can you tell us a little about Schein and his music, Fergus?
No, Jared, not a lot to be honest. I was cleaning some old records recently and I put this one on the TT. It is the only Schein that I own and the cover notes are auf Deutsche so I am at a loss there other than the fact that he lived 1586 - 1630. In terms of form this work was akin to an oratorio, was rich in texture and an easy and pleasant listen.
To be is to do: Socrates
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
I can't offer any commentary except to say that I like this style of music a lot.
Also enjoying another recent addition
If you enjoyed these Monteverdi Masses you should definitely investigate the glorious Vespro della Beata Vergine, certainly the most important choral work of the 17 Century. Baroque music was born with this work! And there´s no better version than Rinaldo Alessandrini´s in the Naive label.
I can imagine that to be a beautiful disk...[/quote]
I can't offer any commentary except to say that I like this style of music a lot.
Also enjoying another recent addition
[/quote]
If you enjoyed these Monteverdi Masses you should definitely investigate the glorious Vespro della Beata Vergine, certainly the most important choral work of the 17 Century. Baroque music was born with this work! And there´s no better version than Rinaldo Alessandrini´s in the Naive label.[/quote]
Such a ringing endorsement is not to be ignored. Wish list duly updated.!! Thanks
^^ I'm sure the Alessandrini is a top recommendation, but if funds are tight (like mine) this is a more than adequate alternative, going for a few euros:
I've been watching an extraordinary performance on DVD from Salzburg in 2009 this morning of one of my favourite pieces of music and one of Handel's very greatest achievements, his penultimate oratorio, Theodora, a work that was very close to his heart. Set against the backdrop of 4th century Rome and the persecution of the early Christians, this is a cry for clemency, dignity and honour in the face of boorish vulgarity. It contains some of Handel's most exquisite arias and, I believe, represents a summation of his personal beliefs about the world he had lived in for the past 64 years. In this richly imagined work, you hear the bluster and pomp of debauched authority and the self-serving sycophants that haunt the President of Antioch's court set against the quiet nobility of Theodora whose heartfelt pleas for human dignity fall on deaf ears.
A great performance of a masterpiece like Theodora speaks directly to the senses and tells the listener, in the confiding manner of a parent consoling a child, that this pain will end, it cannot last forever, but while it does linger interminably in your heart, I am with you and feel your pain. You feel this so very acutely in the work's closing duet, "Streams of pleasure", sung by Didymus and Theodora as their life slowly ebbs away, when they envision a life free from "life's dull labour" where they can "enjoy a lasting rest". All things must pass, including the pain that Theodora must endure. This is particularly synonymous of all great art, the truth it speaks about the human condition, and the truths that Theodora as an oratorio seeks to uphold are those of faith, hope and humanity attempting to prevail over the ugliness, shallowness, brutality and the coarsest, most boorish vulgarity. And yet, unlike the operas of, say, Rameau or Monteverdi, there is no "Deus ex Machina", no divine intervention to save the heroes from their death. Didymus and Theodora die their martyrs' death before Valens' grinning, leering, gleeful visage.
Valens is an interesting character, undoubtedly unhinged in the manner of Nerone in Monteverdi's L'Incoronazione di Poppea, and in this production, he appears as an obnoxious product of inherited wealth, secure in his arrogance. But he is provoked in no uncertain terms by Didymus, a Roman soldier, and Theodora, a "Christian of noble birth", according to the libretto. He is horrified that two free born citizens are Christians. It is more palatable to him to consider Christians as rebel slaves, but the concept of nobility being tainted by these new beliefs is unthinkable. An early dialogue between Valens and Didymus highlights this:
Valens: Art thou a Roman and darest defend a sect, rebellious to the gods and Rome?
Didymus: Many there are in Antioch, who disdain an idol offering, yet are friends to Caesar.
Valens: It cannot be. They are not Caesar's friends, who own not Caesar's gods. I'll hear no more.
