Handel's "Judas Maccabaeus" performed in Jerusalem: Yuval Benozer conducts soloists, the Israeli Vocal Ensemble, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra and soloists. Narrator: Tomer Sharon

Maestro Yuval Benozer (agfestival.co.il)

For Concert No.2 of its Vocal Series, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, now in its 82nd season, presented George Frideric Handel’s oratorio “Judas Maccabaeus”. Joining the JSO were soloists Daniela Skorka, Alon Harari, Ron Silberstein and Oded Reich, the Israeli Vocal Ensemble (artistic director: Yuval Benozer) and Tomer Sharon-narrator. Yuval Benozer conducted the performance, which took place in the Henry Crown Symphony Hall of the Jerusalem Theatre on December 25th 2019.

 

Historical events have given rise to one of Handel’s greatest and most-loved choral works. In his program notes, Yuval Benozer recounts how Handel composed the oratorio immediately following the Duke of Cumberland’s bloody suppression of the Jacobite Rebellion, his victory in the Battle of Culloden (1746); the oratorio's celebration of the Maccabean victory became analogous to the English triumph. Thus, the heroic exploits of the guerrilla rebel Judas Maccabaeus proved particularly relevant to that time in British history. Handel's score even features a dedication to the triumphant Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland: “The plan was designed as a compliment to the Duke of Cumberland upon his returning victorious from Scotland… Had not the Duke carried his point triumphantly, this Oratorio could not have been brought on.” The libretto, written by Rev.Thomas Morell, is based on I Maccabees (2–8), with motives added from the “Antiquitates Judaicae” of Flavius Josephus. Reducing the libretto to its bare bones, Morrell wrote with less subtlety, more pageantry and closer connection to current events than Handel’s former librettists; and it seems Morrell was a good fit with the new and less sophisticated London audience of the time. At the Jerusalem concert, in place of the cantata’s recitatives, sections of I Maccabees were read masterfully in the original biblical Hebrew by actor Tomer Sharon, this also befitting to the Feast of Lights that coincided with the event. Benozer holds a special predilection for “Judas Maccabaeus”, with its combination of depth and lightness, drama and entertainment, the beautiful choral sections and, especially, its finale which, “in a most uncommon way, praises peace over war”, in the conductor’s own words. 

 

A finely responsive body of voices, the Israel Vocal Ensemble (Chorus of Israelites) gave performance of the choruses that was sensitive, incisive, rich in timbre and outstanding in the attentive detail addressed to every turn and emotion of the verbal text. The singers’ diction was impeccable (far clearer than many native speaking choirs), all sections well balanced, the members blending as one and engaging in subtly-textured dynamics. The evening's solo singing too was also exemplary. A new face to many of us, young tenor Ron Silberstein, issued in the work with a call to arms accompanied by torrential scales and agitated concitato playing of the unison violins.  Involved and dramatic in the role of Judas Maccabaeus, he addressed the audience, performing his final aria (with trumpet obbligato) with dynamic variety and technical skill. Daniela Skorka portrayed the Israelitish Woman with a clear clean soprano and mellifluous top notes, her singing easeful, lyrical and communicative.  She was well paired with Alon Harari, who, in his warm stable tone and equal flexibility, sculpted each utterance and made use of small but strategic pauses, also enlisting some elegant ornamentation. As the allegorical duo, the Israelitish Woman and Israelitish Man giving voice to the personal feelings of their people, Skorka and Harari performed their duets superbly, as in their absolute togetherness in “O lovely peace”, the flute line threaded through it adding to its pastoral tranquillity and sense of well-being. Bringing to bear his richly resonant tone, baritone Oded Reich embraced the priestly role of Simon with fine diction, articulacy and vigour, endorsing each emotion with stirring conviction, his voice moving securely and seamlessly between registers.

 

In Handel's lifetime, “Judas Maccabaeus” was even more popular than “Messiah”. Maestro Benozer’s direction of “Judas Maccabaeus'', with its eloquent orchestral accompaniments (including fine obbligato trumpets and timpani) brought  all participants together in a performance that never lagged, that was both refined and triumphal, giving choir and soloists latitude to be expressive, shape lines and deliver their characterizations with self-possession, capturing the work’s force. “Judas Maccabaeus” is George Frideric Handel at his heroic best. His music of mourning, rousing calls to arms and rejoicing in victory gave Jerusalem’s Handel aficionados much to enjoy.  

Nicholas McGegan conducts the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, choirs and soloists in Handel's "Messiah"

Maestro Nicholas McGegan (photo: Steve Sherman)

Taking place on June 18th in the Henry Crown Auditorium of the Jerusalem Theatre, the final concert of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra’s 2018-2019 Vocal Series was a performance of G.F.Handel’s “Messiah”. Guest conductor Nicholas McGegan (UK) directed the performance, in which the Shahar Choir (conductor: Gila Brill), the Adi Choir (conductor: Oded Shomrony) and the Jerusalem Oratorio Capellate Choir (conductor: Naama Nazrathy) joined to form one choral body for the event. Soloists, under the auspices of the Israeli Opera, were Tal Ganor, Alon Harari, Oded Reich and Irish-born tenor Robin Tritschler, making his JSO- and Israeli opera debut.

