Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) Presents Magnificat in Review
Distinguished Concerts Orchestra and Distinguished Concerts Singers International;
Jonathan Griffith, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor; Nancy Menk, Guest Conductor;
Claire Leyden, Soprano; Lindsey Anderson, Mezzo-Soprano; Jennifer Zetlan, Soprano
Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
March 17, 2019
Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presented another large-scale concert this weekend, entitled Magnificat: Music in Celebration of International Women’s Day. The first half included works by Johannes Michael Haydn, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Johannes Brahms, Libby Larsen, Ola Gjeilo, and Zachary Moore, all for women’s choir and orchestra under the direction of Dr. Nancy Menk. The second half was entirely devoted to John Rutter’s Magnificat for mixed choir and orchestra, under the direction of DCINY Artistic Director Jonathan Griffith. As ever, it was an extravaganza, with several hundred voices from all over the world and audience members barely able to contain their excitement, applause, and cheers.
The Magnificat text was present not only in Rutter’s great piece by that name on the second half, but also in several works on the first half. For those unfamiliar with the term Magnificat, it traditionally refers to the musical setting of the Canticle [or Biblical hymn] of Mary, which contains the words that the Virgin Mary spoke (according to the Gospel of Saint Luke) right after the Annunciation (the announcement by the Angel Gabriel that she would soon be giving birth to Jesus Christ). Magnificat settings can also include words spoken to Mary at the Annunciation, and also those about her, along with related texts of the Gloria, Ave Maria (Hail Mary) and more, but in any case, a concert dedicated to the Magnificat centers upon Mary.
Magnificat was thus an appropriate name for a Women’s Day celebration and for a concert billed as a celebration of the 175th Anniversary of Saint Mary’s College in South Bend, Indiana (Saint Mary here also referring to the Virgin Mary). Two choirs from Saint Mary’s College, their college choir and alumnae choir, represented the school well under Dr. Menk, their Chair of Music, who led them through works in varied styles, including a work which the college commissioned from Libby Larsen 25 years ago, Canticle of Mary. Their combined forces, along with the rest of the Distinguished Concert Singers International, totaled around 260 choristers to share the stage with the Distinguished Concerts Orchestra.
The programming was brilliant, not monochromatic as one might expect with such unity of theme, and even the staunchest atheist would probably acknowledge the power of the music itself, along with its fascinating history. The concert opened with Johann Michael Haydn, the underappreciated younger brother of Franz Joseph Haydn, and his brief beautiful Magnificat served as a somewhat restrained classical greeting before the more involved works to come. It also provided an introduction to this half’s two soloists, soprano Claire Leyden and mezzo-soprano Lindsey Anderson, both excellent.
In complete contrast with the Haydn, the Vaughan Williams Magnificat followed, its mystical atmosphere intensified by shadowy chromaticism and sinuous flute lines. This setting is no heavenly harmony suggesting a serene Mary, but rather an eerie evocation of supernatural forces, its imaginative orchestration eliciting awe from the start. Mezzo Lindsey Anderson was the powerful soloist, singing with outstanding tonal control and a projection of the music’s mystery and grandeur. In what was skillful programming, the Ave Maria, Op. 12 of Brahms followed, relatively delicate in its orchestration, moving to simpler F major harmonies and a lighter pastoral spirit. The chorus sang it with reverent purity.
Dr. Menk conducted expertly throughout her portion of the program, but her skill was especially in evidence in the remaining works, including Libby Larsen’s Canticle of Mary, a canticle of unusual jubilation. Opening with an oboe solo, which in the composer’s words “represents the exuberance and free spirit” of Mary, the piece pulses with anticipation and joy. The choral singers gave their all, and soprano Claire Leyden sent her piercingly beautiful solo soaring from a balcony near the stage.
Ola Gjeilo’s Gloria followed with similar joy, here in a more folk-like vein and sung with gusto. If the theme of Mary was not overt in the final work, Always Keep This Close, by Zachary J. Moore (b.1992), the overall theme of women was certainly present, with text by Colleen Carhuff expressing the love of singing in a women’s choir. Starting out with nostalgic warmth, it built to a tremendous peak, closing with the repeated words “We are one.” The combined choruses were indeed one.
To cap off a brilliantly conceived concert, the second half featured the Magnificat of leading British choral composer, John Rutter (b. 1945). Larger in scope than the Magnificats heard earlier on the program (the longest of those being the twelve-minute Vaughan Williams piece), Rutter’s work spans forty minutes over the course of seven movements. It was interesting to compare how differently Rutter set some of the same text as other composers, for example, the line “the rich he hath sent empty away” which Vaughan Williams punctuated with dramatic rests, while Rutter chose to set it to gentle soothing harmonies. Clearly such a text has inexhaustible possibilities.
John Rutter is a master of his art, and the listener was held in his thrall from his Magnificat’s very first notes. Though Rutter has strangely been criticized for incorporating elements of lighter twentieth-century music (as if he is to remain in an aesthetic vacuum), his music is indisputably rooted in a British tradition that includes Benjamin Britten, David Willcocks, and others. His Magnificat reflects eclectic influences of the late twentieth century as well, but all in what seems to this listener to be a perfectly organic way.
In the first movement, Magnificat anima mea, there are shifts from the feeling of 3/4 to 6/8 via sharp accents, establishing an immediate energy, and these were projected with vigor by the performers. The mood was suitably contemplative in the movement Of a Rose, a lovely Rose, a movement hearkening back to works by Bach and other earlier composers, but the music regained the brassy power of the twentieth century in the third movement, Quia fecit mihi magna. Full mixed choruses produced a big sound, including fifteen choirs from California, Colorado, Indiana, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, as well as Australia, Canada, and the UK, and, as DCINY always lists “individual singers from around the globe.” Jonathan Griffith held the masses together beautifully, as always.
Superb soprano Jennifer Zetlan was the soloist throughout this work, and her fluid golden tones were particularly beautiful in the fourth movement, Et Misericordia, conveying a sense of solace after the prior fanfares – and before the muscle-flexing fifth movement, Fecit potentiam. The latter was given such assertive projection by the lower voices that it seemed at any moment ready to burst into,“the Jets are gonna have their way tonight” (from Bernstein’s West Side Story) – in other words, it was not lacking in testosterone! One could only admire the way Rutter developed his material here in brilliant imitation before subsiding with the final line about the meek (humiles). The milder Esurientes followed, opening gently with harp and affirming heavenly promises, with the help again of lovely solo lines from Ms. Zetlan, and the subsequent Gloria Patri with cymbal crashes (and the return of the opening rhythms) made for a triumphant end to this wonderful work. It was a triumphant end to a great concert as well. Congratulations to all involved, and encore!
