Weymouth Choral Society is in for an exhilarating experience this autumn as it heads for the bright lights of the New York City, to perform at Carnegie Hall.
Distinguished Concerts International, New York (DCINY) presents the Eternal Light Distinguished Concerts Orchestra and Distinguished Singers International
Bradley Ellingboe. The guest conductor is Jonathan Griffith (DCINY artistic director and principal conductor) with Howard Goodall (DCINY composer-in-residence) Sarah Joy Miller (soprano); Scott Joiner (tenor); and Steven Eddy (baritone). The venue is Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall, New York, U.S.A.
NOVEMBER 20, 2016
Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presented a concert entitled Eternal Light on the evening of November 20, 2016 at Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall. It featured two works, Morten Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna and the New York City premiere of Howard Goodall’s Eternal Light: A Requiem. With singers from Louisiana, New Mexico, Texas, Minnesota, California, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Northern Ireland, and the United Kingdom, the theme could have been called The Show Must Go On, in what was a night of unexpected events.
Guest Conductor Bradley Ellingboe took the podium to conduct Lauidsen’s Lux Aeterna. In an earlier review (from a concert June 12, 2016 also entitled Eternal Light) I wrote, “Composed in 1997, Lux Aeterna is a five-movement work, taking the opening and closing of the Requiem Mass and three sections of the Te Deum for the texts. If “heaven” is really as many imagine, I would not be shocked if this music is being heard and played there. This is simply some of the most beautiful music I have ever heard, and at the risk of being accused of intellectual laziness I will respond that its transcendence simply eludes words.” I have no occasion to change my opinion, and if anything, it has been further deepened. Mr. Ellingboe led a performance worthy of this fine piece, with the chorus and orchestra closely following his expert direction.
Near the end of the Agnus Dei-Lux Aeterna movement, there was a loud noise, of which one could not readily determine the cause. After the work ended, it appeared that one of the chorus members in the front row had possibly fainted and fallen from the riser. The singers and orchestra members filed off the stage, and the stage crew set about setting the stage for the second half, while the singer was being attended to by several people. Finally, an emergency medical team arrived, placed her on a stretcher and wheeled her from the stage. She appeared to be okay, and I am sure that I speak for all in attendance in wishing her a speedy recovery. The next group of singers and orchestra took the stage for the second half. The Show Must Go On.
Before the start of the second half proper, conductor Jonathan Griffith and composer Howard Goodall took the stage in an impromptu talk. Mr. Goodall spoke about Eternal Light, some of his recent completed projects, and described his compositional system, which considers all elements (shape, arc, landscape, etc.) to be equally important. He is a modest man, and somewhat reticent to boast about his many accomplishments, so Maestro Griffith informed the audience that Eternal Light was nearing its 500th performance, which averages about one performance a week since the premiere in 2008! Mr. Goodall informed the audience that he is currently working on three (!) new musicals simultaneously. Jonathan Griffith then took the podium to conduct the New York City premiere of Eternal Light: A Requiem.
Eternal Light: A Requiem is a ten-movement work using both the traditional Requiem mass and texts of the composer’s choosing. I recommend the reader to take the time to read Mr. Goodall’s excellent program notes (which also include the complete texts) by following this link: Eternal Light Program Notes . Clocking in at forty minutes, it is a journey of beauty, heartache, and in the end, hope.
I’m not going to comment on each movement, but rather mention a few points of interest. The fourth movement, Hymn: lead, kindly light, began in a state of hesitation, so much so that after about ten seconds Maestro Griffith stopped the work, paused for a moment, and recommenced the movement. This second time was strong and decisive, and while it is never a good thing to have to stop and re-start, it was a good decision from a seasoned and intelligent musician like Maestro Griffith. Too many times this listener has heard things go from bad to completely off the rails from either a reluctance to re-start, or from the hope that somehow things will right themselves (they usually don’t).
The sixth movement, the Dies Irae: In Flanders Fields, was the favorite of this listener. Mr. Goodall’s setting of the famous World War One poem of Canadian military doctor John McCrae was equal to the haunting text. Too many settings (and I have heard many) come across as saccharine and lightweight, which (in my opinion) destroys the meaning of McCrae’s words. Thank you, Mr. Goodall, for “getting it right”- it was one of the more moving things I have heard in some time.
The three soloists were top-notch, and each delivered strong, passionate performances. Soprano Sarah Joy Miller has a voice that abounds with heavenly beauty, tenor Scott Joiner wrung out the emotion in the heartbreaking third movement Litany: Belief, and baritone Steven Eddy projected with strength and confidence. The chorus (except for that one vexing moment) did good work, handling some of the rapid-fire settings of Latin with good diction and balance. This was one of those occasions when the sum of the parts exceeded the whole; it happens sometimes. The Show Must Go On.