 

Handel wrote the original version of “Messiah” in three to four weeks. Premiered in Dublin in 1742, with the composer now already established in London, the work drew such a large crowd that audience members were requested to leave their hoop skirts and swords at home for fear of overcrowding at the concert hall. In his libretto, Charles Jennens interspersed texts from both the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament, frequently using metaphor — rarely narrative -  to depict the story of the Messiah.  Although the oratorio is primarily contemplative, with no speaking characters and hardly any action, it falls into three parts: Part One deals first with the prophecies concerning Christ’s birth. Part Two, the dramatic pinnacle of the work, tells of Christ’s passion, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension, with Part Three consisting entirely of commentary, principally on the resurrection and the theme of Christian redemption.

 

No new face in Jerusalem, Nicholas McGegan has conducted the JSO in several productions of Handel works. From the very opening sounds of the Overture at this performance, one is acutely aware of Maestro McGegan’s eloquent, finely chiselled approach to Baroque music and to Handel’s masterful instrumental score (here achieved, nevertheless, on modern instruments), uniquely reflecting the rhythmic quality and detailed dynamics of the speech patterns. The performance was served by four very fine soloists. A recitalist, oratorio- and opera singer today in great demand worldwide, tenor Robin Tritschler gave a performance that was expressive and splendidly served throughout by his clean, easeful and mellifluous timbre, as in his sensitive and compassionate rendition of “Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto His sorrow”. Countertenor Alon Harari’s ample, stable voice, his ornamenting, sense of contrast and drama gave credence to the texts, obvious, for example, in his strategically-timed, dolorous singing of “He was despised”. Baritone Oded Reich created the specific mood of each piece, from the gripping “...I will shake the heavens and the earth” to the eerie “...people that walked in darkness” to the triumphant “The trumpet shall sound”, the latter enhanced by the trumpet obbligato role. Soprano Tal Ganor’s signature sound is bright, delicate, precise and pleasing. In “Rejoice greatly”, she negotiated the rapid melismatic moments with agility, assuredness and exuberance.

 

But the performance was also a celebration of Handel’s choruses, as the singers here highlighted the work’s emotional agenda and messages, the dramatic potential of each text and the astonishing variety of Handel’s choral writing, whose course constantly shifts between a kind of “speaking” music, which declaims speech patterns in the text, and a more lyrical “singing” music, with key words emerging for all to hear. The singers were highly attentive of McGegan, as they displayed confidence, the three choirs singing as one, their diction articulate (and British!), their performance of contrapuntal sections, however complex, well delineated. Their buoyant singing bristled with dynamic- and textural variety, at times subtly restrained, at others, gregarious and arresting. As to the pivotal Hallelujah chorus, the audience showed its appreciation. When completed by Handel, following much anxiety and distress, the composer reportedly told his servant, “I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself seated on His throne, with His company of Angels.”

 

Following the first performance of “Messiah” in 1742, one critic referred to it as the “Sublime, the Grand and the Tender, adapted to the most elevated, Majestick and moving Words, conspired to transport and charm the ravished Heart and Ear.” In fact, “Messiah” is one of the few pieces in music history to enjoy popular success during its composer's lifetime and never fall out of favour since his death. Most of today’s audiences have heard the oratorio countless times, know it word for word and approach each presentation with just a touch of trepidation: will this be simply “another” performance of ”Messiah”? In the case of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra’s event, the answer was a definite “no”! Maestro McGegan pooled his forces into creating a production that was wholehearted, fresh, exciting and elegant.

 

Philip Pickett directs Barrocade in John Blow's "Venus and Adonis"

“Venus and Adonis” was the title of Barrocade’s – the Israeli Baroque Collective - third concert for the 2013-2014 concert season. This writer attended the performance at the Kiryat Ye’arim Church, Abu Gosh on February 1st 2014. Joining the first class instrumental ensemble were soloists - sopranos Revital Raviv and Ye’ela Avital, countertenor Alon Harari and bass Oded Reich – Barrocade Vocale (directors: Yizhar Karshon, Ye’ela Avital) and the Young Efroni Choir (director: Shelley Berlinsky). Philip Pickett (UK), whose Israeli production of Händel’s “Acis and Galatea” in 2012 was truly memorable, was both recorder soloist and conductor in this program of English music.

There has been much talk of the Barrocade performance of John Blow’s “Venus and Adonis”, and more about that presently; the first part of the program “A Banquet of Musick” - a selection of 17th century pieces – however, certainly deserves more than a mention. If John Playford’s 1657 “Banquet of Musick” promised “A collection of the newest and best Songs Sung at Court and at Publick Theatres, being most of them within the Compass of the Flute [recorder]... with a Thorow-Bass for the Theorbo-Lute, Bass-Viol, Harpsichord or Organ…composed by several of the Best Masters…the Words by the Ingenious Wits of his Age” we were in for some hearty fine entertainment.

