The Williamsburg Choral Guild and artistic director and conductor Jay BeVille opened its current season Sunday at Warhill High School, offering mighty fine performances by the guild, soloists and chamber orchestra.
Additionally, it offered particularly fine programming of works less commonly done and heard, making the event all the more pleasant — Haydn’s “Mass in Time of War,” Vaughan Williams’ setting of Walt Whitman’s “Toward the Unknown Region,” and Ola Gjeilo’s “The Ground.”
Whereas art song is usually the performance form most associated with the intimate relationship between text and music, the choral works sung here did just that in offering thoughtful expression, matched by lyrical development and insightful interpretation.
Following the opening Overture for an English Opera (“Orfeo ed Euridice”) of Haydn, which was given a sprightly, clean and clear playing by the chamber orchestra, the vocals began with Gjeilo’s “The Ground.” Taken from the closing movement of his “Sunrise Mass,” which is built on portions of the Catholic Mass, “Ground” is sublime and lyrical and directly reflects the nature of the text and peace. Written for strings and piano, it was profoundly moving and gentle in thought and execution. Based on the guild’s sensitive performance, I would hope BeVille might program the entire “Sunrise” in the future.
Whitman’s brilliance as a poet inspired many composers, one of the most notable being Vaughan Williams. The eloquence of “Unknown Region,” taken from his “Leaves of Grass” and “Whispers of Heavenly Death,” inspired Vaughan Williams to translate those thoughts into exquisite, highly lyrical musical lines. The sentiments behind the text find universal application in the form of emotional evolution from uncertainty or fear of the unknown to something hopeful and encouraging. Haunting in nature, slowly and delicately building to an uplifting, sweeping, glorious close, it’s been described as a spiritual journey of the soul.
It’s also been described as a prime example of the sublime rewards of combining music and text. With that consideration in mind, it’s a shame the orchestral balance too often obscured the chorus and the text.
“Mass in Time of War,” while not necessarily an anti-war work, has led many musicologists to suspect it was, given Austria’s seemingly on-going conflict with the French following the revolution. The work, which is built on the accepted constructs of the mass, blends optimism and war-inspired fear into thoughtful perspective.
Throughout, the choral effort was strong, sensitive and sincere in carrying out the message and intent of the mass. There seemed to be a high comfort level on the guild’s part in its clearly stated and spoken Latin text, as well as involved delivery. Unlike many such works, this Haydn tended to use its vocal soloists for isolated emphasis, save an extended solo portion in the “Gloria,” here performed by bass Branch Fields. His resonant, fluid and focused sound is always a pleasure to hear as was the case here.
The full quartet did find a feature moment in the “Benedictus” in which a strong balance and matched vocal quality was highlighted. Assuredly, bravos to soprano Sarah Taylor, tenor Kenneth Wood, Fields, and last minute replacement contralto Katherine Smith, of William and Mary, for their fine individual and collective efforts.
The Haydn closed with a hopeful “Agnus Dei” and its plea to “grant us peace.” With the world situation as it is and an upcoming election and heaven knows what following that, the plea does not fall on deaf ears.
John Shulson, a Williamsburg resident, has been covering the arts for over 40 years. He makes a guest appearnce in Margaret Truman’s “Murder at the Opera.”
