Jesus' final hours told with gusto in 'Passio'
PRESS REVIEW
By Patricia Beach Smith
Sacramento Bee Arts Critic
Part: Passio Domino Nostri Jesu Christi Secundum Joannem (1982)
Gary Cooper, Bass (Jesus)
John David DeHaan, Tenor (Pilate)
Anita Chism-Lundgren, Soprano (Evangelist)
Philip Wilder, Countertenor (Evangelist)
Todd Schafer, Tenor (Evangelist)
Reginald Unterseher, Baritone (Evangelist)
Choir & Orchestra of St. Cecilia
Zvonimir Hacko, Conductor
Composer Arvo Part's "Passio," a 20th century choral version of Jesus Christ's last few hours, is taut and unrelenting as it moves through the accusations, denial and crucifixion that Christians tell us happened 2,000 years ago.
As performed by a new local group, the Choir and Orchestra of the Music Society of St. Cecilia, Friday night at Divine Savior Catholic Church in Orangevale, the piece was jarringly realistic, raw and rare.
In "Passio," the agony is white-hot, but guest bass soloist Gary Cooper was a cool, collected Christ as he faced his fate. He countered a powerful Pilate, sung by tenor John David DeHaan. Cooper also deflected the 16-voice choir's taunting and exclamations and followed the excellent Evangelists (four additional vocalists) who narrated the action in song.
The first effort of the months-old Society of St. Cecilia was ambitious and successful in its performance of this difficult music. Conducted admirably by Zvonimir Hacko, former conductor of the Sacramento Philharmonic, the ensemble, including orchestral accompaniment by cello, violin, oboe, bassoon and organ, gave an impressively dramatic performance. Part's music is spare, at times unbearable, and therefore an appropriate treatment of the subject of persecution and crucifixion. Its dissonance comes from his chord clusters, seesawing melodies with broad dizzying intervals and crisscrossing harmonies. These elements were approached intelligently and painstakingly by the conductor, ensemble and soloists.
The acoustics of the church helped to maintain the Gregorian chant-like quality of the work and the power of Cooper's voice as Jesus. He appeared to be standing in exactly the right spot in the sanctuary to allow him access to the best acoustic reflections in the place. Standing nearby, DeHaan's brilliant performance as Pilate also rang out with its deliberate uneasiness.
Except for Cooper, the soloists sang with little or no vibrato. This gave their voices an eerie, shrill and ancient quality, somewhat like traditional plainsong performance, but with a keen modern bent. Even if it appeared sometimes that DeHaan would rather have let go of his undoubtedly superb vibrato, the lack of it gave his singing a tension that was remarkable.
Among the four Evangelists, soprano Anita Chism-Lundgren's voice was well-placed and appealing, and countertenor Philip Wilder's tones were breathtaking; Reginald Unterseher sang dependably in his rich baritone, adding more weight to the proceedings. The tenor (Todd Schafer's name was in the program, but illness prevented him from appearing; the name of his replacement was not announced) showed his vocal mettle in both ensemble and solo passages.
When the choir sang "Crucifige, crucifige eum!" (Crucify him!) you didn't have to be reading the program to know that what they were demanding would be horrific. In the final moments of the piece, Jesus asked for water with three dramatically descending notes -- "Si-ti-o" (I thirst); the Evangelists explained that vinegar was given to him, and then in five more long, descending notes, Jesus said: "Con-sum-ma-tum est" (It is finished). There was a startlingly long pause and then the chorus sang, "You who have suffered for us, have mercy on us" -- a beautiful contrast to the foregone misery. The "Amen" resolves the tonality of the piece and brings it to a welcome rest.
June 5, 2000