Review: Stormy Creation in Jordan Hall

by Laura Stanfield Prichard/The Boston Musical Intelligencer

Bulwer-Lytton notwithstanding, it was a dark and stormy night. Patrons streamed into the overwhelmed lobby of NEC’s Jordan Hall in anticipation of the Boston choral event of the Spring: Chorus pro Musica’s updated presentation of Haydn’s Creation with members of the Boston Philharmonic. From the outset, CpM conductor Betsy Burleigh’s philosophical essay on modern concert presentation created a buzz among the audience. Recent Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts graduate Joss Sessions was in attendance to premier his video design created specifically for this concert. The program’s extensive historical notes on the oratorio by tenor Peter Pulsifer emphasized Haydn’s London experiences with mass culture (“Music is every where the rage…extending from the highest to the lowest class of society.”). As a frequent concertgoer and performer in Jordan Hall, I wondered how the neo-Baroque architectural decoration that was such an iconic part of the decor could be adapted as a video projection surface. Other Boston-area orchestras such as Boston Baroque have experimented with light and staging to great effect in their recent Jordan Hall presentations. Jordan Hall architect Edmund Wheelwright’s historic ceiling certainly offers a representation of Haydn’s “firmament of heaven” and “celestial vaults.” ... Read the full review at The Boston Musical Intelligencer