potentiality
in proper perspective for most
of the evening, bringing out
certain facets of orchestration
not always clearly audible, especially from the woodwind.
He also refused to allow the
fanciful Verdian intricacies of
such accompaniments as those
for the Lux Aeterna or the
light relaxation of the Sanctus
to degenerate into vulgar verbosity. And there was, happily,
little sentimental rubato.
I have seldom heard the separated trumpet calls of the
Tuba Mirum played to such
commanding effect, both on
and off “stage.”
The four soloists worthily
upheld the generally high standard. It was good to welcome
back the tenor, Rowland Sid-
entry of Hostias, but the whole
of the Ingomesco aria was
beautifully expressive.
well, who was for 10 years or
ists sang with conviction and
eloquence, belying an early
touch of fragility, of which
there was another hint in the
strangely haunting octaves of
Agnus Deir. But Jean Rigby’s
Liber Scriptus was fluent and
sensuous, while the Welsh soprano, Julie Kennard, revealed
remarkable breath control in
the lovely Offertorio and
reached her soaring B flat in
the Libera me accurately and
with no effort — one of the
most testing points in all music
for sopranos.
Michagl George kept Verdi’s
more a lay clerk in the cathedral choir before his recent
“discoverv” as a principal with
the English National Opera,
and is now singing leading
roles at the Coliseum and at
Glyndebourne.
It is obvious that his fine
well-modulated voice has benefited from his new dedication.
The newly clear tenderness of
his sotto voce high notes was
most amply evinced in the re-
mote,
almost
supernatural
|
" Both the young female solo- |
exacting bass arias and ensembles in firm basic control, his
dark dramatic voice admirably
suited to the impetus of Tuba
Mirum and the menace of
Confutatis maledictus.
Kenneth Lank, chorus master and trainer of the Philharmonic Choir, deservedly shared
in- the final ovation from the
packed cathedral.
John C. Dodds
.