Death triumphs at concert
By JOHN FLEMING
Published November 4, 2006
TAMPA- There was a Viennese flavor to Friday's concert by the Florida Orchestra, with works by Schubert and Mahler, two composers close to the imperial capital's soul, conducted by Stefan Sanderling at Morsani Hall of Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.
There also was a theme of death to the program. It included the Adagio from Mahler's Symphony No. 10, which was unfinished when he died in 1911, and Schubert's E-flat major Mass, his sixth setting of the Latin liturgy, which he completed just weeks before his death in 1828.
The Adagio, the first movement of a planned five-movement symphony, was Mahler at his most searching, from the pianissimo violas that began the piece to the long, piercing high A by solo trumpet (principal Robert Smith) that ushered in a remarkable sequence.
A swelling dissonance in the orchestra metamorphosed to bring out sweetly toned bassoon, hushed strings and horn, prominent oboe and piccolo, all coming to a close with a gentle note in the cellos. If this was death, then it was a beautiful death.
The Master Chorale of Tampa Bay, prepared by Richard Zielinski, came on after intermission to do the honors in the Schubert Mass. With as many as 170 voices, the chorus delivered a big, plush sound. "Gloria in excelsis Deo" was truly glorious and the Sanctus was dazzling. Fugues like "Cum sancto Spiritu" in the Gloria were good and lively. But as well-schooled as the chorus is, it was hard for such large forces to capture the delicacy of quiet sections like the Kyrie.
A high point was the song for two tenors and soprano at the heart of the work in the Credo. Soprano Elizabeth Keusch and first tenor Daniel Weeks were joined by baritone Nathaniel Watson, who sang the second and lower tenor part (Harve Wileman, the scheduled second tenor, did not sing due to illness) and did a great job.
Schubert's Mass is very much a choral affair, and the excellent vocal soloists, including mezzo-soprano Jennifer Dudley, had just two more appearances in the Benedictus and "Dona nobis pacem" at the end.
The concert opened with the premiere of Fast Ride in a Short Machine by James Stephenson III. The title is a variation on John Adams' brilliant Short Ride in a Fast Machine, and there the resemblance ends, though the piece is certainly short, some 90 seconds, with only the punchy brass (Stephenson is a trumpeter) making much of an impression.
John Fleming can be reached at (727) 893-8716 or fleming@sptimes.com.