For choral music fans with their ear to the chilled ground, December
is a time for vocal rumbling. From shopping-mall carols to sing-along Messiahs,
every voice (on key or off) seems lifted high to exult the season. In recent
outbreaks of yuletide trilling, two of the city's bastions of musical excellence
offered striking contrast to the typical laryngeally leaden and tonally weary
fare that sacrifices taste in order to hop aboard the seasonal bandwagon.
With the Eric Milnes-led Trinity Consort's entry into the oratorio fray, this
year's Portland Baroque Orchestra annual Messiah offering was up against
stiff competition. PBO's approach has been to provide the orchestra, choir,
soloists and venue as a blank canvas for a different creative director from
the international early music field each year. The resultant choices can differ
widely, from adherence to a strict Baroque format of small chorus and orchestra
to a decidedly more rambunctious take like last year's rousing Milnes-led 50-voice
offering. But it's a noble attempt to keep Handel's old war horse from becoming
a rote exercise in holiday homage.
This year's directing choice was Gary Cooper of Oxford University's Band of
Instruments, who doubles as PBO director Monica Huggett's harpsichord partner
in the chamber-music ensemble Sonnerie. Cooper is noted as one of Early Music's
hungry young things, but whether coached to contrast the pending Trinity Consort
big boom Messiah or by taste, he chose to make a quieter noise. Using
a 20-piece orchestra, a 24-voice choir and four soloists, Cooper alternated
between accompanying the soloists on harpsichord and standing to direct the
choral passages. He delivered a well-honed, compact vision of the work, adding
the seldom-heard Part Three, thereby befuddling the "Hallelujah"-expectant crowd.
Unfortunately, his soloists only half supported him. In the evening's vocal
highlight, Matthew White sang with a pure, rich tone devoid of the overt preciousness
and slippage to falsetto that can mar the countertenor. His instrument was a
joy to hear. Soprano Karina Gauvin was dramatically effective in her solos,
though both Nils Brown and David Newman, in their tenor and bass solos, were
unremarkable. As a result, the work as a whole lagged and even the choir's finesse
couldn't overcome a nagging sense of anticlimax.
Gil Seeley's Oregon Repertory Singers proved why they are nationally recognized
as innovators in the choral music field with a historical program of French
sacred and folk works. Seeley's a respected archivist, and his archaeological
digging brought up a trove of musical gems. From 15th-century chants by Dufay
and Binchois to Poulenc's stunning 20th-century "O magnum mysterium," the program's
first half provided a grad course in French choral history. Part two offered
a more free-form soundscape of the influence of French song with well-known
works in translation (like "Ding Dong! Merrily On High") and others in the dialects
of the Francophone world (like "A Haitian Noël").
Most impressive was the tremendous control and resonant clarity of the singing--not
only in the hushed lows but in the full-throttle highs. As Seeley tweaked the
dynamics with a nod or hand gesture, it seemed as if he were adjusting the bass,
treble and volume of a fine stereo. Spotlighting various soloists and sections
and adding string quartet, organ, piano and percussion accompaniment provided
dramatic pacing and variety. Yet always the discipline was striking, the resultant
texture awe-inspiring.
It's not surprising that this entire program will again be broadcast nationally
on NPR's Performance Today. With programming daring and professional
vision, Seeley and the ORS deserve a nationwide hearing.