It opened with selected pieces from Henry Purcell’s (1659-1695) “Abdelazar” Suite. The Barrocade players’ lively, energy-infused playing of the incidental music written for “Abdelazar” or “The Moor’s Revenge”, one of the last plays for which Purcell wrote music, conjured up the theatre scene of the time. Actually, the verbal text was the work of the prolific dramatist Aphra Behn, one of several women playwrights active during the Restoration. (A writer criticized for her lewdness, she was also a spy for the British crown!) In Pickett’s reading of Purcell’s “Three Parts Upon a Ground”, an all-out favorite of 17th century consort repertoire, with the three "parts" played by violinists Shlomit Sivan, Yasuko Hirata and Dafna Ravid, variety of exploration was the keyword - from effervescent, virtuosic playing, to tranquilly singing moments to dancelike gestures; the artists’ attentive playing showed Purcell’s way of wildly straying from the harmonic scheme. From the 1694 “Ode for the Birthday of Queen Mary”, “Strike the Viol” offered the audience the full-on joy of music-making, with a hearty, involved performance by soprano Ye’ela Avital, fine recorder-playing at the hands of Pickett and Yigal Kaminka, with a delicate percussion underlay. In Corydon and Mopsa’s flirtatious duet from Act 3 of “The Fairy Queen”, bass Oded Reich (Corydon) and countertenor Alon Harari (Mopsa in a short black dress), careering on and off stage, pulled out all the plugs with a hilarious slapstick performance of the bucolic haymakers’ “No, no, no, no; no kissing at all”.

Philip Pickett’s setting of the Dutch song “When Daphne from Fair Phoebus did Fly” was enormously rewarding: verses were sung eloquently in fine British English by soprano Revital Raviv, punctuated by recorder-playing by both Pickett and Kaminka, the latter based on Jacob Van Eyck’s clever variations on the song. Their playing was spontaneous, free and expressive. Pickett’s use of fuller instrumental forces and sparer also added to the beauty of the cohesive arrangement of myth and music telling of Daphne’s infatuation.

Pickett and Kaminka also collaborated in stylish playing of William Williams’ (1677-1704) Trio Sonata no.6 in F “In Imitation of Birds” (1703). A work indebted to Jacob van Eyck’s use of bird calls (especially in the opening), the two recorder players engaged in real duo communication, in warm, living sound and blending, also bringing out the work’s occasional “strange” notes.

A different aspect of Baroque English music was heard in Thomas Baltzar’s (1630-1663) Divisions on “John Come Kiss Me Now” from John Playford’s “The Division Violin”. German-born violin virtuoso Baltzar brought new European violin-playing techniques to England. Biographer and writer on music Roger North spoke of him as showing “so much mastery upon that instrument”…”but altogether his playing was like his country: rough and harsh”. Sensitive and personal in approach, Israeli violinist Moshe Aharonov started out by reminding the audience in a most cantabile manner that the variations were based on a song. He then took the listener through the a range of imaginative division options, from flexing a line in languishing gestures, to whimsy, to exciting virtuosic moments and much personal expression.

John Blow’s (1649-1708) “Venus and Adonis” was written for private court entertainment - “A Masque for the Entertainment of the King” - the king being Charles II. In its first performance in Oxford in 1681, Venus was played by Mary "Moll" Davis, the king’s mistress, with their 10-year-old daughter in the role of Cupid. Recent research has revealed the librettist to be a woman – Anne Kingsmill - and she took the opportunity to incorporate into her setting of the mythological episode from Ovid’s “Metamorphoses” references to court morals. The plot tells of the goddess Venus, who falls in love with the mortal and virile Adonis. He leaves her to join a hunt and is mortally wounded by a boar.

The all-Israeli line-up of singers presented the work on all its levels. As Venus and Adonis, Revital Raviv and Oded Reich, suavely outfitted in trendy, modern dress, were intense and compelling, their singing eloquent and articulate, their demeanor bringing out the underlying message as to Charles II’s pleasure-loving regime. Raviv’s crystal-clear, stable and pleasingly bright voice dealt admirably with the challenges of Blow’s vocal writing as she presented Venus’ flirtatious, cunning, womanly stratagems; her stage ease and a direct line of communication with the audience were convincing and moving as were her tempting, comic and enticing laughter and womanly control, eventually turning to despair. Oded Reich, an ardent, amorous and infatuated Adonis, gave an impressive performance, his luxuriant, highly colored and true vocal timbre supporting his depiction of a man controlled, his expressive qualities giving emotional backing to the role. In the major role of Cupid, soprano Ye’ela Avital was vivacious and entertaining as she reveled mischievously in the role’s satire, instructing her army of apprentice cupids (little girls from the Young Efroni Choir) in their craft (that of causing people to fall in love with the wrong person). The choruses, performed by Barrocade Vocale plus guests, dressed as simple country folk, offered much fine, sensitive and dynamic ensemble singing, their plangent final chorus sending the audience home with a sorrowful heart. Barrocade’s instrumental playing was pure delight: fresh and subtle, the instrumentalists’ presentation of the work’s popular dances and interludes bristled with beauty and vitality (also, much fine recorder playing) suggestive of each new mood.

A work not heard enough in today’s concert halls, possibly due to its fate of being a precursor to Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas”, Blow’s “Venus and Adonis” is indeed a masterpiece; covering a range of moods, it bears French and Italian influences, yet it is ever so English. A high point of the 2013-2014 local concert season, here was Baroque pastoral opera at its best. For Philip Pickett, music is theatre and theatre is music; his recorder-playing is inspiring and his productions are not to be missed.

Barrocade closes its 2012-2013 season with the sound of chalumeaux and "La Serva Padrona"



Barrocade – the Israeli Baroque Collective – concluded its 2012-2013 concert season with “La Serva Padrona”. This writer attended the concert in the auditorium of the Weil Cultural Centre, Kfar Shmaryahu, on June 11^th 2013. Founded in 2007, Barrocade, mostly performing and rehearsing without a conductor, performs Renaissance- and Baroque music, however, not limiting its repertoire to those styles; its wide repertoire includes folk music, modern music and jazz.  Under the musical direction of Amit Tiefenbrunn, Barrocade also collaborates with guest artists and conductors and enjoys the support of the Israeli Ministry of Culture and Sport.

