Other Links
Editorial Board
- UK Editors
- Roger Jones and John Quinn
Editors for The Americas - Bruce Hodges and Jonathan Spencer Jones
European Editors - Bettina Mara and Jens F Laurson
Consulting Editor - Bill Kenny
Assistant Webmaster -Stan Metzger
Founder - Len Mullenger
Google Site Search
SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL REPORT
Dixit Dominus
Chandos Anthem No. 8, "O come, let us sing unto the Lord"
Utrecht Jubilate Deo
Seattle's 17-day immersion in the works of Handel reached its
midpoint with another highly satisfying concert, this time of music
for chorus and orchestra. O come, let us sing unto the Lord
may not rank particularly high in the series of anthems the composer
wrote during the time he spent working for James Brydges at that
gentleman's Cannons estate, and the Utrecht Jubilate Deo is
perhaps a less splendid work than the similarly "occasional" piece,
the Dettingen Te Deum. But precisely because they have
gained a less prominent place in the repertoire, it made excellent
sense to program them in the context of this festival, and it was a
pleasure to hear them in the superb acoustics of Seattle's St. James
Cathedral.
Dixit Dominus is an altogether different matter. This, too, is
not one of Handel's greatest works, but its brilliance, tunefulness,
and dramatic verve are proof that, if Handel at the age of 22 was
not yet quite the "master of us all" that Beethoven was to call him,
he was already an authentic master by anyone else's standards. Parts
of the text inevitably bring to mind Bach's Magnificat, which we
know best in the revised version dating from its composer's 49th
year, and in my judgment Handel's youthful piece can sustain the
comparison without shame. Interestingly, his vividly onomatopoeic
treatment of such evocative words as "conquassabit" is closer in
method to Purcell than to Bach's more tight-lipped manner.
Karen Thomas led her Pro Musica in strong and stylish performances
of all three works. She drew clear enunciation of both Latin and
English from her excellent chorus, the orchestra was crisp and
assured, and the vocal and instrumental solos were equally
impressive.
Bernard Jacobson