Switzerland Dvořák: Der Gemischte Chor Zürich, Michaela Kaune (soprano), Martina Dike (mezzo soprano), Peter Sonn (tenor), Tobias Schabel (Bass), Basel Sinfonietta / Joachim Krause (conductor). Tonhalle, Zurich, 23.11.2022. (VL)
Dvořák – Stabat Mater, Op.58
The Gemischte Chor is among the founding choirs of the Tonhalle Zurich and was established in 1863. The choir singers are amateurs with skilled voices who get pleasure from singing; within the live performance line-up there are about 100 to 120 members. Since 1996, the choir has been below the course of Joachim Krause. Together with the Basel Sinfonietta, a symphonic orchestra specialising in up to date music, and the soloists, the viewers was handled to an unforgettable tour into what might be the best-known of the bible tales.
The Stabat Mater is a Thirteenth-century Christian hymn to Mary, which portrays her struggling as Jesus Christ’s mom throughout his crucifixion. It has been set to music by numerous composers, however Antonín Dvořák’s work is among the most regularly carried out oratorios and nonetheless stands out as we speak for the directness of its sonority. The work is split into ten actions: the primary two actions spotlight the struggling of the mom as she watches her son die on the cross. The following six actions emphasise the listener’s need to endure, weep and mourn along with her. Finally, on the finish of the work, within the final two actions, a glimpse of paradise is given.
The musicians of the Basel Sinfonietta started the primary motion with a soulful and prolonged instrumental introduction, which was steadily joined by the choir and soloists. Especially the third motion was considerably stunning with a motif that resembled a funeral march – the choir re-joins and accompanies the funeral procession. This was adopted by an exquisite motif, a form of exclamation by the bass soloist Tobias Schabel, to which the ladies’s choir responded in flip. The listener can clearly really feel the ache of the Stabat Mater right here.
Those within the viewers who – like me – had been notably trying ahead to the choir had been rewarded by the seventh motion: ‘Virgo virginum’ was carried out so movingly that it gripped each listener within the corridor.
We then heard an exquisite and on the similar time stern and decided duet by soprano Michaela Kaune and tenor Peter Sonn, wherein the sad mom begs to share her son’s struggling.
The second spotlight of the night for me was mezzo soprano Martina Dike, who proudly carried out the aria ‘Inflammatus est’ with fantastic readability. At the top of the motion, all that remained was the obscure want that it would go on for just a few extra bars.
If there’s a finale that lives as much as its title, then it’s that of the Stabat Mater. The final, tenth motion captivates with the usage of all voices till the choir breaks away from the tutti on the fortissimo climax and publicizes the prospect of paradise a capella. A becoming, hopeful conclusion for a chunk that so comprehensibly units the struggling of the mom of Jesus to music.
As anticipated, the reward was a thunderous applause – particularly and primarily for the fantastic singers of the Gemischte Chor in addition to the soloists.
The Gemischte Chor performs concert events twice a yr on the Tonhalle and I can solely encourage each live performance fanatic to attend them. I’ll actually be going again and am already trying ahead to the subsequent time.
Valérie Litz