Nally's Farewell "Special"
Donald Nally led his last concert as music director of the
Vocal Arts Ensemble not with new music, which he has championed during his
three year tenure, but with established classics (for him, a “special program,”
he said). Heard Sunday afternoon at Covenant Presbyterian Church were Handel’s “Dixit
Dominus,” Psalm 110 (1707) and Mendelssohn’s Psalm 42 (1738). The newest work
was Benjamin Britten’s “Cantata misericordium,” composed in 1963 for the
centenary of the Red Cross.
It was a well-chosen program, fully representative of the technical and expressive strengths of the 24-voice, professional choir.
“Dixit Dominus” brought these strengths to the fore with its virtuosic writing for chorus and soloists and its dramatic color (note the dynamic stresses on “Dixit” and the vivid tone-painting, such as the repeated “conquebassit,” indicating the smashing of enemy skulls). Accompanied by the CCO strings, the work was played and sung following authentic performance practice with crisp tempos, selective or no vibrato and agile vocal coloratura.
Britten’s Cantata, Op. 69, based on the biblical parable of
the Good Samaritan, is a kind of opera scene in miniature, with the roles of
the Traveler and the Samaritan sung by tenor and baritone, respectively. Tenor
Anthony Beck and baritone Jonathan Stinson captured the suffering of the
wounded Samaritan and the gentle humility of the Traveler with passion and
depth, while the VAE assumed the role of a Greek chorus in describing and commenting
on the action.
There were many gripping moments: the crescendo of hope, then deep despair as the second of the passersby approached, then moved on without offering help, and the suspense as the Samaritan came onto the scene. The CCO strings, harp, piano and timpani performed their roles throughout to potent effect.
The most heartfelt music came at the end as the chorus addressed the audience with its injunction to follow the Samaritan’s example, then drifted off inconclusively as if the outcome were far from certain.
Mendelssohn’s hope-filled Psalm 42, “Wie der Hirsch schreit nach frischem Wasser” (“As the hart pants after the water brooks”) provided an upbeat conclusion to the program. Soprano Kelly Ann Bixby was the superb soloist with the 37-piece CCO. From the earnest beginning, full of supplication, to the exuberant, assured conclusion, it filled the fine acoustic of Covenant Presbyterian (which should be utilized more often for such events) with warmth and beauty.
It made a perfect sendoff for Nally, who became director of
choral organizations at Northwestern University in September. His successor,
Craig Hella Johnson, was named last month. (first published at cincinnati.com/blogs/arts/2013/05/06/cincinnatis-art-carved-furniture-and-concert-and-a-downtown-church/