Johann Sebastian Bach died more than 150 years before John Cage was born, but he would have appreciated his fellow composer's idea that "writing music is not a question of communication or something to be rationally understood, but a question of changing our minds about the fact of being alive," especially with regard to his Mass in B Minor.
Since many events described by the traditional mass text are not ordinary happenings, such as the immaculate conception of Christ and his resurrection three days after his death, a rational understanding is impossible; Bach's music, which was all written to God, was not trying to directly communicate so much as fascinate and uplift, and the Mass, written by a Lutheran for the Catholic church, is a good example of this: no one necessarily walks out of a performance converted, but listeners and players are always struck by the strength of its message.
This was the case with the Oregon Repertory Singers' production of the Mass last Friday night. Gil Seeley, who is the ORS' artistic director, tells every class he teaches at Lewis & Clark that the Mass is a pinnacle of Western music; in a conversation last week he told this listener that he wished that "the whole LC student body could hear it, and all the faculty Š It would be worth contemplating, this one man's vision of God and the human spirit."
LC students who attended the Friday night performance did not claim to be affected by this aspect of Bach's music, but they definitely left exalted. "Bach is always awesome, but this was, if anything, more awesome," said senior Marianna Ritchey, who followed the score throughout the performance and was struck by its intricacy.
Which brings up an important point about the mass: it is technically brilliant. Completed in several stages between 1732 and 1748, it is a very difficult piece to perform because of its density; possible tempos and articulations are endless. "I have conducted the Mass three times now, and studied it for hours, and I'm just beginning to understand it," said Seeley.
He made several innovations this time around, for instance instructing the double-basses to play their line at the opening of the Credo pizzicato, which propelled the music from underneath, something he says may never have been done before. He also directed the singers to use the same phrasing as that of the accompanying instrumental parts, something else that has not always been common practice.
To come up with these and other ideas Seeley had to work through 26 movements, which can all be grouped into the usual Kyrie-Gloria-Credo-Sanctus-Agnus Dei form; 17 of these movements are choruses, enough to easily exhaust any talented group of singers.
Within the music are fugato (fugue-like) sections, fugues, and double fugues, all a challenge to put together but great fun to sing. The Mass contains many numerological references, such as in the Sanctus when the choir is divided into six parts to represent the six seraphim in the Book of Isaiah, and likewise in the Crucifixus, the ostinato, or bass pattern, is played thirteen times, representing Christ and his twelve disciples; all these details must be illuminated for a good performance.
"But all that doesn't matter a wit," said Seeley, "if you don't bring it to life and make it speak to today's world." To do this, the choir has to be able to feel the music.
Seeley performs the piece every ten years, allowing him a thorough digestion of each round and teaching him not only about the score but about the rehearsal process: now he knows how to "let people relax and enjoy the music and not be uptight Š and then you can enjoy the music because you're above the technical aspect."
Seeley commented that the choir's concentration level was "unbelievable," something Josh Berezin, ORS member and LC alumnus would agree with. "When we started, I thought, 'this is a huge work,' and I didn't know if we had the resources to do it. But it all came together‹we peaked at the right time."
Solomon Enos, a current LC student and another ORS member, also commented on the challenge that the Mass presented: "there are so many sixteenth notes; in the beginning [the Mass] was really difficult, but as you sing it more and more it appeals to you until it's really exciting."
Adding to the excitement was the Pacific Baroque Orchestra, playing on period instruments including a hunting horn and valveless trumpets; deserving of special mention are the flutist Christopher Krueger who performed his ornate part in the Benedictus delightfully, and LC percussion instructor Mark Goodenberger who played the timpany as solidly as ever (and who has a recital coming up next Sunday on campus).
The four vocal soloists were excellent, particularly Richard Zeller, the bass, who has a soothing stage presence. The mezzo-soprano, Milagro Vargas, sang richly, but at certain points in her lush solos, the strings' Baroque practice tuning, which is substantially lower than our present-day intonation, caused her to lower her notes in kind, resulting in an unsettling sound for many listeners.
This was a minor problem, however, when viewed in the context of the Mass's joyfully-performed entirety. For the Mass‹which Bach never heard in its entirety, and parts of which may have been among the last music he ever wrote‹was granted by everyone involved the heartfelt performance and reception that it deserves.
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