"Eternal Light" - Franz Herzog (Austria) conducts the Israel Vocal Ensemble in a program joined by saxophonist Eyal Aizik

Maestro Franz Herzog (photo: Peter Purgar)

“Eternal Light” was the title of the Israeli Vocal Ensemble’s recent concert directed by guest conductor Franz M. Herzog (Austria). Also taking part in the event was saxophonist Eyal Aizik. This writer attended the concert at St. Andrews Scots Memorial Church, Jerusalem, on March 2^nd, 2017.

Born in 1962, conductor, composer and music educationalist Franz M. Herzog today serves as artistic director of the Vocalforum Graz (chamber choir) and was founder and chief conductor of the Cantanima, a Styrian youth choir (2004-2013). He is currently head of choral conducting at the Johann Joseph Fux Conservatory (Graz) and lecturer at the Graz University of Music and Performing Arts. As a composer, his oeuvre largely focuses on choral- and vocal music. This was his first Israeli concert tour.

Established in 1993 by Yuval Benozer, who continues to serve as its music director, the Israeli Vocal Ensemble, comprising professional singers, is among Israel’s finest choral chamber choirs. With its own concert series, the IVE performs in major Israeli concert venues, also taking part in local festivals and overseas. The ensemble’s repertoire ranges from medieval to the most contemporary of works; it has also recorded film music. The Israel Vocal Ensemble is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Sport, Mif’al Hapais and private donors.

“Eternal Light”, a program of mostly European pieces, many sacred and (almost all)  a-cappella from the Renaissance through Romantic music to that of the 21^st century, took the listener on a spiritual journey through the course of a day, starting out in the sparkling light of daybreak. The program opened with the Lenten hymn “Christe, qui lux es et dies” (O Christ who are light and day) by Robert White (1538-1574), a sophisticated, imitative piece, its polyphonic verses built around the chant.  Via the densely-interwoven textures and descriptive effects of György Ligeti’s (1923-2006) “Morning”, we were presented with a performance of young Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo’s (b.1978) stunning spiritual- and richly blended 8-voiced “O magnum mysterium”, with saxophonist Eyal Aizik’s mellifluous playing of phrases weaving into-, complementing- and conforming with the work’s vocal lines.

Of great interest to singers and audience alike were two works of Franz Herzog himself, their first Israeli performances. We heard the Kyrie and Gloria of his Missa “Lux caelestis” (2004), a richly-coloured multi-dimensional canvas of ostinati creating vital rhythms, of clusters, the enmeshment of seconds and contrasts between lighter and darker timbres - music of excitement and conviction. “Laudato si, mi Signore” (2011) uses a text from St. Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of the Sun of 1224 and in the original Umbrian dialect of Italian.  Here, Herzog’s writing threads his evocative use of syllables and words effectively with the natural beauty of voices in a gripping kaleidoscope of lush, introverted textures then spiralling into powerful grandeur, expressive of the text’s message of both suffering and forgiveness.

An interesting reflection on the text of Heinrich Schütz’ exquisite motet “Herr, nun lässest Du deiner Diener” (Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace) from the burial service for Prince Heinrich von Reuss, a Dresden nobleman, was the division into a low 5-part choir and a smaller ensemble of two sopranos and bass and set apart. In the latter, the bass represented the soul in bliss, with the sopranos as two seraphim. With each choir singing a different text, the IVE singers highlighted the work’s extraordinary texture in unforced singing and fine projection of words, even at moments when both texts were intertwined.