The June 11^th concert fell into two distinct sections, the first being instrumental, opening with Francesco Geminiani’s (1687-1762) Concerto Grosso for two flutes, bassoon, 2 violins, viola, ‘cello, strings and continuo in d minor, opus 7/4. Born in Luca, Italy, and having had Corelli as one of his teachers, Geminiani moved to London, where he took the concert scene by storm with his brilliant violin playing, concerti grossi and violin sonatas; there, he also built up a fine reputation as a teacher, concert promoter and theorist. His opus 7, published in 1746, shows him moving away from Corelli’s influence and developing his own style. Middle voices became more expanded, the composer recommended extroverted ornamentation and he took more interest in including wind instruments. Here, for the first time in Israel, we heard two guest artists - Michal Lefkowicz and Ido Azrad - playing the chalumeau – a single-reeded instrument played in the late Baroque and early Classical periods; a brief experiment, the chalumeau quickly evolved into the clarinet and basset horn of Mozart’s time. In Geminiani’s work, there was much cheerful banter between flutes (Geneviève Blanchard, Idit Shemer) and violins (1^st violinist Shlomit Sivan, Yasuko Hirata) between concertino and ripieno. Emphasizing the work’s invention, interest and originality, the players presented it with refined beauty.

Fine entertainment was in store with the work of yet another violin virtuoso – Dutchman Willem de Fesch (1687-1761). His Concerti opus 5, published in Amsterdam in 1725, atypical in that they feature a pair of transverse flutes, reflect the simpler, more lyrical style coming into vogue at the time. We heard Idit Shemer and Geneviève Blanchard in the flute roles. Their playing was crisp yet singing, presenting detail and interest, always elegant. Yizhar Karshon’s harpsichord spreads and transitions added grace to the performance.

Of special interest was G.P.Telemann’s Concerto for two chalumeaux TWV 52:d1. The chalumeau lacks forte potential and has a range of less than two octaves, but it’s broad, ‘cello-like timbre and woody sound must probably have been what allured Telemann to write for it. In fact, Telemann (1681-1767) used the instrument in a wide variety of musical genres between 1718 and 1760. He never wrote for the bass chalumeau and virtually ignored the soprano instrument (popular in Vienna). In this work, we heard Michal Lewkowicz and Ido Azrad playing alto- and tenor chalumeaux. Both these young Israeli artists have studied and performed in Israel and Europe, excelling both on modern clarinet and on historical instruments. Some of the concerto consists of unaccompanied chalumeau duets, with the orchestra entering to support focal ideas. The work opens with a serious homophonic utterance, setting the mood of the work.  Lewkowicz and Azrad recreate the work’s pathos with its “sighing” figures and chromaticism. The slow movements were economical and treated expressively, the dark, somewhat muted sound of the chalumeau underlining the atmosphere. Fast movements also retained the work’s basically solid mood together with hearty playing. The Barrocade players created a dignified and elegant timbral environment against which to hear the intimate, cantabile sound of the chalumeaux.

Following the intermission, Barrocade presented a more-than-semi-staged performance of G.B.Pergolesi’s (1710-1736) “La Serva Padrona” (The Servant Turned Mistress) to a libretto of Gennaro Antonio Federico (after Jacopo Nelli’s play of the same name) with soloists soprano Revital Raviv and baritone Oded Reich and actor Yehuda Lazarovich. The Intermezzo, originally performed between the acts of Pergolesi’s opera seria “Il Prigionier Superbo” (The Proud Prisoner), was published in 1731 and uses stock characters of the commedia dell’arte. Pergolesi’s score calls for a chamber orchestra of strings and continuo. Barrocade’s version of the work shortens some of the recitatives and gives Vespone, Uberto’s servant (originally a silent part for the actor) the role of narrator, speaking a witty, clever and wordy text written in Hebrew verse by playwright Rachel Ezouz.

With the Barrocade players seated at the left of the stage, the right half served as a theatrical space with minimal props. The three characters are in costume. Uberto (Oded Reich), wearing a dressing gown and long night woolen nightcap, looks every bit the crotchety old bachelor. Revital Raviv looks girlish as Serpina, the scheming young servant girl; she enters carrying a feather duster. The story is as flighty as its characters, with Rachel Azouz’ whimsical texts describing the characters, their idiosyncrasies, Uberto’s stupidity, Serpina’s cunning and her underhand plan to win over Uberto. Serpina does this by introducing him to a new suitor of hers (Vespone, sporting an eye-patch, wearing a brown safari helmet, long overcoat and carrying a sword and shotgun). The same artists performed this piece two years ago, but the current production was a much more polished presentation. There was much more use of the stage and movement; the singers’ fluency and diction made colorful use of the Italian words and sounds to illuminate the text, themselves and the comical tension between the two characters. In addition to much fine and articulate singing, vocal and verbal agility, Raviv and Reich’s amusing and well-coordinated gestures gave the comedy’s theatrical dimension refreshing energy. Serpina (her name translates as “Little Snake”) came across as mischievous and sensual but warm, Uberto as naïve, nervous and hilarious. Listening to actor, story-teller and musician Yehuda Lazarovich on stage means that those present will not miss a word of the text. With a glint in his eye, he seems to be confiding in the audience as he brings home the absurdity of the characters in hand…and of us all. Kudos to Lazarovich, Raviv and Reich for their own effective stage production.

