Dan Forrest, DCINY Composer-in-Residence, Ola Gjeilo, DCINY Composer-in-Residence and Pianist;
Featuring Distinguished Concerts Orchestra and Distinguished Concerts Singers International;
James M. Meaders and Gary A. Weidenaar, Guest Conductors;
Estelí Gomez, Soprano;
Langley High School Concert Band (VA); Doug Martin, Director; Kyle Harrington, Assistant Director;
Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
February 18, 2019
Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) served up another one of their signature musical banquets this week, and, though there may have been a preponderance of celestial fare, there was, in and out of it all, something for just about everyone. Entitled Lux et Amor (Light and Love), the program featured uplifting works for chorus and orchestra by composers Dan Forrest and Ola Gjeilo, along with an introductory mini-concert played by the Langley High School Wind Band (VA), about which more will be written later. The pairing of these two composers is not a first for DCINY, so the following summary from this reviewer’s write-up from April 15, 2018 (DCINY Dreamweaver in Review) may serve as an introduction for those unfamiliar with them: “Both [Forrest and Gjeilo] happen to have been born in 1978, and both write music that employs rather conservative tonality in exploring spiritual themes. Both are part of a growing wave of choral music that often hearkens back to days of chant, while freely tapping into multicultural or folk material, the simple harmonies and spare textures of New Age music, and some cinematic orchestral elements. Both composers are, perhaps needless to say, immensely popular.”
Lest these commonalities lead the listener to think of the two composers as two peas in a pod, they are not. Mr. Forrest emerges as an outgrowth of a church tradition that links him with choral composers such as John Rutter, Benjamin Britten, and others. Mr. Gjeilo, also known for some liturgically-themed work, stands apart for the folk inspiration that is part of his Norwegian heritage, for more prevalent jazz and New Age elements, and for the use of piano improvisation in his works.
As for the program title, Lux et Amor, the “Lux” part of the title is easy enough to explain, as the featured Dan Forrest work is itself entitled Lux: The Dawn From On High (2018), given its New York Premiere at this concert. Without making too literal a distinction, the Amor part seems to refer to Ola Gjeilo’s short piece Ubi Caritas, the text of which refers to an ancient hymn line, “Where charity and love are, God is there.” Again, though, the works of both composers on this program were awash with themes of light, love, peace, and all things heavenly.
LUX: The Dawn From On High is Dan Forrest’s third major work for chorus and orchestra, (after Requiem For the Living and Jubilate Deo). It is a forty-minute composition, consisting of five movements which evoke an arch-like journey of light – especially divine Light – through time. The texts range from ancient liturgical chant and Scripture to modern secular love poetry (in particular “The Sun Never Says” by poet Daniel Ladinsky, b. 1948).
The first movement, Illuminare, unfolds from a hallowed vocal unison into the luminous transparency of sound for which Dan Forrest has come to be known. The ensuing Lux in Tenebris employs, as the composer states, “contrasting musical meters and keys to portray its text about light courageously shining in darkness.” Highlights here were the interplay of harp with flute and soulful solo playing from DCINY’s principal cellist, Elizabeth Mikhael, who brought still more of her burnished tone to the third movement, The Sun Never Says. This latter movement has also been performed by Voces8 for a stunning newly released recording, and it is highly recommended. Dan Forrest has an unquestionable gift for understanding and eliciting the sheer beauty of the human voice.
Gloria in Excelsis followed as the fourth movement in a joyful syncopated setting about the Nativity, leading to the final movement, which is in the composer’s words, “an ancient evening hymn, presented as a solo, then unison, then in increasingly complex canons, before a closing section provides closure and unity between these multiple facets of light.” The chorus and orchestra appeared to revel in the music, under the expert guidance of James Meaders (as well as the many choral conductors involved in behind-the-scenes preparation). A hearty ovation brought Mr. Forrest to the stage to take a well-deserved bow.
The second half of the program was dedicated to three works by Ola Gjeilo (pronounced “Yay-lo” for those wondering). The three started with Ubi Caritas, a gentle hymn to love with Mr. Gjeilo at the piano in sparsely textured improvisations (think John Tavener meets a meditative Keith Jarrett).
Dreamweaver followed, a seven-movement work based on a Norwegian medieval folk poem Draumkvedet, which is, as the composer’s notes describe, “an epic ballad sharing some elements with Dante’s The Divine Comedy. The protagonist Olav Åsteson falls asleep on Christmas eve and sleeps for thirteen days, during which his dreams take him on a beautiful but at times frightening journey through the afterlife.” The text of Draumkvedet was adapted skillfully by Charles Anthony Silvestri, who has worked a regular collaborator with Mr. Gjeilo as well as other DCINY artists and composers worldwide. The work itself is accessible and appealing, with artful balancing of its inherent contrasts of darkness, light, sin and redemption. It was given a fine performance by the DCINY chorus and orchestra, under the sure leadership of conductor Gary Weidenaar.
Right from the Prologue of Dreamweaver, Gjeilo establishes a mood of reverence and purity with a seemingly simple hymn (with some bewitching harmonic turns several phrases in), setting the stage for the journey ahead. Highlights of that journey included the solo singing of soprano soloist, Estelí Gomez, who brought her bell-like clarity to the second movement, Dreamsong, and breathtaking high notes in the third movement, The Bridge, as well as in the fifth movement, Paradise. The latter movement truly lived up to its name.
The fourth movement, Intermezzo, centered on an improvisatory piano solo, played by Mr. Gjeilo himself, and it was an interesting change of texture. The work closed with an Epilogue that essentially reprised the opening Prologue – a full circle worthy of Olav’s journey.
The Gjeilo portion of the program – and the entire concert – ended with his chorale, The Ground, a beautifully wrought hymn for peace. The audience, who seemed not to have read the printed instructions to refrain from applause mid-piece, had clapped throughout the evening between movements, but gave renewed and well-earned applause for the composer and combined forces.
If one could state a general reservation about the concert overall, it just may have been “too much of a good thing.” There was so much to admire in the works of both composers, but the programming of their works together, particularly works of substantial lengths, may not have framed them ideally. Several in the audience commented about the length being too much, and though this listener takes no cues from bystanders, the comments echoed what had already been in mind.
The comparison of a concert to a banquet can go only so far, in that music exists in time, from which a concertgoer cannot slip out or decline second helpings. The result is sweetness upon sweetness harmonically, and the need for some insulin – or at least a pinch of musical “salt.” The only real pinch of salt of the evening was provided at the very beginning by the Langley High School Wind Band, ironic in that the seventy-plus cherub-faced youngsters seemed visually worthy of their own Norman Rockwell portrait. They dove with gusto into to John Philip Sousa’s Bullets and Bayonets, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Dance of the Tumblers (in a Terry Vosbein arrangement), and Grieg’s March of the Trolls (in an arrangement by Brian Beck). Though they did reach deeply into two slow and heartfelt works by Forrest (Good Night, Dear Heart) and Gjeilo (Sanctus), their leaders wisely interspersed these with the zestier fare. They finished their contribution to the program with a celebratory piece entitled Exultate, by Samuel Hazo (b. 1966) – a composer new to this reviewer, but one who clearly feels the pulse of young band musicians today. Doug Martin, Director, and Kyle Harrington, Assistant Director, led them masterfully through their selections, and they should feel quite proud. Congratulations to all involved!
