BSO & Tanglewood Festival Chorus

Friday, February 24th --> an evening of fun at the Symphony!

 Thank you David, Stephen and Jack for inviting me along to enjoy this fantastic musical adventure at the BSO.  The performance was spectacular ! Meeting some of you 'symphony friends' an added treat. Best of luck with you future performances in NYC .

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Our evening began with dinner at  Pan Thai Restaurant, a local restaurant close to Symphony Hall.

     This is a dependable, if uninspiring choice so close to Symphony Hall, you can practically hear the music. It is perfect for pre-concert dining and has all the old reliable dishes.  The Dinner combo menu is a real bargain and there is even a bigger bargain student menu. Beats everything else in the area. Service was fast and very friendly. They accommodated special requests without batting an eyelash.

Pan Thai -14 Westland Ave Boston MA  

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The evening continued on to Symphony Hall where we experienced a spectacular performance performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, John Oliver, Conductor. 

Also performing in this evenings performance were Chirstine Brewer, Soprano, Michelle Deyoung, Mezz-Soprano, Simon O'Neill, Tenor and Eric Owens, Bass-Baritone.

And the program began...

Beethoven

"From the heart -- may it go to the heart"

"MISSA SOLEMNIS" IN D, OPUS 123

KYRIE:

Assai sostenuto (Mit Andacht) - Andante assai ben marcato - Tempo I

GLORIA:

 Allegro vivace - Larghetto - Allegro maestoso - Allegro ma non troppo e ben marcato -  Poco piu allegro - Presto

CREDO:

Allegro ma non troppo - Adagio --Andante - Adagio espressivo - Allegro - Allegro con moto - Grave 

SANCTUS:

Adagio (Mit Andacht) Allegro pesante - Presto - Praeludium: Sostenuto ma non tropo - Andante molto cantabile e non troppo mosso

AGNUS DEI:

Adagio - Allegretto vivace (Bitte um inner und aussern Frieden) - Allegro assai - Presto - Tempo l

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The Program in Brief...

"The Missa Solemnis is one of the most significant works by one of the greatest of all composers.  Among the major 19th-century works for soloists, chorus, and orchestra, it stands as a pinnacle of the repertoire alongside Berlioz's Requiem, Brahms's A German Requiem, and Verdi's Requiem, all of which represent specifically personal responses by their composters to sacred texts.

Beethoven's exceedingly personal response to the Mass text is reflected in countless aspects of his setting: through his brilliantly varied use of soloists, chorus, and orchestra to heighten the sense of the words on levels both communal and individual, through the enormous variety of musical textures and dynamics from beginning to end of the piece."

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The Chorus performed wonderfully, they produced

 the strength, unity, and expressive intensity

 needed to cope with Beethoven's treacherous

 choral writing and make it sound improbably

 beautiful.  All four of the vocal soloists sang

 powerfully.