Well, the first thing I'm going to say is that I really loved this piece. However, I know that not all of us felt that way. At least some people felt that it was simple and uninteresting. I felt that it was simple, charming and beautiful. Well, as my father used to say, "de gustibus non est disputandum". However, we all agree that it's simple. It's also very short, almost a missa brevis. Most of it is quite homophonic; there are no fugues at all, although there are a couple of short canons. I personally loved the extremely brief Sanctus -- I thought it was a little gem -- and the cheerful, happy Dona Nobis Pacem was really growing on me. It's in 6-8 and very dance-like.
The guest conductor, Christoph Koenig, was young and enthusiastic, and his phrasing brought the music to life. Some people found it a bit unnerving that his beats sometimes were on the "down" and sometimes on the "up" -- I think that when he was thinking about the chorus it was on the down and for the orchestra on the up -- but all in all I found him pretty easy to follow. He got a good review in the Chronicle, as did we:
The crisp and vivid playing was enhanced by four strong vocal soloists. Soprano Elizabeth Keusch lent a taut intensity to her lines. Mezzo-soprano Quinn Patrick sang with controlled fervor. Tenor Steven Tharp impressed with his clarion tone and clean placement. Bass-baritone Stephen Bryant boomed his role with robust conviction.
But perhaps most crucial here was the superlative work by the Houston Symphony Chorus, prepared by Charles Hausmann, celebrating his 25th year as the chorus' director. The choral writing is this work's strongest suit, and the chorus unleashed its majesty with crisp phrasing, precise attack, expert diction and balanced sound.
I was frankly not quite as impressed by the solo quartet as the reviewer. They had a very good ensemble sound, but individually I felt they were a bit uneven. I liked the soprano the best; she has a very beautiful voice and a lot of focus, and her role was the largest. The mezzo has a very nice voice but, at least from the back where we were, it sounded small and didn't have a lot of presence. Of course, this may have been influenced a lot by being behind her. The bass is very competent -- I would describe his style as urbane. The tenor was my least favorite. Although I know that the style is appreciated by many, I'm not all that fond of the high tension approach to the upper part of the tenor range. To me the high notes sounded a bit like his shorts were too tight.
One interesting note about the mezzo: We think that this is the first time that an adult child of two chorus members has come as a professional to sing as a soloist with the chorus. Quinn Patrick's parents, I recall the name as Doody, were members in the late 1960's early 1970's. I believe that Peter Peropoulos is the only current member who goes back far enough so that he might have known them.
About our performances, I thought that we were very, very good. Big, beautiful sound and generally tight, precise and expressive -- except for one major botched entrance on a "miserere" in the last performance. Apparently it was all over the place, although from where I was standing (on the extreme left) I didn't really hear what happened. George Howe says, however -- and a number of people have responded essentially agreeing with him,
I felt that the disconnect between the chorus and Koenig at the alto entrance to "Miserere”in Sunday's performance occurred when Koenig, who was using very florid motions at the time, wanted to speed up the phrase at a point where we had not done so in previous performances and rehearsals. Many of us in the chorus didn't realize that for about 1½ measures, by which time much of the chorus was a half beat behind. Koenig got us back on track in another measure or so, but my feeling was that he was not as 'on point' with us on Sunday as he was Thursday and Saturday.
The crowds were pretty light and although appreciative, not wildly enthusiastic as they are for some of our performances. I guess the work is not a real crowd-pleaser like some of the larger, more bombastic works. Personally, however, I found the work a true joy to sing and I'm glad I got the opportunity. It's the first time the work has ever been performed by the HSO, and it seems unlikely that we'll do it again.
Here's another review, this time from ConcertoNet.com:
Zhou's good prayers were suitably answered by the magnificent, Mozartian third mass of Franz Schubert. This setting contains some of the most energetic and propulsive music that the composer even penned, notably in the Gloria, and Koenig's high energy stance, which never changed gear through the Schubert and Brahms, was more suited to the mass. The orchestra continued its impressive performance, with wonderful rhythmic precision from trumpets and timpani. The true stars, however, were soprano Elizabeth Keusch and the HSO Chorus. Keusch sang her high-lying part impeccably, with pinpoint intonation, luscious tone and ample agility, projecting nicely above the orchestra. There are a surprising number of treacherously high entrances for the soprano, but Keusch made them sound easy and elegant. Of the four soloists, she had the most to do, and took every advantage of her opportunity. The other three soloists also sang well, but Schubert gave Patrick almost nothing to do, and one wished for a bit more roundness of tone and projection from Bryant. Charles Hausmann's chorus, always a treat to hear, sang with incredible unity and balance, and were especially impressive in their handling of the denser contrapuntal passages. Diction was excellent, and the vigor of the singing matched Koenig's conception of the entire work. It is wonderful to have Schubert's masses, especially the less frequently heard early works, championed by the Houston Symphony.
I must confess that I didn't personally notice any particularly dense counterpoint in this work -- but I guess I'm quibbling.