Remarkable in its vocal melodic suppleness and vivacity, for its syllabic patter songs, octave jumps and comical idiom, the entr’acte piece’s orchestral dimensions are, however, modest. The Barrocade instrumentalists gave the score a delicate but pacey reading, keeping musical flow on target. Some audience members began humming along, proof of their enjoyment and how accessible and charming this music is. This was still preferable to hearing the ring of their mobile ‘phones! The theme of “La Serva Padrona” is timeless, a source of amusement and still appealing to today’s audiences. The Barrocade Collective ended its 2012-2013 season with plenty of good music, a smile and the wink of an eye.

Barrocade presents Bach's St John's Passion at Abu Gosh

The Barrocade Ensemble, joined by Nuove Musiche (Holland) and conducted by Shalev Ad-El, performed J.S.Bach’s St John’s Passion in February 2013. Vocal soloists were tenor Markus Ullmann (Germany) and Israeli singers – soprano Yeela Avital, alto Avital Dery and bass-baritones Oded Reich and Guy Pelc.  This writer attended the performance at the Kiryat Ye’arim Church in Abu Gosh on February 23^rd 2013.  The Barrocade Ensemble, formed in 2007, numbers some 12 players, working together and cooperating in decisions as to performance; the Barrocade Ensemble frequently performs without a conductor. Although playing mostly Baroque- and Renaissance music, Barrocade also ventures into other musical styles, such as folk- and modern music as well as jazz.

Shalev Ad-El (b.1968, Ramat Gan) is one of Europe’s most sought after continuo players, harpsichord recitalists and conductors, also performing in North- and South America, the Far East and the USA. Teaching in many countries, he is a member of several European ensembles and is the musical director of Accademia Daniel (Israel).

Tenor Markus Ullmann (b. 1967, Dresden), whose teachers have included Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, is an opera singer, a recitalist, also performing as a soloist in orchestral concerts. Ullmann performs much Baroque music but not just: of late, for example, he has been involved in the first recording of the original version of Dvorak’s “Cypresses”.

Ensemble Nuove Musiche, established five years ago and centered in Helmond, Holland, performs Baroque-, Classical and Romantic repertoire and is the permanent ensemble in a project involving professional- and amateur musicians.

Bach’s St. John’s Passion BWV 245 was first performed on Good Friday of 1724, exactly one year following the composer’s appointment as cantor of St. Thomas’ Church, Leipzig. It was written in two parts so a sermon could be held between them. The first scene takes place in the Kidron Valley and the second in the palace of the high priest Kaiphas. Bach draws on the Gospel of St John and St. Matthew of the Luther Bible as well as from a number of unknown sources providing arioso- and formal arias that gave voice to the emotional responses of the contemporary individual believer. The characters represented are the Evangelist (Ullmann), Christ (Pelc), Pilate (Reich), Peter and servants. The choir represents the crowd (in the second part delivering urgent, angry calls for blood) also punctuating the narrative and arias with Lutheran chorales that allow the audience to reflect on the drama. As Bach’s most controversial work, it is a work built around suffering, moral dilemmas and conviction; as a devout Lutheran, Bach believed in the sacramental function of music.

Situated tranquilly among olive trees atop a hill overlooking the town of Abu Gosh, the Kiryat Ye’arim Church of the Ark of the Covenant was becoming a beehive of activity on February 23^rd as people entered to take their seats. At the front of the church, the eight members of Ensemble Nuove Musiche, placed behind the 13 Barrocade players, were joined by soloists Avital, Dery, Pelc and Reich for the opening and ending choruses of the work. From the very first notes of the monumental opening chorus, one became acutely aware of Shalev Ad-El’s reading of the work – as a somber, powerful, impactful piece, urgent and uncompromising in its manner and message. Tenor Markus Ullmann made for a very fine Evangelist as he drew the listener into the drama of the text, presenting the story in a bold, articulate manner that bristled with freshness, brightness of vocal color and rediscovery. The Evangelist’s demanding recitatives have Jesus’ name sung in the highest register, biblical prophesies are given dignified utterance and then there is reported speech.   Ullmann’s voice is richly hued and buoyant; he floats with ease through melismatic passages, his diction allowing every word to emerge with crystal clarity (some words uttered at a whisper) and his energy is unflagging. In the tenor arias, Ullmann addresses the text and emotional content of each, playing with the asymmetry of the grieving “Ach, mein Sinn” (Ah, my mind, where finally willst thou go?), to be joined by violinists Shlomit Sivan and Yasuko Hirata in the poignant “Erwäge, wie sein blutgefärbter Rücken” (Consider how his blood-tinged back). His evocative word-painting, for example as in “weinete bitterlich” (wept bitterly) in section 12, brings out the work’s expressive and compassionate content.  

In her true, unmannered style, Avital Dery’s portrayal of the sinner’s tormented conscience in the alto aria “Von den Stricken meinen Sünden (To unbind me from the shackles of my sins) was pleasing, the brightness and timbral beauty of the obbligato oboes (Ofer Frenkel, Shai Kribus) and bassoon (Gilat Rotkop) sometimes covering the alto voice. In “Es ist vollgebracht” (It is accomplished), with the delightful intermingling of the alto vocal line and the viola da gamba (Amit Tiffenbrunn), Dery held onto the tension of the first section, then following the dramatic and challenging middle section with a moving and compassionate reading of the ending section.

