Haydn’s late, lofty achievement has the august quality of a masterwork, coupled with cheerfulness befitting a summer series that ends in the month of August.
The main stage of Carnegie Hall was fit to bursting on Wednesday night for Britten's War Requiem, which saw an exquisite interplay of soloists with ensembles, of sacred Latin barely whispered from the chorus and graphic English poetry recited by the tenor and baritone.
As Handel made music of John Milton’s poems L’Allegro and il Penseroso , Mark Morris made Handel’s music dance. The 32 scenes of Morris’ ballet breathe with inspiration of figures and designs from watercolours William Blake did for an edition of Milton’s poems.
J.S. Bach didn’t write an opera, but if he had, it’d probably be the best opera in the world. Fortunately for us, he wrote the next best thing, his Mattäus-Passion, a work of such dramatic power, that even in the concert or church settings in which it is usually performed, its highly emotional narrative thread is still captivating.
Today’s apt sunday afternoon concert featured the four Lutheran masses of J.S. Bach. Although the music itself was not entirely new, but instead recycled material, and despite the text which repeats in each mass, the work is fresh and rich with counterpoint and the emotional Affekt Bach is so known for.
L’Indian Queen de Purcell aura ravi à Genève les auditeurs d’un drame baroque tellement moderne. Les héros de cette fresque amoureuse malheureuse auront suscité bien des émotions qui perdureront longtemps tant leur implication fut totale. Bravo !
