Monteverdi

A RECENT President of Harvard when asked for the primary qualification of a college president replied, "a belief in God." Despite this opinion, religiosity is not the primary characteristic of the current age. It is one of the least apt descriptions of contemporary Cambridge.

It is a peculiar situation when over 1000 people fill a church to hear a deeply religious work conforming to the strictest theological orthodoxy. It is even more bizarre in light of the contrast between the Christianity of Memorial Church (as aided by the Choir) and the Catholicism of Claudio Monteverdi's Venice in 1610. Monteverdi's exuberant celebration of the festival of the Virgin Mary outrageously flaunts Puritan restraint.

Despite the distances of time and character, the University Choir gave an excellent performance of Monteverdi's 1610 Vespers. The Vespers are made up of an introductory versicle, five psalms, a hymn especially for the Feast of the Virgin, and The Magnificat.

The Choir sang with enthusiasm and drive that carried it through seven parts of the Vespers. Only in the Magnificat, the last portion, did their energy fail as the pace began to slow from the singers' fatigue and the more sectional composition of the piece.

The sense of ensemble displayed throughout the work was extraordinary to hear. Complex rhythmic changes were handled to hear. Complex rhythmic changes were handled with a sureness that evades most choral groups. The choir's conductor, John Ferris, produced a fine sweep of phrase. Entrances were always sure, from the very first Amen of the Deus in adjutorium.

Ferris found an outstanding set of soloists. The two sopranos in their Sit nomen Domini and the florid Illu enim ascenderunt showed a sensitivity to each other as units of the ensemble; they were not soloists competing against one another. The two basses sang with great variety, from the delicate Quis sicut Dominus to the big Quia fecit from the Magnificat.

Following liturgical practice, the appropriate antiphons (Gregorian chants used to introduce psalms) were sung before and after each composition. Although musicologically correct, this was weak dramatically. The antiphons were violently anticlimactic coming as they did, after the most elaborate polyphony. In theory, it might seem a powerful contrast to repeat them at the end of each section; but in practice, it could only detract from a concert performance.

Similarly, the presentation of the chants themselves suffered in a secular context. The chants were sung in too straightforward a manner without enough lift and flow. They are such a personal expression that pushing them out for an audience's sake robs them of their delicate beauty. The chants were sung as well as could be expected in the circumstances.

A small instrumental ensemble accompanied the Vespers. The continue part, led by organist Lenora Stein, was consistently good. The reinforcing instruments, viola da gamba and violone, were played with a sense of balance commensurate to the size of the group.

Of the wind players, the sackbut was mellow but distinct; it was very effective as part of the continuo at the end of the Magnificat. The recorders suffered from lapses of pitch endemic to the instrument (in the Ave maris stella), but recovered in the next movement. The three cornetto players overcame an instrument infamous for its difficulty. Their stunning passages of imitation in the Magnificat were the most impressive instrumental display of the evening.

The Vespers program was another triumph for the University Choir. They filled Memorial Church for a program whose religious content was most likely anathema to many of their listeners. But it was the art of Monteverdi as sung by the Choir which was on display. The Choir has reinforced its strong reputation for the performance of early music.