As the musical establishment for England’s monarchy, the Chapel Royal has played host to some of that nation’s most renowned musicians, from Thomas Tallis and William Byrd to Henry Purcell and George Frideric Handel. Nowadays the latter two figures stand unequivocally as the pride of the English Baroque, so it seemed appropriate that Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra’s program should accentuate these composers’ more lively side. Lively, too, was the actual performance Friday evening at Palo Alto’s First United Methodist Church, the orchestra joining forces with the Philharmonia Chorale and soloists for a thrill-packed program under the inspired direction of music director Nicholas McGegan.
Much of the credit for the scintillating atmosphere lies in McGegan’s attention to detail. A consummate miniaturist, he seems to place every phrase under a microscope in order to capture its underlying nuances: a gentle accent at one moment, a subtle dynamic swell the next. The result is a highly rhythmic, tensile sound, its constant ebb and flow a kaleidoscope of electrifying musical colors.
While the orchestra itself performed up to its usual high standards, on this evening it played second fiddle to a strong corps of soloists and particularly the outstanding Chorale, under the direction of Bruce Lamott. (Full disclosure:
SFCV editor Mickey Butts is one of the tenors.) With luminous sound, unerring blend, fine balance, and extraordinary flexibility in conveying disparate moods from graceful to gregarious, its performance formed perhaps the evening’s greatest triumph.
Setting the tone was Handel’s famous anthem
Zadok the Priest, composed for the crowning of George II in 1727 and performed at every English coronation since. The thundering initial choral entrance, emerging suddenly out of a genteel instrumental opening, had sufficient power to startle a couple of my neighbors. Consistently bright and crisp singing, from the declamatory pronouncements “God save the king, long live the king” to more virtuosic passagework on the word “Rejoice,” lent excitement to this most ceremonious of pieces.
Purcell as Prodigy
Purcell composed
My Beloved Spake for the Chapel Royal at the tender age of 18, one of his earliest attempts at a symphonic anthem. A quartet of soloists (countertenor Kai Wessel, tenor Thomas Cooley, baritones Nathaniel Watson and Jeffrey Fields) blended well as an ensemble without losing their sense of individuality. Wessel, Cooley, and Watson captured the easy, dancelike quality of another anthem, Purcell’s sweetly tinged
Rejoice in the Lord always, while the instrumental ensemble conveyed just enough exuberance without overwhelming the piece’s graceful quality. In both pieces, the Chorale made the most of its occasional interjections.
Handel’s
Dettingen Te Deum, the program’s centerpiece, has been faulted as derivative but can come alive in the right hands. Composed to commemorate George II’s 1742 victory over the French in battle in Dettingen, its plangent text painting and highly diffuse stylistic palette afford ample opportunity for vivid expressiveness. Following a lively fanfare that showcased the orchestra’s sterling trumpeters and oboists, the Chorale got things started with the brilliant opening declamation “We praise thee, O God.” Unfailingly dynamic throughout the piece, it particularly excelled in “To thee all angels cry aloud,” the purity of the women’s voices dovetailing with the richness of the men’s sonority in exquisite contrast.
Solo contributions were equally compelling. Wessel sang “All the earth doth worship thee” with a pure, clear tone that captured this music’s mood but suffered from a lack of projection. Cooley’s lyrical tenor, light and graceful with just a hint of darkness, was warmly expressive in several solo opportunities. Watson’s robust baritone was rich and penetrating, if occasionally heavy-handed, but he imbued “Thou art the King of Glory” with compelling intensity.
Purcell’s Chacony in G Minor offered the orchestra its one moment in the solo spotlight. The piece’s austere ground melody, and the ensemble’s elegant presentation of disparate themes atop this foundation, made for an affectingly solemn interlude within the surrounding pomp and circumstance.