I’m eagerly (and anxiously) anticipating our final Masterworks concert of the 10-11 season, featuring the Richmond Symphony and Chorus in a rare performance of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis. I have been interested in (okay, obsessed with) Beethoven’s monumental Missa since I first heard it at the age of 18. I was a freshman at Northwestern, and I thought I would buy myself a ticket to go hear the Chicago Symphony and George Solti do some Beethoven.
Here’s my great confession: I walked away from that performance a bit confused. It was a powerful 90 minutes, that’s for sure, but I didn’t really “get it,” and I wanted to know why! It was only a few years later that the piece clicked.
What made the difference, you ask?
Beethoven.
You see, I came to Northwestern knowing a lot about choral music. I had sung many of the masterpieces of the symphonic-choral repertoire – even Mahler’s Symphony of 1,000! But, I had never really heard a Beethoven Symphony, a Beethoven Violin Concerto, a Beethoven String Quartet, or Fidelio. Once I heard all these individually, then listened to the Missa again, I finally “got it!” In the Missa Solemnis, Beethoven put everything he had – psychologically, spiritually, and musically.
It’s difficult to describe how his soul appears in this music – that’s more easily felt in a live performance. But, I can at least try to prepare you for some of what you will hear musically.
You’ll hear a master orchestrator – one for whom the woodwinds were just as important as the ever -present strings.
The opening of his Seventh Symphony, for example, features full orchestral chords, followed by lyrical woodwind solos.
You’ll hear a lover of the dramatic potential and lyrical vocalism inherent in opera.
Listen to these two excerpts from Fidelio - the passion of the first and the long, vocal lines of the second appear throughout the Missa Solemnis.
Duet: “O namenlose Freude”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g-mW8E8RbM&feature=related
Prisoners Chorus: (which you heard in the January Masterworks)
You’ll hear the compositional skill of a technical genius in the many (many!) fugues.
In a nod to the Baroque genius Bach, Beethoven takes the fugue to new heights. (A fugue is a complex round or canon – like “Row Row Row Your Boat” with a PhD). His most famous fugues can be found in his string quartets, like this one:
Opus 59, #3 – last movement:
You’ll hear a concerto composer who could get into the soul of a soloist.
Here’s the second movement of his Violin Concerto, which opens our 2011-2012 Masterworks season, and which also has a kinship to the Benedictus movement of the Missa Solemnis.
These are but a few of the many examples of how the Missa Solemnis encapsulates the powerful, emotional, and intricate voice of Ludwig van Beethoven.
We here at the Richmond Symphony always feel humbled and honored to be able to delve into the music of Beethoven, whether it’s his first symphony or his final mass. And, it is a truly a privilege to share that experience with you - the listener. I hope this blog post helps you get in the musical mindset of this genius. We look forward to seeing you at the concerts on May 21st and May 22nd. Remember to come early for the pre-concert discussion, where we’ll tie all this together and explore why Robert Shaw called this piece one “Mutha” of a “Missa.”
See you at CenterStage!
Erin
Associate Conductor and James Erb Choral Chair
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