The Mass that has defined Christian liturgy since the early Church represents what, on the surface seems like one of the great challenges in the musical arts: given a set text, one that the listeners historically knew by heart and had heard literally thousands of times, find a way to make it new and interesting. Of course, artists in music other arts know that often constraints can liberate. Consider the sonnet with its fourteen lines of iambic pentameter and a limited number of rhyme schemes and yet within these boundaries we find some of the greatest poetry ever written.
Tonight’s concert by the Bay Choral Guild at the Campbell United Methodist Church was another example of this groups mastery of this particular genre of choral music, although I used the word “genre” reservedly. The Mass comes in such a wide array of colors and flavors, as you might expect when some twenty centuries of human creativity are poured into a particular artistic task. This concert featured Masses by three composers: Tomas Luis de Victoria (1548-1611), Josef Gabriel Rheinberger (1839-1901), and Francis Poulenc (1899-1963), plus one short Benedictio by Urmas Sisask (b. 1960).
de Victoria led off the program, first with a Motet “O quam gloriosum”, followed by a Missa of the same name. It was a beautiful performance of both pieces. de Victoria wraps the listener in mysterious, worshipful music that contains wonderful examples of 17th century counterpoint. A lovely sextet Benedictus accented this rendition of the Missa.
The second composer was Rheinberger, a composer that I had not heard or heard of before this evening. A child prodigy who was born in Liechtenstein, much of his music has been neglected until recently. The Mass in E-flat major (Opus 109) performed in the concert surprised me with a remarkably contemporary sound, strongly dynamic and filled with rich emotional content.
The Mass in G major by Poulenc was probably the most divergent stylistically of any piece on the program. The piece is marked by rich textures that change suddenly and unexpectedly, with melody lines that likewise take odd twists (One might use the term “fractal” to describe them). The piece, though technically demanding, was well-sung, but didn’t move me as the first two Masses had.
The final piece by Sisask was pure delight; lively, energetic, joyful. It was one of my favorites of the evening and from the comments of other audience members I gathered that it was popular with many others.
The Bay Choral Guild will be giving two more concerts. On Saturday, June 4 they will perform at St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco, or you can catch them on June 5 at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Palo Alto. It’s a great program that you don’t want to miss.
For more information on the Bay Choral Guild, and to make a donation to this fine group, visit their website at baychoralguild.org.