The role of Septimus, the conflicted Roman soldier, is a crucial one and perhaps exemplifies best how this oratorio hinges on the concept of compassion. Septimus is a soldier and friend of Didymus and has fought alongside him in battle. He sympathises deeply with his friend but he is acutely aware of Valens' intransigence and innate cruelty. He appeals to Valens but steps aside when his entreaties are rejected. Some composers may have perceived this as a dishonourable weakness and something to be derided, but Handel looks upon this character with compassion. At one point Septimus implores the Christians to retreat and stand down, warning them of the inevitable consequences if they fail to do so: "Dread the fruits of Christian folly, and this stubborn melancholy fond of life and liberty. Chains and dungeons ye are wooing and the storm of death pursuing". In this production, the role is taken by Joseph Kaiser and he is encouraged by director Christoph Loy to emphasise this character as someone divided and deeply conflicted. As he sings this aria, you see a man unsure of himself, who does not believe in what he is saying, who wishes for the courage of the Christians and is disgusted at his self-serving weakness. This is what makes the character so human and so like many of us. We would like to see ourselves as a Didymus or a Theodora but the courage of our beliefs fail us when confronted with "the terrors of a cruel death". Handel's sympathy toward the Everyman character of Septimus is exemplified by the aria, "Descend, kind pity", where he attempts to implore his Roman gods directly in a plea for divine mercy to intervene in human affairs. "Descend, kind pity, heavenly guest, descend and fill each human breast with sympathising woe. That liberty, and peace of mind, may sweetly harmonise mankind, and bless the world below.". Joseph Keiser is a fine actor and an incisive singer but, ultimately, I prefer Richard Croft's performance at Glyndebourne under William Christie. Quite simply, Croft's is the most touching, human, and least self-effacing portrayal of Septimus I have yet heard.
Bernarda Fink's portrayal of the Christian, Irene, is noble and dignified, horrified at the treatment of Theodora but powerless to intervene. Her role in this production is that of a Greek chorus, who provides a commentary on the onstage action as well as giving a voice to the Christians that Theordora represents. Irene's great aria, "As with rosy steps the morn", is one of the most exquisite ever penned and exemplifies perfectly the compassion and hope that lies at the heart of this great work. With the inevitability of the break of brightest day following after the darkest, bleakest night, so too will gross barbarity give way to "our hopes of endless light". It is, quite simply, one of the most uplifting pieces of music in the canon, surpassed only by Bach's Erbame Dich (from the St. Matthew Passion) and Agnus Dei (from the B Minor Mass). And it is sung by Irene at a moment when the Christians' morale is at its lowest ebb and given voice by Fink in a performance of nobility and strength.
It is unfortunate, however, that, in this role, Fink must compete against the unassailable performance that Lorraine Hunt Lieberson gave at Glyndebourne in 1996 under William Christie. There is a profound (yet utterly unaffected) gravitas about her portrayal which is imbued with a rare spiritual depth. The DVD of this performance is treasurable and should always remain in the catalogue. The way she inhabits her role with absolute authority is something that stays with you. Two examples come to mind. Firstly, her performance of Handel's diatribe against "the vain pomp of proud prosperity", "Bane of virtue", and the way she addresses the audience directly as she sings this and, in one unforgettable moment, when she stabs a finger at the moneyed wealth sitting in the audience and sings "Bane of virtue, nurse of passions, soother of vile inclinations, such is prosperity, thy name" with a righteous anger that verges on disgust. And secondly, when she rises beautifully to the challenges of "As with rosy steps the morn" and sings with a particular mixture of nobility and compassion tempered with quiet defiance that is powerfully affecting. And the last time she sings the line "Raise Thou our hopes of endless light"', the way she sustains the word "hopes" and pauses and smiles to herself is unforgettable. An amazing performance, indelibly etched on my mind.
