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Cappella Romana sings The Akathist Hymn by Ivan Moody conducted by Alexander Lingas St. Philip Neri Catholic Church Friday, Jan. 8 Concert programming is a balancing act, and the best ensembles give audiences pleasure and challenge in more or less equal parts. The vocal ensemble Cappella Romana has typically aimed at a high level of both, offering eclectic, exquisite liturgical music of the Christian East and West, from the accessible to the abstruse. Last fall's concert of Tchaikovsky and Tikey Zes, a generally light, lovely and uncomplicated crowd-pleaser, was an example of accessibility. The most recent performance, featuring the premiere of English composer Ivan Moody's setting of the Akathist hymn, leaned toward abstruse. While it was a mostly successful introduction of a major addition to the literature, it betrayed some of the effort that went into it. The Hymn, which dates back to the sixth century, is a poetic homily on, and veneration of, the Virgin Mary, in 24 stanzas alternating with refrains. A Byzantine masterwork, it remains a popular piece in the Greek Orthodox Church. It was originally sung shortly after Christmas but has become associated with Lent (the reverse of the tradition of Handel's Easter oratorio Messiah, which has become a Christmas staple). The name "Akathist," as the program notes point out, means "not seated," a reference to the custom of standing during the hymn's performance. It is just as well that this concert dispensed with that custom because the piece runs nearly two hours. Moody's setting combines traditional Byzantine melodic lines--in monophonic chant over a drone--with polyphony that grows more complex as the work progresses, culminating in occasionally stunning 10- and 12-part passages. The harmonies are lush and dark in Russian style, though periodically the shadows disperse as in a cloudbreak and the sound brightens. The effect over the whole hymn is of a slow revelation of light and warmth over an ancient musical ground (listeners with no interest in its liturgical function or patience with its repetitive structure, however, may find it to be a rather quick revelation of tedium). It's not an easy score to sing, even for Cappella Romana, which includes many of the best choristers in the city. The chant includes abundant microtones and, like any plainsong, requires that singers stay in tune and maintain rhythms precisely; mistakes leave voices highly exposed. The range is challenging, from seismic bass to a few soprano notes just shy of pitches only dogs can hear, and the duration is daunting. Movie-length choral pieces are rare, and fatigue can take its toll on both ensemble and audience. Given the difficulties, the performance was a valiant and generally pleasant one. Among the weak points were imprecise attacks and periodically faltering tone; a combination of the two, in an off-key entrance by the women's voices at a climactic moment, was particularly unfortunate. Balance was sometimes a problem, with individual voices dominating sections. None of these represented insurmountable problems for a choir with the talent of Cappella Romana--the flaws only suggested that more rehearsal time was in order. In that, it was reminiscent of the ensemble's presentation two seasons ago of a similar work by John Tavener, though Moody's Akathist has more obvious virtues. Moody composed his setting expressly for this choir, which gave his Passion and Resurrection its North American premiere in 1996. It suited perfectly Cappella's white and mystical tone, a sound exemplified by soprano LeaAnne DenBeste, with strong support in the upper reaches. Bass-baritone John Vergin sang the solo stanzas in a firm, warm voice--declamatory yet very musical. Conductor Alexander Lingas led with an even pace, subtle yet appropriate dynamic direction and a keen sense of the value of silence, which functions like negative aural space to give definition. After an upcoming tour of Southern California, Cappella Romana will record its first CD, featuring music by the Greek-American composer Zes. Its current season will conclude in late April with works of the Russian and Ukrainian Baroque, gorgeous and thrilling music that it performs very well. Both CD and concert are certain to draw even more listeners into the fold of its enthusiastic following. Those same listeners will be on hand the next time Lingas makes a foray into the unknown. They know that whatever the challenges, chances are very good that it will be a gratifying experience.
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