Reviews

Symphonicity: Verdi Requiem
Symphonicity and Old Dominion University Choruses
Sandler Center, February 17, 2019
Review by John Campbell

Giuseppe Verdi's Messa da Requiem (Requiem Mass) is a challenge for a paid professional orchestra but to have an all volunteer ensemble bring a powerful, exciting performance to Virginia Beach's Sandler Center was a brilliant collaborative effort. In a single, 90 minute performance, Conductor Daniel W. Boothe led the 80 member Symphonicity Orchestra, a quartet of soloists and a chorus of 127 voices, trained by Chorus Master Nancy Klein who chairs the Music Department at Old Dominion University. Fully one-third of the singers were members of the ODU Chorus.

The vocal soloists were drawn from several local music-related organizations. Soprano Anna Feucht lives in Norfolk and is often heard in recital locally and with Cantabile Project, Virginia Opera, Tidewater Opera Initiative, Capital Opera Richmond and Williamsburg Choral Guild. This was her first ever performance of the Verdi Requiem and she met the challenge brilliantly.

Who knew that Emily Russell, Children's Chorus Master at Virginia Opera, a pre-school music teacher who has a private piano and voice studio, had such power and beauty to bring to Verdi's demanding solos and ensemble?

The men were no less impressive. Tenor Brian Nedvin is on the voice faculty of ODU and also directs student opera and musical productions. Over his career he has been heard at New York City Opera, Washington and Pittsburgh Operas and at Carnegie Hall and with the American Symphony at Avery Fisher Hall.

And most astonishing of all, baritone Larry J Giddens, Jr. stepped in to the bass soloist role without an orchestra rehearsal. His powerful, grounded voice has been described as “a stentorian high baritone that soars magnificently...” We found that this is not hype. Mr. Giddens grew up on Virginia's Eastern Shore, sang in the Symphonicity Messiah Sing-Along with retired Maestro David Kunkel some years ago and has had a career in opera, musical theater and as a soloist with symphony orchestras across the U.S. He is a married family man with four young children that “bring joy to his life.” Currently he has returned to this area to complete a degree at ODU. He is listed as a bass in the chorus in the program booklet but a bio page was inserted at the last moment.

When Rossini died in 1868, Verdi came up with the idea of having contemporary composers write a mass for the first anniversary of Rossini's death. Parts were chosen by the composers but in fact, Verdi was the only one to complete his section, the Libera me (Deliver me). Six years later Alessandro Manzoni (1785-1873), a poet and novelist who, like Verdi and Rossini, was a strong advocate of a unified Italy, died and Verdi decided to write a requiem mass for the first anniversary of Manzoni's death.

By March of 1874 Verdi could relax as most of the work on his mass was finished. It was for two women, two men and a mixed chorus. However the Catholic Church would not allow women to sing in church. Verdi refused to let the initial performance be in an opera house because he felt that would not properly honor such a great patriot. He persevered, used his clout and got special permission for a church performance. Since the work makes demands on singers beyond his opera roles, he coached the singers himself. After 20 days of exhausting work, coaching soloists, chorus and orchestra in Milan, the Messa da Requiem was performed on May 22, 1874 in St. Mark's Church for an invited audience of political leaders and leading citizens. Three days later the same forces brought it to the opera house in Milan. It was such a success that it was produced at the Opera Comique in Paris with the same soloists and then to all of Europe. Later that year it was performed in several cities in the United States.

Verdi was known to be openly anti-religious (I suspect that today he'd be termed a secular humanist) but not atheist as many believed at that time. The Requiem text describes an intense, personal drama of the soul and supplication to a wrathful, old-testament god. This deity seems to have a deep grudge against mankind and finally has a chance to get even at the last judgment.

The Requiem opens gently as the chorus offers an almost murmured plea for eternal rest, followed by a passionate Kyrie, joined by each soloist in turn. The fine acoustics of the hall allowed us to hear the superb clarity of soloists and chorus. The succeeding Dies irae (Day of wrath) blew away any comfort offered earlier. Four trumpets from the balcony reinforced those on the stage and the almost cacophonous choir burst forth mightily. Mr. Giddens' Tuba mirum (The trumpet sounding in the tombs) (I pictured bodies emerging from the ground) was followed by Liber scriptus (written record of one's deeds) featuring the glorious mezzo-soprano voice of Ms. Russell. It was briefly wrapped by the chorus but she soon continued her beautiful solo before being joined by tenor Nedvin in Quid sum miser (What shall I answer?) followed by Rex tremendae (King of awful majesty) in which all the soloists have very beautiful expressions with a huge orchestral and choral unity. There is beauty here that surpasses my ability to describe!

With projected text behind the orchestra we got a sense of the unfolding narrative as the duet of the sopranos spoke of gentle Jesus in Recordare followed by Mr. Nedvin giving us his passionate ingemisco (“I groan as one guilty”). Only in opera does one find such emotional expression of the text, almost never in church music. This is true also in Mr. Giddens' bass solo Confutatis (When the damned are confounded) with his deeply beautiful and passionate expression. Such lovely music is a contradiction to the text until the whiplash orchestral chord and chorus force us to face the peril in the text in the Lacrimosa (Day of weeping) .

By this time we have completed 50 of the 90 minutes of continuous music and heard the text of nine sections of a poem of the Middle Ages, Day of Wrath, attributed to Thomas Celano (c. 1250). Disease, pain, hunger and sudden, unexplainable death were ever present in that world and the church blamed our suffering on us—no grace of “our risen Lord” to be found here.

In the Offertorium and onward, there is text that invokes Jesus Christ's glory and God's majesty. In the Sanctus the angels praise God and the Agnus Dei evokes Jesus taking away man's sins so the departed can enter eternal rest where everlasting light shines on the dead. But the 14 minute final Libera me (Deliver me) reiterates all about the Day of Judgment to come while soprano Feucht's glorious, soaring plea is heard over the chorus' climatic fugue, it ends with her whispered “deliver me, deliver me.”

In our hearts, Steve and I dedicated this wonderful performance to my friend of 52 years, Ms. Jodie Lamb, who died earlier that morning. She was 84 years old, a visual artist and potter and a constant friend for all those years.