By Carolyn Gregory
Chorus Pro Musica presented an intriguing vocal concert of three Twentieth century composers, Herbert Murill, Frank Martin and Henryk Górecki, in the Old South Church in downtown Boston on Friday, November 3, 2006. Old South Church is a church that is both hospitable with its large rose-colored open space and its excellent acoustics. Chorus Pro Musicašs programming was inviting to this reviewer who is a fan of Polish composer, Górecki, particularly for his First and Third symphonies, but I had not previously heard works by either Murill or Martin.
The English composer, Herbert Murillšs short work, “Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis”, opened with a full, resonant chorus that built on lovely sostenuto and poetic vocal phrasing, echoed by the organ. There was dynamic shading and precise phrasing with good control over the work. A nice concert opening.
Góreckišs “Miserere, opus 44,” written in 1981 at the height of the Polish Solidarity movement, came next. It began with penitent male voices, building a dark and monastic mood. In this music, the outer world was suspended for a time, continuing with its post-minimalist sequencing. The work developed slowly and very meditatively, including a small range of notes. The male voices slowly droned and lifted gradually as if by a power greater than themselves. The women gradually joined in the threnody as the whole work remained in a small range of notes. If one listened carefully enough, one could almost hear an accompaniment of bells, though the “Miserere” is ā capella. Gradually, tranquility or perhaps acceptance of the dark world folded into the composition. Even the spiritual skeptic was drawn in over time. The composition swelled with fuller volume, filling the church with good vocal coloring. The tolling of the voices continued, building a musical layer above the chant with powerful spiritual and emotional resonance. This is a very difficult piece of music to perform and Chorus Pro Musica did well with it.
Swiss composer, Frank Martinšs “Mass for Double Chorus” concluded the concert. A tumbling, echoing swirl of womenšs voices was joined by a small burst of male voices. Occasionally, there were somewhat overly enthusiastic sopranos here though the bass section was solid at the resolution of the first movement. In the Gloria, the sopranos swelled nicely. The Credo was marked by very vivid choral movement and was a high point of this performance. The incantatory Sanctus movement proclaimed the unity between heaven and earth. Unfortunately, this movement was marred by an unbalanced rhythm, followed by the more cohesive Agnus Dei. Conductor, Jeffrey Rink, had the chorus re-do the Sanctus at the end. The second go-around was rhythmically more focused, contributing to a larger sense of the colossal universe moving around the complex rhythmical pivot. Overall, this was a very enjoyable evening of musical performance.