SSO Brahms Requiem, 13 Nov
The performance was fine, a fair if not particularly memorable evening. I thought the orchestra did well, and the chorus was overall excellent save for a few errors here and there, but the soloists range from moderate to ‘not-so-moderate’, and affected the night’s quality as a whole.
Maestro Lan Shui led a well paced, straightforward reading that sufficiently delivered the piece’s many melodic, lyrical and dramatic highlights without succumbing into overwrought sentimentality. As noted, I felt the combined choir of the SSC, Hallelujah Chorus and Singapore Bible College did a fine job. With beautiful legato phrasing and sensitivity to dynamics, they gave satisfying readings of the work’s introspective moments while raising to the ‘loud’ challenge in the music’s fire and brimstone sections. There were a few flat high notes from the sopranos in the earlier movements and individual voices could be better supported for stronger choral tone, but it did not matter as much in context of their overall performance.
Similarly, the orchestra suffered a few intonation problems early in the evening from individual instrumentalists, most noticeably the trombones, but nonetheless delivered a fine performance. Dynamic balances between orchestra and chorus were largely good although there were a few loud moments where the orchestra threatened to drown out the singers. The spiritual last movement Selig sind die toten (blessed are the dead) was the evening’s greatest success, with the chorus’s warm, soulful singing gently supported by a toned down orchestra.
However, I felt that the soloists could have fared better. All previous snarking aside, Gary Magee did an adequate job with his stout lyric baritone, although one wishes for better sensitivity and musical phrasing in his 3rd movement solo. The voice had a slight grainy quality that gave his singing an imposing bit of ‘bite’. Ironically, his musically indifferent approach was a perfect fit for the dramatic music of the 6th movement Denn wir Haben hie keine (For here we have no continuing city), bringing a stoic, snarling presence to the proceedings.
Dressed in a huge pile of black drapes adorned with fur-trimmings, soprano Brigette Wohlfarth’s rocky technique proved inadequate for her solo in the 5th movement Iht habt nun Trauigkeit (And ye now therefore have sorrow). Timbre wise, the voice is a robust instrument with strong dark hues that suggests a dramatic soprano. Unfortunately it simply wasn’t in shape that night. She had a rocky start with a hideously sharp entry and a pronounced wobble that softened into a comfortable vibrato as the music moved along, but her discomfort showed elsewhere with awkward transitions throughout the range, sudden shifts in volume and odd phrasing choices.
Nonetheless, the commendable performance of chorus and orchestra as well as Maestro Lan’s reading made this a satisfactory weekday evening concert. A few reservations yes, but on the whole a worthwhile trip to the concert hall.