Sacred music is not normally the way to end a festival with a flourish. But then, Dvořák’s Te Deum is not typical sacred music, especially with Petr Popelka on the podium. Conducting the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra and a high-powered group of singers, Popelka ignited a fiery set of prayers that lit up the closing night of Dvořák’s Prague.
The evening got off to a less promising start with Paul Lewis joining the orchestra for Brahms’ monumental Piano Concerto no. 1 in D minor. Popelka struck a bold, overheated approach from the opening bars, offering pounding backing for a tepid start by Lewis. The pianist’s playing was uncharacteristically dry and the orchestra bordered on cataclysmic, making for a ragged first movement. More moderate tones in the second put the players in synch for an energetic finale, with Lewis matching the orchestra in intensity and volume in some flashy runs. This was Brahms with a bite, fierce, choppy, more frantic than dramatic.
Little-known outside his homeland, Vítězslav Novák was a pupil of Antonín Dvořák who became a key figure in Czech Modernism. His symphonic poem De profundis is one of four emotionally charged pieces the composer wrote in reaction to the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1939. Popelka’s thundering style served it well, invoking the tumult, anguish and horrors of the occupation at a fever pitch. More impressive was the sense of foreboding struck by the opening gong that Popelka maintained as an undercurrent throughout the entire piece, wringing every last bit of pathos out of the raging emotions and brief flickers of hope. To close, he spun the music into a melodramatic maelstrom – still gripping, but with the volume overwhelming the artistry.
Only an invocation to the heavens could have soared even higher, and for that Popelka had sensational support. The Czech Philharmonic Choir of Brno puts out a shimmering wall of sound, remarkably tight and richly expressive, with an impact to match the orchestra’s. Soprano Simona Šaturová and bass Jozef Benci are familiar faces on opera stages throughout Central Europe, with versatile voices – Šaturová’s rounded and radiant, and Benci’s in Wagnerian dimensions ideal for getting the Almighty’s attention. The combination of voices was powerful and moving, a fine blend of technical expertise and emotional appeal.
Though he used the standard Latin text, Dvořák did not compose a somber or contemplative Te Deum. Instead, it’s an exuberant hymn of praise opened by the timpani that features pulsing rhythms, vibrant melodies and expansive vocals. Popelka launched the piece at full volume and kept it there for the choral passages, showing sensitivity in quieter support for the soloists – delicate woodwinds behind Šaturová, and ringing brass to announce and accompany Benci. From start to finish he held it all together with taut conducting, a sustained high-wire act that was intricate in construction and dynamic in execution.
Now in his second year as chief conductor and artistic director of the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Popelka has clearly taken the ensemble up a couple notches. His work with the Czech repertoire has been particularly good, sharp and insightful, if occasionally overwrought. And on some nights, like this one, he manages to catch lightning in a bottle.
