New Jersey Symphony – Jacques Lacombe, conductor. April 5, 2014.

State Theatre in New Brunswick, NJ, Balcony (Seat C105, $32.)

Program

Requiem (1869-74) by Verdi (1813-1901).

Artists

Marianne Fiset – soprano, Janara Kellerman – mezzo-soprano, Russell Thomas – tenor, Peter Volpe – Bass.

Montclair State University Chorale – Heather J. Buchanan, director.

There it is again, Jekyll and Hyde.  My last couple of postings described in no uncertain terms my disappointment in the NJSO, after my hope was raised by a concert led by Lacombe.  Then what happens?  NJSO delivers a good performance, so now I am quite confused.  However, lest we go overboard, I said a good performance, not a great performance.

I heard this requiem about six years ago, played by New York Philharmonic, led by Lorin Maazel.  My overall assessment of that performance was “excellent,” although I did find some isolated problems here and there.

Of course I had completely forgotten what the music sounds like.  Unlike many of the pieces I had heard recently, it was not difficult to appreciate the composition at all.

I was reminded once again that Verdi was not a religious man: actually the Program Notes from six years ago calls him an atheist.  Nonetheless, one cannot help be moved by the music and what it represents.  Basically a requiem is a mass for the dead, with a standard text on mercy, days of wrath, judgment, supplication for redemption, holy lamb of God, eternal light, and deliverance from hell.  I recall having heard the requiems by Mozart, Faure, Britten, and Brahms, and while they are all excellent in their particular way, none is as powerful as this one.

A good example is Dies Irae.  There is wrath, and there is WRATH.  The two bass drums were hit so violently that the entire auditorium shook.  We were in the balcony and really empathized with the artists that were on stage, especially the double bass players right in front of them.  The brass episode (Tuba mirum), with some players in the back of the auditorium, was simply magnificent.

There were about 120 members in the Montclair Chorale.  Overall they did a great job with precision.  However, they sounded a bit on the weak side, especially considering the size of the ensemble and the size of the theater.  Not the Westminster, but quite good nonetheless.

The soloists all projected well.  However, they only seemed to be able to do so while shouting at the top of their lungs.  I wish there was a bit more dynamic range to their performance.  They complemented one another well, and all had rather significant and difficult passages to tackle.

While listening to a requiem I tend to concentrate on the vocal parts: trying to follow the Latin and looking up the English translation in the darkened hall aren't easy and usually occupy most of my bandwidth.   Despite that, I still appreciated how the orchestra did.  It actually was very responsive to Lacombe’s direction and performed its task with enthusiasm, precision, and remarkable dynamic range.

We have another NJSO concert this season, again conducted by Lacombe.  To paraphrase Forrest Gump, I wonder what kind of chocolate I will get this time.