Madeleine concert offers some nice touches

ST. CECILIA'S DAY CONCERT, CHOIR AND ORCHESTRA OF THE CATHEDRAL OF THE MADELEINE, Cathedral of the Madeleine, Nov. 15

This past Sunday, the Cathedral of the Madeleine held its annual St. Cecilia's Day concert with the adult and children's choirs and the orchestra, under the direction of Gregory Glenn, and organist Douglas O'Neill.

On the program were choral works by Anton Bruckner and Ralph Vaughan Williams, and in between these, there were a few instrumental pieces by Charles Ives, Aaron Copland and J.S. Bach.

Bruckner's Te Deum opened the concert.

Today, Bruckner is mostly remembered for his nine symphonies, but he was also a very deeply religious man who wrote many sacred works, including masses, motets and the symphonically proportioned Te Deum.

Dramatic, theatrical and powerful, the Te Deum is a product of its late 19th century origins (much in the same way Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem is). But there is also a sense of spirituality that courses through it, and Glenn captured that quite well.

Glenn also brought nuance to his account, reflected in the singing of the vocal quartet (soprano Amanda Moody, mezzo-soprano Aubrey Adams-McMillan, tenor Martin Thompson and bass Tyler Oliphant). Along with that, the choirs sang wonderfully, and the chamber orchestra played well.

The one problem with the performance was balance. The organ overpowered everyone in the loud passages. This is partly due to the lively acoustics of the cathedral, but also to the rather small altar area that necessitates using a reduced orchestra — which throws everything off, especially in works that are written for large forces.

The second half opened with pianist Evan Shinners, a former student at the Madeleine Choir School. He played three solo pieces to start things off after intermission — the third movement from Ives' Sonata No. 2 ("Concord"); the Partita No. 1 by Bach; and two movements from Copland's Four Piano Blues — all of which he played with polish and finely phrased lines.

He and the strings of the orchestra also played the opening movement of Bach's D minor Concerto, BWV 1052. The interpretation was rather bland, but there was some nice interplay between the piano and the ensemble.

Closing out the concert was the first movement from Vaughan Williams' "Fantasia Quasi Variazione on the Old 104th Psalm Tune."

The balance was much better here than in the Bruckner. The choirs sang wonderfully, and Glenn brought out the nuances in the score, giving an expressive reading that captured the spirituality and imposing character of the movement.

e-mail: ereichel@desnews.com