Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) Presents Perpetual Light in Review
Jonathan Griffith, DCINY Artistic Director and Principal Conductor
Featuring Distinguished Concerts Orchestra and Distinguished Concerts Singers International
Michael Adelson, DCINY Assistant Artistic Director and Conductor
Debra Cook, Soprano
Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
Sunday, February 16, 2020
Perpetual Light was the apt title for this Sunday’s concert presented by Distinguished Concerts International New York, and, though the title presumably refers to the Lux Aeterna finale of the John Rutter Requiem which made up this concert’s second half, the title suits DCINY’s uplifting programming overall. The DCINY organization occupies a unique position in New York concert life by drawing together singers from all over the world for choral and orchestral concerts, and their performances consistently radiate fellowship and joy in music-making. This weekend the large combined forces included choruses from Alabama, California, Illinois, Indiana, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and, as the program states, “individual singers from around the globe.” In addition to the much-loved Rutter work, the concert included shorter works by Rain Worthington, Mark John McEnroe, Arthur Gottschalk, and Sergio Cervetti before intermission.
It should be noted that all the works on the first half were chosen by Croatian-based conductor Miran Vaupotić, who we were told could not be present to conduct them due to visa issues. Fortunately, conductor Michael Adelson, the Assistant Artistic Director of DCINY since 2019, was able to step in as a replacement, and he led the orchestra with precision and assurance. The works chosen happened to be in somewhat accessible contemporary styles overall, but that is not to say that they were without challenges of balance, rhythm, and synchronization. Thankfully all involved were up to the demands, as one has come to expect from this orchestra.
Still Motion by Rain Worthington (b. 1949) set a tone of anticipation for the program’s opener. Described by the composer as “a mix of edgy energy, reflective sadness and strength of conviction” the work creates a hypnotic effect through repeated motives, particularly in the percussion parts (including vibraphone and tam-tam). The ever-reliable Distinguished Concerts Orchestra played it with a sense of expectant drama, and the composer was present to take a bow.
Next up were two symphonic pieces, Dance of the Pagans and Storm Clouds Approaching, by Mark John McEncroe (b. 1947). One reads in the program notes that that these two pieces were orchestrations of works written for piano, taken from Mr. McEnroe’s volumes 2 and 3 of Musical Images for Piano: Reflections & Recollections Series. The first piece, fittingly folk-like in its simplistic symmetrical phrases and repeated melodic patterns, was brought to life by the deft orchestrator’s hand of Mark J. Saliba, who perhaps ought to have been given shared billing, beyond the mention in the program notes. The second piece, moodier and more complex, seemed to present more challenges in terms of expressiveness and ensemble but was handled well by conductor and orchestra alike. The composer enjoyed a bow for each piece.
Music of Gottschalk came next, but not Louis Moreau Gottschalk (as one assumed on first glance at the DCINY website) but Arthur Gottschalk (b. 1952). We heard Tebe Boga, a solemn religious work set to a text roughly the equivalent to the Latin Te Deum but in Old Slavonic, as the work was commissioned for the Siberian State Orchestra and Choir by conductor Vladimir Lande. Composed in 2018 for orchestra, choir, and solo bass-baritone, it was adapted here for just bass-baritone and orchestra, and the intrepid soloist was Timothy Jones, who handled the entire text with compelling involvement and sure delivery. It was fascinating music by a composer who clearly knows his craft. It was originally intended to be interpolated into performances of the same composer’s Requiem: For the Living, so perhaps DCINY will present that work at some point.
Closing the first half were two atmospheric movements from the opera Elegy for A Prince by Sergio Cervetti (b. 1940). The opera is based on Oscar Wilde’s The Happy Prince, and we heard Scenes 1 and 9, from Act II. The role of Swallow (and later Match-Girl) was sung by soprano Megan Weston, whose sweetness of sound worked in contrast in Scene 1 with the projected anguish of excellent bass-baritone Luis Alejandro Orozco as a Prince-turned-statue. Ms. Weston was even more remarkable in Scene 9, her high notes soaring in the music’s beautiful evocations of Swallow’s descent from heaven. Tenor Quinn Bernegger, in the role of Young Writer, then summed up the opera’s themes of compassion and benevolence, concluding with nobility the scene and the first half of this concert.
John Rutter’s much-loved Requiem closed the program under the direction now of Jonathan Griffith, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of DCINY. Composed in the relatively consolatory spirit of Fauré’s Requiem, it omits the traditional Dies Irae, and its movements of meditation and comfort outbalance the darker sections. As a British composer, Rutter also inserts two completely English movements, Out of the Deep and The Lord is My Shepherd (the second and sixth of the overall seven-movement “arch”). This music emerged in its full glory, with the multiple choruses blending quite well (and their behind-the-scenes leaders taking a well-deserved bow afterwards). The final Lux Aeterna was sheer heaven, with partial thanks to soprano soloist Debra Cook, who sang with a covered, velvety quality in her high registers, never shrill or harsh and with true intonation. She was also superb in the Pie Jesu. Outstanding as well was principal cellist Elizabeth Mikhael in the second movement Out of the Deep, beautifully resonant both in her opening solo and as the cello part was interwoven with chorus and orchestra. Kudos to all – and to DCINY for a remarkable achievement.
