Mass a Pleasant Change for May Festival

(first published in The Cincinnati Post May 25, 1991)

For those who haven't heard, 1991 is the 200th anniversary of Mozart's death.

But rather than trot out another performance of his Requiem (December will bring a blizzard of those), the May Festival offered another unfinished work Friday night at Music Hall, his Mass in C Minor, K.427, called "The Great."

(One requiem per festival is enough, especially if it's the monumental Berlioz Requiem, which will be performed at 8:15 tonight at Music Hall.)

On hand to conduct was another great, choral master Robert Shaw, who led a precise and highly persuasive reading of the work.

Called a "noble torso" by one biographer, the Mass in C Minor was supposedly written to fulfill a vow made during Mozart's engagement to his wife Constanze. The Credo is incomplete and it lacks an Agnus Dei. But what remains is powerful indeed, considered by many Mozart's greatest choral work and the finest mass setting between Bach's Mass in B Minor and Beethoven's Missa Solemnis.

Influenced by the contrapuntal mastery of Bach and Handel, Mozart also incorporated elements of contemporary opera in the Mass - as in the florid soprano solo "Et incarnatus est," sung very tastefully but without much vocal sheen by soprano Benita Valente. The resulting work, however, is uniquely and wonderfully Mozartean.

Shaw coaxed a top notch performance from the May Festival Chorus, which sang with precise declamation and rhythmic focus. The "Qui tollis" moved with Handelian solemnity (breathtaking pianissimos!), while the first section of the "Credo" became an exultant affirmation of belief.

Mezzo-soprano Rosa Lamoreaux joined Miss Valente for some marvelous singing in the brisk duet "Domine Deus," their voices intertwining luxuriously. Karl Dent's tenor was sometimes lost in the ensemble, but baritone Thomas Paul made a solid contribution in the concluding "Benedictus."

The Cincinnati Symphony was highlighted on the first half of the concert in one of Mozart's best known works, the Symphony No. 40 in G Minor.

Unfortunately, it rarely achieved the kind of intensity one associates with it, perhaps because of Shaw's consistently moderate tempos.

Opening the concert was the brief, exquisite "Ave verum corpus," another of Mozart's most familiar works.

One of the loveliest moments in all music, it was sung with poignant expression by the Chorus.

In opening remarks, Shaw dedicated the entire concert to pianist Rudolf Serkin, who died earlier this month at the age of 88. Serkin performed at the May Festival in 1963 and 1970.