'Candlemas' profound at Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields

Posted 2/13/19

Countertenor Tim Mead (left) and soprano Anna Christy play King Oberon and Queen Titania, respectively, in Opera Philadelphia's production of Benjamin Britten’s opera, “A Midsummer Night’s …

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'Candlemas' profound at Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields

Posted

Countertenor Tim Mead (left) and soprano Anna Christy play King Oberon and Queen Titania, respectively, in Opera Philadelphia's production of Benjamin Britten’s opera, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” based on the play by William Shakespeare. (Photo courtesy of Frank Luzi)[/caption]

by Michael Caruso

The Episcopal Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Chestnut Hill, celebrated the ancient Feast of “Candlemas” with a Choral Evensong Sunday afternoon, Feb. 3. The feast recalls the event told in the New Testament Gospel of St. Luke when the parents of Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph, brought him as an infant to the Temple in Jerusalem for his “Presentation” and their “Purification.”

The scriptural crux of the event is the song sung by St. Simeon, “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,” and the praise offered by the Prophetess Anna. St. Simeon’s testimony became the text of the “Nunc Dimittis,” read at the ancient Roman liturgy of Compline and the second of the two readings at Anglican Evensong. The first is the “Magnificat” (My soul doth magnify the Lord), offered by the Virgin Mary upon her “Visitation” to St. Elizabeth, the mother of St. John the Baptist. The “Magnificat” is read at Roman Vespers.

These two texts set to choral music form the heart-and-soul of Choral Evensong. It’s a tradition of this afternoon liturgy of the worldwide Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church is the American province, for both works to be set by the same composer. In this case, that musician was Herbert Sumsion, who lived from 1899 until 1995. From 1928 until 1967, he was the organist and choirmaster at Gloucester Cathedral in England. He also presided over the “Three Choirs Festival,” which promoted the choral music of British composers.

Sumsion’s “Magnificat” begins with a gentle organ introduction and then continues with the women sweetly announcing the opening words of the text. When the men enter, it’s through traditional harmonies smoothly laid out with the words cleanly declaimed. Sumsion effectively makes use of unison singing across the entire span of ranges to emphasize certain words of seminal import.

Again, Sumsion uses an organ introduction for the “Nunc Dimittis,” but here it’s the men who sing the opening phrases. It’s not until the line “To be a light to the gentiles” that the women join in, offering a final tonal fullness of great warmth and beauty.

Both works were sung memorably Sunday afternoon, with beautifully blended tones, exemplary tuning and pristine diction. Parish music director Erik Meyer accompanied his choir on the church’s lovely pipe organ with secure sensitivity.

The anthem at the Offertory was Moses Hogan’s arrangement of the African American spiritual, “This little light of mine.” The admirable soloists were mezzo Alyson Harvey and tenor Wesley Morgan.

In a reminder of the “catholic,” as in “universal,” character of the Church of England and the Anglican Communion, the service’s homilist was the Rev. Dr. Koshy Matthews, rector of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Phoenixville. Born in India, he was raised in the Mar Thoma tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church. After coming to the United States in the early 1970s, he attended and graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary, Harvard Graduate School of Education, and the Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

He spoke about the dual nature of “Candlemas” – the “Purification” as an aspect of maintaining the traditions of the faith and the “Presentation” as a progressive gesture of broadening that faith. Would that everyone in the world considered such an approach to be a virtue.

MIDSUMMER DREAM’

Opera Philadelphia opened its production of Sir Benjamin Britten’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” last weekend in the Academy of Music. One of the most successful major works by Britten, the United Kingdom’s preeminent composer following the death of Ralph Vaughan Williams in 1958, the three-act opera is based on William Shakespeare’s rollicking comedy of the same name. Britten and his longtime companion, tenor Peter Pears, wrote the libretto. It was premiered June 11, 1960, in Jubilee Hall, Aldeburgh, England.

Two of the most important traits of Britten’s music for “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” are its melodic and harmonic lyricism and the transparent clarity of its vocal, choral and orchestral texture. Britten had an uncanny genius for combining the traditions of major/minor tonality with the jagged dissonances of the post-World War II musical idioms. The opera never sounds like a hackneyed pastiche of bygone syntaxes, yet it also never seems to leave the listener behind in contortions of self-gratifying sonic violence. It’s simply a beautiful work of operatic music.

It also efficaciously nods in the direction of Mozart’s “Cosi fan tutte” when it comes to delineating the hopeless mess we mortals can make of love, just as “Cosi” offers a gesture of thanks to the Shakespeare original as well as a host of the other comic plays of the Bard of Stratford-upon-Avon. There’s no end of comings-and-goings in Britten’s opera, and just as they do in Shakespeare, they’re all sorted out in the end.

Britten cleverly shows the appropriateness of the pairings at the resolution of the play’s drama through the vocal ranges chosen for the various characters: countertenor with coloratura soprano, baritone with lyrical soprano, mezzo-soprano with tenor and bass-baritone with mezzo.

I caught Opera Philadelphia’s production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Sunday afternoon, Feb. 10, in a jam-packed Academy of Music and came away convinced not only of the splendid character of the work but that this is one of the finest mountings in the company’s history. Everything about it was topnotch. It’s just a shame Opera Philadelphia can’t it to New York and show opera lovers there what our fair town can do here.

Corrado Rovaris conducted the Opera Philadelphia Orchestra superbly. Robert Carsen’s direction & lighting design was focused and supple, and Emmanuelle Bastet’s revival was consistent with its creator’s intention. Matthew Bourne’s choreography was a marvel of playfulness hitched to the service of the music and libretto, and Shelby Williams’ revival brought it to renewed life. Michael Levine’s sets & costumes were dazzling to behold and revelatory of character.

Fortunately the singing and acting of the entire cast was of equal accomplishment. Bass Matthew Rose stole the show as the endearingly pompous Bottom, and his “mechanical” cohorts in goofiness Miles Mykkanen, Brent Michael Smith, Patrick Guetti and George Somerville rose to his standard. Countertenor Tim Mead and soprano Anna Christy spiced their portrayals of the Fairy King Oberon and Queen Titania with just the right touch of wickedness.

Soprano Georgia Jarman and mezzo Siena Licht Miller were feisty as Helena and Hermia while tenor Brenton Ryan and baritone Jonathan McCullough were their not-always gallant swains. Although actor Miltros Yerolemou may have occasionally overplayed his hand as Puck — where’s Mickey Rooney when you need him? — treble boys Jack Callucci, Timothy O’Connor, Evan Shaffer and Payton Owens were delightful as Elves.

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” continues in the Academy of Music Feb. 15 & 17. Visit operaphila.org for ticket information.

You can contact NOTEWORTHY at Michael-caruso@comcast.net. To read more of NOTEWORTHY, visit chestnuthilllocal.com/Arts/Noteworthy.

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