Another fascinating motet was Felix Mendelssohn’s setting of Psalm 43 (opus 78 No.2) (1844), its five double verses divided into four sections, with basses and tenors singing the melody in unison against sopranos and altos in harmony, then moving into “O send your light and your truth” soaring into eight-part harmony. The work concludes with the composer (texturally and musically) revisiting the cry of suffering from his setting of Psalm 42, a heartrending personal gesture. Rich in Romantic harmonies, Edvard Grieg’s “Ave, maris stella” (Hail, star of the sea) was given a personal and dynamic reading, poignant in its gentle echoes.  Probably his best-known sacred work, Joseph Gabriel Rheinberger’s (1839-1901) subtly introspective, syllabic six-voiced "Evening Song" (1873) was sensitively shaped and richly satisfying. Another fine miniature was “O nata lux” (O Light born of Light) from “Lux Aeterna” by one of America’s most acclaimed and widely-performed choral composers Morton Lauridson (b.1943), its economic use of pure triads and those coloured by an added second or fourth flowing in in a stream of undulating melodic lines in the composer’s glistening treatment of the theme of light. And to “Stars”, a mysterious and mystical night piece in four voices by Latvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds (b.1977) to the text of American poetess Sara Teasdale’s poem of the same name.  Ešenvalds’ unique setting calls for water-filled glasses of specific pitches and sounded by the singers themselves by running a wet finger around the rim. Herzog led the singers securely through this work of floating, magical timbres with its underlay of clusters created by the water-tuned glasses (and their overtones) and the sonorous choral writing of fluctuating crescendos and diminuendos as its spacious, otherworldly mood was crowned by a weightlessly-suspended high soprano “a”.

‘Alone in the night
On a dark hill
With pines around me
Spicy and still,

And a heaven of stars
Over my head,
White and topaz
And misty red…’

Turning to a different kind of repertoire, we heard “Amazing Grace” William Cowper’s hymn text to words by Anglican minister John Newton, published 1779, nowadays mostly sung to the melody of “New Britain” and referred to by Gilbert Chase as “the most famous of all the folk hymns”. In Israeli composer/conductor Tzvi Sherf’s evocative and imaginative arrangement of the song, IVE bass Ronen Ravid soloed with splendid natural mastery, at one point joined by soprano Talia Dishon to give the performance a fleeting Afro-American touch.

An unusual and unique addition to such a program, Eyal Aizik’s hearty-, imaginative- and intermittently intimate saxophone improvisations, taking their cue from the program’s repertoire, added an enriching and indeed profound dimension to the event. The “timeline” agenda of Maestro Herzog’s program effected the integrating of works of all eras into a fluid and satisfying continuum, with the obvious rapport between him and the IVE singers resulting in interesting, high-quality choral performance of exceptional depth and beauty.

 

 

 

J.S.Bach-His Sons,His Students

“J.S. Bach: His Sons, His Students” was presented by three soloists of the PHOENIX Ensemble: Genevieve Blanchard (Baroque flute), David Shemer (harpsichord) and Myrna Herzog, PHOENIX’s musical director, (viola da gamba and quinton).

The concert opened with Johann Gottlieb Goldberg’s (1727-1756) Trio-Sonata in C Major. Goldberg was a German virtuoso harpsichordist, organist and composer. He was, at age 14, probably the first performer of J.S. Bach’s “Goldberg Variations” written as a soporific to help the insomniac Count Kaiserling fall asleep. Goldberg was a pupil of Bach’s from 1733 to 1746 and was lauded by Bach for his industry, improvisation and reading skills. This trio-sonata, in fact, had previously been attributed to Bach. Herzog, in this work, played a quinton, a small, fretted bowed instrument rested on the player’s lap. Herzog’s instrument is an original 18th century quinton, bearing the most exquisite carved head of a young person (or an angel). The head was built by a monk by the name of La Fille, famous for his carved heads for bowed instruments. The sonata began with a gracious, flowing Adagio movement. The second movement – Alla breve – was fugual. Blanchard’s gorgeous creamy tone was wonderfully set off by the defined quality of the quinton. The Largo was a touching conversation between the two. The Gigue was energetic and exciting but taken at a pace which was measured, giving the listener time to hear details.