At the end of the In Paradisum: Lux Aeterna, the audience responded with a standing ovation. Mr. Goodall came to the stage where he bashfully attempted to hide behind the vocal soloists, and had to be coaxed to the front, ending the night on a high note.
Helen’s Review
START SPREADING THE NEWS……
At the very uncivilised hour of 2.30am on 17 November, a party of 16 members of Weymouth Choral Society left Weymouth to fly from London Heathrow to JFK New York. Joined at Heathrow by 10 members of Barclays House Choir, Poole (of which Helen is also the Musical Director) we set off on our adventure.
The purpose of our trip was to sing in the New York Premiere of ‘Eternal Light: A Requiem’ by British composer Howard Goodall. Both choirs had performed the work in the previous year and had been invited to join a further 12 choirs from USA, Ireland and the UK to form a 200 voice choir, singing at Carnegie Hall.
Our hotel was fairly central, enabling some sight-seeing in between intensive but enjoyable rehearsals with the conductor for the concert, Jonathan Griffith, who proved an interesting and excellent tutor. Jonathan is the principal conductor for Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) who had organised the event. During the rehearsal we were delighted to be joined by the composer, Howard Goodall. His comments regarding his inspirations behind the work and his reflections on the interpretation of the music informed us all and gave the Requiem great meaning. After the rehearsal, photos of each choir with the composer were taken and Howard signed music copies and posters.
Sunday evening brought the concert in the beautiful Stern Auditorium, with a Dress Rehearsal just before the performance. With standing room only on the stage we were all feeling tired, but the performance was uplifting, with superb orchestra and soloists and the composer present in the audience. After the concert we walked to Rosie O’Grady’s Restaurant where an excellent buffet and bar was enjoyed by the singers.
On the Monday afternoon it all seemed to have been a bit of dream as we climbed aboard the plane to return to Heathrow. An exhausting but highly valuable experience. Thanks are due to those who helped to plan this exciting venture, in particular Melodie Baines and Phil Wise, and with special mention to Beryl Hamlet who managed the administration of this complicated project with great efficiency.
Howard Goodall with members of Weymouth Choral Society and Barclays House Choir
‘Having sung with groups in Surrey for fifty years I never for a moment thought that joining Weymouth Choral Society would lead to a performance in Carnegie Hall!…..the whole experience was inspiring!’ Rod Parsons
Rod’s Review
Having sung with groups in Surrey for fifty years I never for a moment thought that joining Weymouth Choral Society would lead to a performance in Carnegie Hall of Howard Goodall’s Eternal Light; a Requiem which we performed at Weymouth in November 2015.
A party of 16 members of WCS with 10 from Barclays House Choir left Weymouth at 2.30 am on 17 Nov to fly from LHR to JFK New York. Beryl had arranged for us to stay in the middle of NY which proved so convenient for rehearsing, performing and sightseeing. We could not wait to get to the top of the Rockefeller skyscraper to view NY from 90 storeys up even though we had a good view as we flew in.
Our first rehearsal on Thursday lasted from 1—5 pm with the longest warmup of humming I have ever managed, so watch Helen when she does her new WCS warm-up. Luckily for the choir of 200 from UK, Ireland, Texas and Philadelphia our director had a sense of humour and he let us sit down occasionally as long as we ‘stood up from the waist’ and held copies flat with arms up [very tiring]. The real reward was that at 4pm Howard Goodall appeared and his explanation of his composing Eternal Light was so inspiring it made the singing more enjoyable and we queued afterwards for his autograph and a photograph.
Our second rehearsal at 9am –1pm on Saturday entailed a 7am breakfast followed by a brisk walk. We were joined by the Philadelphia choir students who had not been given time off from school on Friday ! We also sang with our 3 soloists, a glorious soprano, tenor and baritone and enjoyed a lecture on dynamics pppp – fff from our musical director.
We visited many of the NY attractions queuing for an hour for the Empire State Building for the views. Central Park was beautiful with lots of activity including horses, carriages and cycle rickshaws. Some took the free ferry to Staten Island to pass by the Statue of Liberty. When on Sunday the weather turned cold with a little snow, we were ‘forced’ to shop in Macy’s. The city was really vibrant, the shops gearing up for Thanksgiving and Christmas with wonderful window displays. Some roads were closed when Mr Trump was in town.
Sunday evening brought the concert with a Dress Rehearsal 545 – 715 after which we had to leave Carnegie Hall until we returned for our second half performance 830—930. Standing for an hour with copies up was tiring but the whole experience inspiring and then we walked to Rosie O’Grady’s for a hot buffet Banquet until midnight.
We all enjoyed a comfortable flight home overnight on Monday although the airport helpers did their worst with our wheelchair passengers. I love flying from Bournemouth. Next year DCINY are organising a performance of Verdi’s Requiem in Barcelona in July to which we have an invitation !