Soprano Yeela Avital gave a sympathetic and sensitive reading of the aria “Ich folge dir gleichfalls” (I follow you likewise with joyful steps), its childlike joy graced with obbligato flutes (Genevieve Blanchard, Na’ama Lion), (its tripping rhythm here actually creating a moment of dramatic irony) her well crafted, delicate singing of “Zerfliesse, mein Herze” (Dissolve then, heart, in floods of tears), also joined by flute, imbued with suffering.

Guy Pelc’s smooth, open yet full-bodied vocal sound, unencumbered by vibrato, is well suited to this genre. He takes on the calm confidence and resignation of the role of Jesus, weaving lines into the split-second timing of the brisk dialogue, creating some gripping moments. Pelc’s art of blending was especially effective in the plangent “Mein teurer Heiland” (My beloved Savior), his voice and the choir collaborating hand-in-glove in magical balance.

 Oded Reich was intense, powerful and convincing. As Pontius Pilate, he presented the character in a direct and authoritative manner. Bringing events to a head in the challenging “Eilt, ihr angefochten Seelen” (Bass & Choro) he highlights key words of the solo, punctuated by the chorus’s dramatic interjected questions, his large, rewarding vocal reserve and dramatic flair lending intensity throughout;
‘Hurry, you tormented souls,
Leave your dens of torment,
Hurry – Where to? - to Golgotha!...’

Ensemble Nuove Musiche juggled its many chorus roles, from the “turba” (crowd) choruses – dramatic and sometimes jaggedly depicting the various groups involved in the story – high priests, the mob, soldiers - to liturgical chorales as well as to strategic choral pieces there to heighten- or relieve dramatic tension. These choral sections draw on the full spectrum of choral techniques. Comprising only eight singers, Nuove Musiche displayed oneness of intention, fine balance within itself and with the instrumentalists, flexibility, an ear to blending and the emotional range necessary for this work. The chorale “Durch dein Gefangnis” (Through your imprisonment) sung unaccompanied was a moment of floating and poignancy. Mellifluous and heartrending, the comforting c minor epilogue “Ruht wohl”, prior to the final chorale, was especially moving:

‘Rest in peace, O holy limbs,
Over which I no longer weep:
Rest in peace, and bring me to peace also.
The tomb that has been set aside for you
And contains no further distress
Opens the heavens to me and closes hell.’

With all strands held together by the Barrocade instrumentalists’ blended and well consolidated ensemble sound, Shalev Ad-El’s hallmark on the St John’s Passion was present throughout: his highly expressive (and sometimes unconventional) conducting language spoke of minute detail, shape, expressiveness and beauty of sound; contrapuntal lines interacted in articulate voice play.  He breathed life and meaning into the highly charged emotional canvas of the work, taking musicians and the audience through the captivating human drama.  This was performance at its best.   

  

  

The Gloriana Ensemble performs "Gloriana Armada" at St Andrews Scots Memorial Church in Jerusalem

Focusing on Renaissance music, the Gloriana Ensemble is one of Israel’s newest vocal groups. It was founded two years ago by countertenor Noar Lee Naggan; in the meantime, however, the ensemble has undergone changes in an effort to find suitable singers and the kind of blend Naggan had in mind. It presently consists of mezzo-soprano Avital Dery, countertenor Noar Lee Naggan, Eliav Lavi-tenor voice and lute and bass-baritone Oded Reich. An unusual combination of voices, Lee Naggan sings the soprano part, with Dery (whose lower register is extensive and mellow) singing the second line. Noar Lee Naggan studied Animation at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, nowadays designing websites, but has taken voice lessons and sung all his life, soloing as a boy and adult with choirs and orchestras.

At St. Andrews Scots Memorial Church (Jerusalem) on July 17th 2011, the Gloriana Ensemble performed a concert of English- and Spanish Renaissance music, both sacred- and secular. The program’s title - “Gloriana Armada” (The Armed Queen) – refers to the “Golden Age” in England – the period of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (she was sometimes referred to as “Gloriana”).

From the first notes of an anonymous Spanish villancico (a 15th- and 16th century Spanish form of poetry and music similar to the frottola) “Riu riu Chiu” (representing the chirping of the nightingale) to a text about shepherds in the Christmas story, the ensemble’s rich, bold signature timbre, superbly blended sound and finely sculpted phrasing became apparent, and the singers had the audience in the palm of their hands for the duration of the evening! They gave life and humour to the saucy, miniature anonymous Spanish romance “Dindirindin”, the song’s message also embellished with bird calls. Still on the subject of birds, we heard composer and playwright Juan del Encina’s (1468-1529) villancico “Cucú, cucú” a whimsical song that deals out a few home truths on how to keep one’s wife from straying!


