performed by the Los Angeles Master Chorale – a review
This being the Easter weekend, let me tell you about the Los Angeles Master Chorale’s performance of Orlando di Lasso’s “Lagrime di San Pietro,” conducted by Grant Gershon and presented in Disney Hall this past mid-March. The production wasn’t brand new–Gershon and the Chorale with the always-inventive Peter Sellars premiered it two years ago–and if you’re wondering why it came back so soon let’s listen closely to Jean Davidson, the company’s President and CEO: “Many people who saw these performances have told us it was one of the most moving and powerful experiences they have had in the concert hall.”
Orlando di Lasso, also known in some circles as Roland de Lassus, was born in 1532, or possibly in 1530, and he lived until 1594, which is to say just before Monteverdi and others emerged with a different musical language.
Lasso’s music was entirely for voices. No instrumentals or instrumental accompaniment. “Lagrime” is his swan song, the score for it completed and dedicated to Pope Clement VIII on May 24, 1594. Three weeks later, on June 14, he breathed his last.
Now, as for the piece in question. It is comprised on 21 stanzas, a cycle of 20 madrigals (in Italian) and a motet (in Latin), arranged for seven voice, but here each part is assigned to three voices for the 21-member choir. The first 20 stanzas were taken from the 16th century Italian Luigi Tansillo and the final number from the 13th century French poet Philippe de Greve. Translations were projected for those of us linguistically impaired.
The conductor, Grant Gershon, phrases it much better: “Ostensibly this piece is about Peter the Apostle and his lifelong sense of remorse over denying Jesus before the crucifixion. What we came to realize as we worked together is that Lasso was delving into much more universal themes surrounding growing old, losing the things and people that we care about, experiencing extreme shame and regret but also some possibility of benediction.” He then points out, and who will deny him, that “Lagrime” is one of the highest achievements of Renaissance polyphony.
E.M. Cioran once wrote, “If anyone owes anything to Bach, it must be God.” And I’m certainly thinking, Perhaps God owes a little something to Lasso as well. It also doesn’t hurt that Disney Hall is entirely conducive to the conveying of pure, unadulterated sound. On that note, not long ago, while interviewing opera singer Patricia Racette, we talked about the MET Live performances that are broadcast into local movie theaters. Racette herself has been in many of them. She said, “There is nothing like live performance. Sound waves touch our eardrums in a different way in a recorded manner than in a live manner. So I think there is an effect that can be lost seeing (opera) on the screen.”
However, in addition to that purest of sound and the unparalleled beauty of the unadorned human voice in such a setting, there was Peter Sellars’ stage direction (aided and abetted by the lighting design of James F. Ingalls and the costume designs by Danielle Domingue Sumi).
In other words, the Los Angeles Master Chorale didn’t simply come out, stand motionless, and sing without expression.
After the event, and still in the glow of its magnificence, my companion and I walked to a nearby quiet restaurant. Later on, most of the singers whom we’d seen on stage came in and sat down at a pair of tables towards the rear of the establishment. My friend suggested that on our way out we stop to tell them how much we enjoyed the evening. I was hesitant; after all, they’d sung for their supper, one might say, and now they were about to enjoy it. But my friend convinced me, and so we went over, held up our programs, and thanked them for a memorable performance. And, this is true, they were all so gracious and appreciative. It was a fitting end to a concert that had scaled the heights of perfection.
Other audiences will soon have the opportunity to savor this production as well, because it is going to be presented at festivals and in venues around the world. As Grant Gershon says in the program, “This is a piece that people need to hear, to see, and to experience.” I can’t think of a way to say it better than that.
To learn more about the Los Angeles Master Chorale and it’s 2018-19 season, which includes “The Mozart Requiem” and “Bach’s Magnificat,” among other works, call (213) 972-7282 or go to lamasterchorale.org. ER
