Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
Great Music in a Great Space
Where better to experience a work as capacious, and as religious, as the St. Matthew Passion by J.S. Bach than in one of the world’s most cavernous churches? On March 8 the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City, famously unfinished and famously huge, hosted a lofty performance of the full Passion, more than two and a half hours of music.
Of course, the sound was reverberant. Of course, the sight lines weren’t great, as there’s no banked seating (though close-ups of the soloists on a large video screen helped). None of that made the event any less inspiring. To the contrary, the enormous space and deep sound, including the participation of the church organ, manifested Bach’s achievement to great advantage.
Bach could hardly have asked for a better 21st-century interpreter than Kent Tritle, who led the Cathedral Choirs, encompassing both professional and avocational singers, and Orchestra. (He also directs the Oratorio Society of New York.) They were joined by the young Cathedral Choristers conducted by Bryan Zaros, and a cast of fine soloists.
The St. Matthew Passion is a drama of sorts as well as a musical event. As such, the solo vocalists play a key role in any performance. Though Bach drew on his earlier material for some of the music, the whole sequence coalesces into a distinct story full of drama and pathos – a story of religious revelation but very much also of individuals. This cast more than held up its end of the bargain, both those who took on the roles of the major characters and those who sang the many arias.
Jesus and the Evangelist
The Evangelist serves as the narrator and sings many prose passages throughout. This character demands the most stamina, requiring operatic strength and versatility and a singer who must also be adept at staying generally subtle and “out of the way” while maintaining an assertive performance. Paul Appleby accomplished this with supple tonal colors and little evidence of strain — a most impressive performance.
Jesus plays a major role in Part One, and bass-baritone Joseph Parrish brought his easeful steeliness to the part, leavening Bach’s formal musical diction with a conversational lilt in passages like “Der mit der hand” and “Trinket alle daraus.” This young singer’s creative potential seems limitless.
The non-character soloists shone in their arias and recitatives. Mezzo-soprano Mary Beth (Nelson) Zaros set a high standard with a silvery-smoky tone in the first of several recitative-aria sequences for alto. Her “Erbarme dich” aria was sublimely ethereal. Soprano Eva Martinez brought subtlety and fluidity to arias like “Ich will dir mein Herze schenken.” The two singers blended beautifully in “So ist mein Jesu nun gefangen.”
Tenor Joshua Blue displayed operatic fire in his solos, along with a relaxed melisma in “Ich will bei meinem Jesu wachen” and delicate interaction with the solo cello in “Geduld, Geduld!” Baritone Harrison Hintzsche’s cloaked, smooth delivery danced affectingly with the cello in “Komm, süßes Kreuz,” aptly conveying the resignation of a person experiencing the suffering of humankind as analogous to that of Jesus on the cross.
Given the echoey acoustics, the soloists, choirs and musicians were in essentially perfect sync throughout, including in intricate singer-instrumentalist duets accompanied by the organ. Choir members performed very well in the minor roles, as did individual members of the orchestra (cellist, flutist, violinist). Mr. Tritle led the choirs and orchestra with careful dynamics, including explosive outbursts, pointed staccatos and held-breath silences.
One had to wait for the silences, though. Final notes and chords decrescendoed in soft echoes, helping Bach’s music envelop the audience throughout an evening of music of ineffable genius and power. It was a concert to be remembered.
Visit the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine’s website for information about its music ensembles and programming.