Of the English sacred music in the ensemble’s repertoire, we heard three works of Thomas Tallis (1505-1585). “Remember not, o Lord God” and “If ye love Me” are both anthems, written in the vernacular, for the use of the Anglican Church. (Tallis was a Catholic.) The mostly homophonic style of these pieces gives rise to emphasis of specific key words and to the devotional sentiment of the works. In the votive antiphon “Sancte Deus” (Holy God, Holy Mighty One), its Latin text, however, reflecting Tallis’ Catholic faith, the Gloriana singers bring out the highly personal character of the work. Their crystal-clear diction, fired with consonants, addresses the importance of the textural meaning. Also of the Catholic faith, William Byrd (1543-1623) was a pupil of Tallis. The Gloriana Ensemble gave a moving performance of Byrd’s magnificent motet “O Admirabile Commercium” (O wondrous exchange) in a reading rich in choral color and melodic shape.

With the lights in the church lowered, the audience was invited to appreciate the mystic and spiritual temperament of two works of Tomas Luis de Victoria (c.1549-1611). “O Vos Omnes” (1585) belongs to the Tenebrae, a prayer ritual traditionally sung in a darkened church. A work of extraordinary pathos, the composer outlines words of the plangent text with chromatics and other musical devices.
‘O all you who pass by the way,
Pay heed and see
If there is any sorrow like my sorrow.
Pay heed, all people
And see my sorrow.
If there is any sorrow like my sorrow.’
From the same Responsories from the Tenebrae Matins, we heard “Judas Mercator Pessimus” (Judas, the vile merchant), a vehement, at times stark decry of Judas Iscariot. The singers display the passionate, emotional quality of the piece, showing awareness of its “text painting”. Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla (c.1590-1664) was greatly influenced by the music of the older Victoria. Using one of the great Marian texts, describing the mother of Jesus at the foot of the cross, Padilla’s “Stabat Mater” is more modest than that of Pergolesi, its scoring less lush that the music of Victoria.

And to the secular content of the program: Alonso Mudarra (1510-1580), a canon at Seville Cathedral, played the vihuela lute and wrote music for it. We heard Avital Dery singing a coquettish, traditional-style villancico from his “Tres Libros de Música” (1546) with Eliav Lavi on lute. Dery and Lavi bring to life Mudarra’s lively vocal- and instrumental score, creating a charming vignette of situation and emotion. Dery’s voice is stable, her singing effortless and pleasingly rich; she displays confidence and competence. A member of the Israeli Bach Soloists, she has soloed with ensembles and orchestras, among them, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Dery is also a physicist.

On the lute, Eliav Lavi then performed a fantasia by court musician Luiz de Narváez, one of the great 16th century masters of Spanish music. “La canción del Emperador”, a reworking of Josquin des Pres’ “Mille Regretz”, can be found in “Les seys libros des dolphin” (1538), a collection including most of Narváez’ works, the vihuela parts written in contemporary Italian tablature. From the rich number of ideas in the piece, it is apparent that Narváez was a skilled improviser on the vihuela. Lavi’s playing of it was delicately paced and flexed, his melodic lines almost narrative in character. This was followed by John Dowland’s Cornish Galliard. Lavi is studying lute at the Academy of Music. He has sung in a number of choirs and taken part in larger productions, including Purcell’s “Fairy Queen”. Lavi has also been a member of a rock band and sometimes plays electric guitar for rock- and pop recordings.

Oded Reich, a student of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, is no unknown quantity to the Israeli concert-goer, his soloing in many large choral works, such as Fauré’s Requiem, Gounod’s Saint Cecilia Mass (Aharon Harlap, Oratorio Choir) and the Bach B minor Mass (Andrew Parrott, Jerusalem Baroque Orchestra), inspiring and thrilling audiences with his expressive quality and rich vocal timbre. He will presently be joining the Opera Studio of the Israel Opera.

The Gloriana Ensemble cashed in on the playful and risqué character of John Farmer’s polyphonic, pastoral chanson “Fair Phyllis I Saw Sitting All Alone”, enjoying its humor and conjuring up the hide-and-seek antics of shepherdess Phyllis and her lover.

“When Griping Griefs”, found in William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, survives both in text and music. A poem by Richard Edwards printed posthumously, reads:
‘Where griping grief the heart would wound
And doleful dumps the mind oppress
Then music with her silver sound
Is wont with speed to give redress,
Of troubled mind for every sore,
Sweet music hath a salve therefore.’
This bitter-sweet work, its melodic and harmonic path one of surprises, was performed by Naggan and Reich, singing alternate verses and then joining, with Lavi accompanying on lute. Noar Lee Naggan understands the genre of Renaissance vocal music; he has fine vocal presence, his countertenor voice powerful, highly colored and even.

The Gloriana Ensemble singers presented their audience with an interesting and well-balanced program, their voices embracing the (problematic) acoustic of the Scottish Church with exuberance and alacrity. The four singers communicate with the audience and each other, presenting a cappella performance with excellence; their accuracy, fine intonation, pleasing pronunciation and innate musicianship will appeal to the most discerning of music-lovers in Israel and further afield. Lutenist Eliav Lavi is an asset to such a group.

The Jerusalem Oratorio Choir performs works by Faure and Gounod

The Jerusalem Oratorio Choir, together with the Israel Chamber Orchestra, opened the 10th Jerusalem Arts Festival with a performance of Faure’s “Requiem” and Gounod’s “Messe Solonelle de Sainte Cecile” (Saint Cecilia Mass) March 29th 2011 in the Henry Crown Hall of the Jerusalem Theatre. The concert, “Vocal Liturgy with a French Aroma”, was conducted by Aharon Harlap. Soloists were soprano Enas Massalha, tenor Eitan Drori and bass-baritone Oded Reich.

