Review: Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra gives a memorable performace
Evansville audiences got to experience a little bit of heaven Sunday afternoon at the Victory Theatre when the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra Chorus, four soloists, and Roger Kalia presented “Heavenly Spheres,” a moving Classics concert.
The main work of the afternoon was Mozart’s “Requiem,” which took up most of the concert time. The “Requiem” has become a monument in the western musical canon, and it is monumentally difficult. But Sunday’s performance was sublime. Never has the Orchestra Chorus, in particular, sounded so fine and so finished.
The opening of the “Kyrie” was especially memorable: the basses led a fast-moving and chromatic fugue all together and pitch-perfect. One of the soloists later praised the entire chorus for its “wall of wonderful sound” that, along with the orchestra, supported the soloists in their contributions to the complex composition.
Most glorious was the baritone’s “Tuba mirum,” where the human voice echoes the trombone line in its perilous leaps and falls.
The orchestra provided no shortage of magic of its own — as in the plangent “Lacrimosa,” where the musical figures of the strings sound much like the sobs they are to suggest. And the soloists — all four young singers were wonderfully attuned to the score and to each other, the blending of their voices beautiful in “Benedictus.”
Just before the “Requiem” was presented, Roger Kalia noted that this piece had been planned for his first concert season, now three years ago. Well, Kalia finally got his wish, and Evansville audiences were lucky to hear the “Requiem” in a full production.
The concert began with an Evansville premiere of “Musica celestis,” by living American composer Aaron Jay Kernis. The musical score must certainly contain the word “ethereal,” since that’s how the small string orchestra sounded. The composition begins and ends slowly and breathlessly, as the angels that the title evokes finish their song.
Unfortunately, noise from late concert-goers and from the hallway at the back of the main floor obscured much of what should have been a completely enjoyable performance.
Interestingly, Kalia chose to conclude the afternoon with a performance of “Ave verum corpus,” a well-known Mozart motet that many chorus singers likely know. Though the words are fairly lugubrious, the composition is pure Mozart —filigree and finesse. It was an inspiring way to end an inspirational program.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Review: Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra performs Mozart's works
