Vocal Arts Ensemble Performs Modern Passions
There is no more poignant tale than Hans Christian
Andersen’s “The Little Match Girl,” about a little girl who freezes to death
trying to sell matches on the street on a cold winter’s night.
Drawn by its moral content and the innocence and hope of the child (caught up by visions of her loving grandmother), New York composer David Lang has made a Passion of it. “The Little Match Girl Passion” (2007) was given its area premiere by the Vocal Arts Ensemble Saturday night in Summit Country Day Chapel in Hyde Park. VAE music director Donald Nally conducted.
Lang used a model in writing the work, Johann Sebastian Bach’s monumental “St. Matthew Passion,” substituting the child for Jesus. Unlikely as that may seem -- in terms of scale, if nothing else -- it works powerfully (“Little Match Girl” is 35 minutes compared to Bach’s three-and-one-half hours). After the concert, members of the VAE confessed that they had trouble stifling tears when they rehearsed it.
The concert, entitled “Modern Passions,” also included “The Legend of the Walled-in Woman” (2005) and “Sun Dogs” (2008) by Latvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds, both in their area premieres. Another secular Passion (this one only ten minutes), “Legend of the Walled-in Woman” is based on an Albanian folk song about a woman sacrificed in the foundations of a castle to protect it from invaders. “Sun Dogs” is a two-part treatment of the atmospheric phenomenon called parhelia or “mock suns,” wherein reflections of the sun appear alongside it, refracted through ice crystals in the clouds.
With its welcoming acoustics and refurbished Gothic interior, Summit Chapel provided an ideal setting for the concert. The 24-voice VAE, whose members pick notes out of the air with seeming ease, was heard beautifully and distinctly. In Lang’s work, several singers played percussion as well, meaning they had to sing and play at the same time. The instruments included glockenspiel, sleigh bells, tubular bell, triangle, bass drum and automobile brake drum (scraped during the 30-second “Patience, patience!”).
The analogy to Bach is a formal one, with sections that advance the story, plus commentary and chorales. Added texts alternate with the biblical story. Lang’s text combines Andersen, St. Matthew’s gospel and Lang’s own texts, as suggested by Bach. Thus, the opening number, “Come, daughter,” is a paraphrase of Bach’s opening chorus, “Kommt ihr Töchter.”
Musically, they are quite different. Lang writes in a striking and highly emotional style that draws upon minimalism and close imitation. There is one spoken line, from Matthew 27:45: “From the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land …” which precedes “Eli, Eli,” sung in keening octave leaps by solo soprano.
The original version of Lang’s work is for four solo voices. He wrote an alternate version for choir, sung here. There are recurring motifs, which help keep you immersed in the story. The pace is halting and dramatic, with lots of rests between phrases. One of the emotional high points is “Have mercy, my God,” reflecting Bach’s alto aria “Erbarme dich,” which built in intensity, then subsided to an unresolved end. The last movement, “We sit and cry,” based on Bach’s final chorus “Wir setzen,” brought everything into play, with repeated plaints of “Rest soft, daughter” over long, slow melodic lines by the men’s voices. It ended with percussion only (soft taps of bass drum and sleigh bells), making for a gripping musical experience that will not soon be forgotten.
The same can be said for Ešenvald’s “Walled Woman” and “Sun Dogs.” “Walled Woman” is a lamentation, with lots of glissandi (sliding notes) and ululations for the woman immured in the castle walls. The effect was heart-wrenching.
“Sun Dogs” consisted of testimony by witnesses to sun dogs throughout history (considered ominous) and descriptions of sun dogs by various authors. The music was spellbinding – medieval and chant-like, yet full of clashing dissonances in the first movement (the witnesses), a choral disquisition on sun dogs in the second. Adding glitter were triangles struck with knitting needles by the singers.
The concert repeats at 4 p.m. today (Sunday, April 17) at Armstrong Chapel in Indian Hill. Tickets are $20 at the door.
(first punblished at www.cincinnati.com)