Once a year, all four ensembles of the Oratorio Choir join to perform major works from the choral repertoire. Conductors of the individual choirs – Ronen Borshevsky (Oratorio Chamber Choir), Oded Shomrony (The Oratorio Singers), Noah Burstein (Bel Canto) and Flora Vinokurov (Cantabile) – work mostly on individual programs with their choirs. Maestro Ronen Borshevsky guided the singers through the lion’s share of preparation of the two large choral works for the concert, with Maestro Harlap adding the finishing touches and conducting the concert itself.

Words of welcome were spoken by Mr. Shemi Amsalem (head of the Jerusalem Municipality Arts and Culture Departments) and Mr. Yossi Heiman (General Director, Jerusalem Municipality.) They spoke of Jerusalem as an important centre of culture and of the 26 dance-, drama- and musical events of the Jerusalem Arts Festival in halls and in the open as providing a platform for local amateur performers.

Gabriel Faure (1845-1924) spoke of his best-known work, the choral-orchestral setting of the Roman Catholic Mass for the Dead as “everything I managed to entertain by way of religious illusion” in “my Requiem, which, moreover, is dominated from beginning to end by a very human feeling of faith in eternal rest”. Composed in stages between 1887 and 1900, Faure’s “Requiem” in D minor opus 48 got off to a shaky start: following the first performance January 16th 1888 at “La Madeleine” Church in Paris, where Faure was chief organist and choirmaster, with children making up the soprano section and a boy soloist performing the “Pie Jesu” (Kind Lord Jesus), the composer was reprimanded by the vicar for presenting prayers of “dangerous novelties”. Faure, clear in his intention to stay away from the operatic “bel canto” style and “larger-than-life” statements fashionable in Paris at the time, used melodies and rhythms from Gregorian chant in a setting suggesting freedom and spontaneity. However, he is more than explicit when it comes to markings and performance instructions; Faure uses color and rich, complex harmonies to paint his soundscape rather than dramatic fortissimos (of which there are, in all, 30 bars!) Viewing death as “a happy deliverance, an aspiring towards the happiness of the hereafter, rather than as a painful passing away”, the composer omits the “Sequentia” section of the Mass text, with its apocalyptic sense of wretchedness and allusions to hell; he adds the “Pie Jesu” and “In Paradisum”, both of which speak of eternal rest. As to the verbal text, Faure had no qualms about leaving out a phrase or adding a word in order to shape the music.

From the outset of the work, Harlap and his musicians create the mysterious, introspective mood of the work, its many effective dynamic changes expressed in pastel tints. The choir was well coordinated, its choral blend pleasing, if not always transparent. The large choir moved together well, exercising restraint and good taste, gestures and phrase beginnings and endings articulate and artistically chiseled. In the “Sanctus”, the atmosphere brightens, and ethereal timbres sweep away earlier introspection, the work returning to haunting acceptance and spiritual comfort of the “In Paradisum”. Bass-baritone Oded Reich handled the “Offertoire” (Offertory – when bread and wine are brought to the altar in the Eucharist service) and the “Libera me” (Deliver me) solos expressively and with conviction, his richly-colored vocal timbre matched with musicality and poise. Soprano Enas Massalha’s singing of the pivotal “Pie Jesu” (final couplet from the “Dies Irae” text) was profound yet understated, her shaping of it taking its cues from the text itself, her vocal quality captivating. Not to be ignored is the importance of the organ part throughout, ever present in its humility and ecclesiastical association, handled competently by Tanya Schupak, whose tireless work with the choir and its members is admirable.

Charles Gounod (1818-1893) is appreciated by the listening public as an opera composer, but his sacred works outnumber the 13 operas from his pen. In fact, he studied theology at the Saint-Sulpice Roman Catholic Church (Paris) and spent time in the Sistine Chapel studying the works of 16th century masters; for a while he even referred to himself as “Abbe Gounod”. The challenge of composing a grand mass in honor of St. Cecilia, the patron saint of music, was no easy one, presenting the composer with many dilemmas. After the premiering of the “Messe Solonnelle de Sainte Cecile” November 1855 (St. Cecilia’s Day) in Paris’ Sainte-Eustache Church, Saint-Saens spoke of the work as causing “a kind of shock”, that “its serene light, which rose before the musical world like a breaking dawn, troubled people” and that congregants were “dazzled, then charmed, then conquered”.

One of the few Romantic Masses intended specifically for the church, it is rich and lush and cushioned in an accessible, highly Romantic harmonic style. Harlap’s reading of it brings out its intimacy, joy, pomp, fine melodies and its play of instrumental and vocal color; he steers away from the sentimentality sadly present in some performances of the work. Soloists Massalha, Reich and Drori weave their vocal lines in and out of the textural fabric. In the “Sanctus”, the climax of the Mass, tenor Eitan Drori, his silvery, distinctive voice projecting with ease, contends well with the orchestra. Massalha’s soothing and prayerful performance, opening the “Benedictus”, issues in the translucent and uplifting “Osanna”, with the compassionate Agnus Dei” rondo closing the work, in which solos and choral sections alternate. The ICO supported all the way, its brass section adding vim and gloss to climactic moments.

Most members of the Jerusalem Oratorio Choir are amateur singers. The results of their musicality, devotion and hard work, and that of the conductors, were impressive and, indeed, pleasurable in this festive and enjoyable concert.