The German composer, Karl Friedrich Abel (1723-1787), was a bass viol player at the Dresden court. In c.1757, he went to London, where he directed a concert series together with Johann Christian Bach (J.S. Bach’s 11th son). Both men became chamber musicians to Queen Charlotte. The concerts, themselves often included Abel’s own works played by him. Abel was one of the last great proponents of the viol. His Sonata in G major for viola da gamba and continuo, performed by Brazilian-born Herzog (this time, on the bass viol) together with Shemer, was from the “Music Book of the Countess of Pembroke”. The latter was a pupil of Abel’s. It is a very idiomatic and flamboyant solo piece for the viol and Herzog’s performance was brilliant, interesting and inviting to the audience. Apart from being very much a technically demanding solo piece for the viol, in three movements, the work is melodious, genial and energetic. Abel’s Adagio movements were much talked about: the work’s Adagio did not disappoint.

And to Johann Christian Bach (1735-1782), who was often referred to as the “London Bach”. His Trio-Sonata no.5 in A major in two movements, gives each instrument a very individual role – the viol playing a firm, secure basso continuo (providing the harmonic structure of Baroque music), the flute playing lovely legato lines, the harpsichord drawing the listener into listening to its rich, intricate and energetic role of this scintillating, attractive work.

German composer Johann Ludwig Krebs (1730-1780) studied the organ with J.S. Bach in Leipzig, for whom he also worked as a copyist. Krebs never became an organist of Bach’s caliber but his counterpoint (linear writing in a number of voices) is considered by many to be comparable to Bach’s. Canadian-born Blanchard (playing a boxwood flute made by Alain Weemails, Brussels) and Shemer performed his Sonata da Camera in e minor, no. 4, composed in Leipzig in 1762. The first movement – a Largo – is lyrical. The Vivace movement was energetic with Blanchard playing fast arpeggios (broken chords). The Affettuoso movement was moving, with some lovely ornamenting. After two lilting Minuets, the artists performed the Polonaise (a styalized form of the stately Polish dance) with some nteresting tempo changes.

Carl Philipp Emanual Bach (1714-1788) was the second of J.S.Bach’s sons and one of the founders of the Classical style. Sometimes called “The Hamburg Bach”, he published an important treatise – “Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments” and put much energy into protecting the legacy of his father. David Shemer performed C.P.E.Bach’s “Variations Upon La Folia” for harpsichord. “La Folia” (The Folly) was a well-known melody and harmonic scheme in Europe of the time, used by composers from the Baroque to today as an ostinato (recurring) basis for variations. C.P.E.Bach’s must surely be among the most interesting! Shemer, born in Riga, teaches in Jerusalem, performs and is the musical director of the Jerusalem Baroque Orchestra. His reading of the variations was a musical adventure: each small variation wore a different guise, each was a contrast to the former. They ranged from pensive to capricious, to dramatic, to serious; and there were harmonic surprises galore. It was a clean and brilliant performance but not just – it had much to say and the audience was thrilled.

The last work on the program was J.S.Bach’s (1685-1750) Trio-Sonata in D for flute, viola da gamba and continuo, BWV 1028. It was originally composed for viol and harpsichord but worked well the textures of three instruments. It opened with a flowing, singing Adagio movement, to be followed by an Allegro in which melodic lines were clean and rich. The Andante was given a singing, intimate reading, with very sensitive and beautifully-shaped gamba playing on the part of Herzog. As an “aperitif” the trio played a J.S.Bach organ chorale variation.

I think we were all basking in the highly pleasurable ensemble sound and fine interpretation this PHOENIX trio offered. St Andrew’s Church is an intimate, tranquil venue in Jerusalem, the right size and atmosphere for Early Music performance.

“J.S.Bach’s Legacy: His Sons, His Students”
Soloists of the PHOENIX Ensemble:
Genevieve Blanchard-Baroque flute
David Shemer-harpsichord
Myrna Herzog-viola da gamba, quinton
St Andrew’s Scots Memorial Church
February 28, 2008