In his first recitative and aria, tenor Michael Hendrick used his voice wisely, negotiating difficult passagework carefully. But that control deprived the music of some of its drama. He did, however, project a simple sincerity, part of the simplicity coming from the nearly complete lack of ornaments.
Byline: LEE TEPLY, CORRESPONDENT
NORFOLK — The Virginia Symphony gave its annual “Messiah” performance Saturday evening at the Harrison Opera House. For the first time, it was led by Robert Shoup, the symphony’s chorus master. His leadership was strong, with particularly fine results in the first half of the program.
His clear conducting and generally fast tempos drew fine rhythmic precision from the orchestra. The string-playing had a great deal of lift, giving excellent support to both chorus and soloists. As often as these people have played this music, and as busy as they are this time of the year, they seemed genuinely excited on this occasion.
The chorus, also veterans of many “Messiah” performances and also overworked in this season, began the evening with an equal amount of enthusiasm. Shoup had trained them to sing with an unusual amount of detail, particularly in their dynamic shaping of phrases. This worked well with the orchestra’s precision, making them seem as if they were all in agreement on this music.
The Christmas portion was sung with a good deal of spirit. But with the first piece in the second half, “Behold the Lamb of God,” the chorus seemed less inspired, although there was no lessening of their technical control. Shoup’s tempo of this particular chorus was so slow as to break the phrases into unrelated word combinations.
That was the most extreme example of the choir’s reduced energies in the second half, but even the “Hallelujah” Chorus and the finale, “Worthy is the Lamb,” did not have the expected triumphant effect.
Bringing in outside soloists to fit into a conductor’s concept of this piece often has mixed results. This performance was no exception. There was much fine singing from all four, but there were also differences of approach to the style of this music.
Mezzo-soprano Myrna Paris used her rich, focused voice intelligently, with moving results in the serious “But who may abide” and “He was despised.” She was perfectly at ease adding bunches of ornaments, and sounded like a true Baroque virtuoso.
Baritone Thomas Barrett used dynamics dramatically, ranging from great power to a hushed intensity. He was more effective in slower movements, but he was completely upstaged by the brilliant Baroque ornaments of trumpeter Christopher Fensom in “The trumpet shall sound.”
In his first recitative and aria, tenor Michael Hendrick used his voice wisely, negotiating difficult passagework carefully. But that control deprived the music of some of its drama. He did, however, project a simple sincerity, part of the simplicity coming from the nearly complete lack of ornaments.
Soprano Jennifer Saunders was an uneven performer. She had spectacular moments when her voice carried freely. But she appeared unsure at times, and did not match the rhythmic support given by the orchestra. She also had momentary lapses from good diction to a peculiar emphasis on closing consonants.
So, just as in opera, a perfect mixture of musicians is hard to find. Still, as the uneven performance progressed, Handel’s music carried its message.
CAPTION(S):
Graphic REVIEW
Handel’s “Messiah”
by the Virginia Symphony at Harrison Opera House, Norfolk, on Saturday.
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-68427292.html
by Lee Teply
The Virginian-Pilot