Bejun Mehta's portrayal of the Roman soldier, Didymus, is a remarkable one, informed by sympathy for his friend, Septimus, disgust for Valens, and, above all, tender affection for Theodora. Watching Mehta in this role, you really get a sense of the scale of the debt he owes Theodora, the woman who awakened his senses to the possibility of something beyond his transitory existence. You understand exactly why he is willing to abandon his position of authority within the Roman military to seek "the opportune redress of virtuous beauty in distress", and, in the process, sacrifice everything he has gained in his life. There is a unaffected selflessness in Mehta's portrayal. There is no sense of betrayal in the scenes with Septimus, nor any sense of recrimination. He feels the conflicted pain of divided loyalties that his friend is enduring and you feel, in turn, a sense of non-judgemental sympathy. The purity of his voice is transfixing yet this virtuosic command of his vocal abilities is used purely to channel the emotional riches invested in his character by Handel. His singing of the aria, "Deeds of kindness"' as he divests himself of his clothes so that Theodora can utilse them to make her escape is truly moving, ending with arms stretched out towards the audience in a mute display of entreaty. He is not at all daunted by his competition in this role, namely the career-best performance that David Daniels in his vocal prime delivered under William Christie's direction at Glyndeboyrne. He does not displace that classic performance, but digs deeper, I believe, into this role, mining its rich seam of emotional riches. The duets with Schafer are ravishing in their sense of mutual understanding, neither singer attempting to dominate the other in a vulgar grandstanding display, but simply touching in their evocation of a very real empathy between two characters scrabbling in vain for vestiges of human dignity in a world dominated by avarice and cruelty.
Christine Schafer's performance as Theodora embodies the simple, unaffected piety that lies at the heart of this character. Her portrayal is hinged on a shivering vulnerability that is underpinned by a resilient inner strength. This is no religious paragon hectoring others with sanctimonious platitudes but, rather, somebody simply clinging to her naive belief in human dignity in the face of the grossest vulgarities. There is an uncanny stillness at the heart of her portrayal which hints at a delicate nobility rather than anything more solidly projected could possibly convey. This is an intimate portrayal of Theodora by Schafer, human, vulnerable, with a very palpable sense of a woman adrift in her surroundings. (This differs significantly from Dawn Upshaw's beautiful performance at Glyndebourne which sought to emphasise the evangelical side to this character.) Schafer really is a very fine actress. There is a moment when the swaggering Valens warns her of the consequences that will befall her if she fails to forswear her Christian beliefs - "The meanest of my guards with lustful joy/Shall triumph o'er her boasted chastity" - and she flinches with an involuntary shudder of her body and a quiver of her lip that just makes me gasp. And later, as she languishes in confinement fearing rape at the hands of Valens' soldiers, she sings to herself, a chilling solitary moment, seemingly unaware of an audience, the heartrending lines, "With darkness deep, as is my woe, hide me ye shades of night; your thickest veil around me throw, conceal'd from human sight". You really get a sense of the deepest, darkest despair, and, in Schafer's hands, the consoling light of the evangelical is so very far away as she must suffer this torment by herself.
Please forgive the length of this piece but, after watching this DVD of a staging of Theodora at Salzburg in 2009 this morning, I found myself profoundly affected by the experience and simply had to get my thoughts down on paper. Theodora is an extraordinary achievement, motivated by an abiding concern on Handel's part that values such as human dignity, empathy, compassion and tolerance are of deep and lasting significance and must always find their way into a world dominated by self-serving greed and base cruelty. This, I believe, is why Handel valued Theodora so highly above his other achievements and was greatly saddened at its failure on the London stage and its poor critical reception. We must consider ourselves very fortunate that the last 20 years have given us three exceptional versions - William Christie at Glyndeborne on a Warner DVD, Paul Mc Creesh on a DG Archiv CD set, and, most recently, this DVD on C Major - to savour.
Last edited by mcq on Sun Mar 03, 2013 8:33 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Gryphon Diablo 300, dCS Rossini (with matching clock), Kharma Exquisite Mini, Ansuz C2, Finite Elemente Master Reference.
mcq wrote:
Please forgive the length of this piece but, after watching this DVD of a staging of Theodora at Salzburg in 2009 this morning, I found myself profoundly affected by the experience and simply had to get my thoughts down on paper.
Never worry about that Paul as your comments are always more than worthy of a read!
To be is to do: Socrates
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
