Just when you thought you knew something about Bach, you hear Carmel Bach Festival’s performance of the B Minor Mass. And everything changes. Completed in 1749, the year before Bach’s death, this piece is revered by every professional musician on the planet. Nothing less than a sonic encyclopedia of Bach’s passion for choral style and invention.
So diverse and in-depth was Artistic Director Grete Pedersen’s programming for the festival’s 88th season, which ran July 12–26, would have rewarded a music lover. But the July 13 performance of Johann Sebastian Bach’s ultimate legacy was this year’s highlight. Bach literally illustrates the heart of the Christian liturgy in this single, ultimate work.
The mass is a synthesis of Bach’s important earlier work, filled with fresh epiphanies for orchestra and full chorus interspersed with smaller ensemble sections and many period instruments, including archlute, continuo and transverse flute. Altogether, it created a massive sonic landscape emblazoned by intimate arias for selected instruments and voices. The syncopated call and response of the electrifying Kyrie announced that we were deep inside Bach’s spiritual consciousness from the start. The Gloria unloaded the unmistakable baroque sound of tympanum and horns. The oboe and alto duet in the Qui sedes was enchanting, allowing the full colors of soloist Guadalupe Paz’s voice to unfurl. Et in terra pax—unspeakably moving. Throughout the performance, notably in the Laudamus te and Domine Deus, the opulent soprano of Clara Rottsolk leaped and soared.
Et in Spiritum Sanctum, the duet between the bass soloist, the consummate Dashon Burton, and the oboe, took the movement into yet a new time signature, practically a dance. With the Sanctus, Bach let us hear the angels descending (an anticipation of Mahler in some passages) through the stunning chromaticism of slashing downward chords. In duet arias Paul Dwyer’s cello achieved honeyed perfection. Conductor Pedersen kept the masterwork thrillingly engaged, her movements clear and confident, with only a rare moment where the simpatico between voices and instruments seemed to wobble, somewhere between the Benedictus and the Osana.
Setting the tone, two flutes—Lars Johannesson and Stephen Schultz—entered the darkened hall and performed their ethereal obbligatos standing in the central aisles, placing the audience into the very center of the haunting Kyrie. Bravo to all. A stunning performance. I can’t wait for next year and more of this brilliant festival. A beautiful hour’s drive down the coast from Santa Cruz. bachfestival.org
Coming Attractions
36 North: A Playwrights’ Collective presents some fresh Works in Progress, on Monday. Think of it as a peek behind the curtain into the working drafts of playwriting, where the ideas evolve in plays that are still being penned, the ink not yet dry. Eight playwrights, and/or their friends, will offer an informal script-in-hand reading from the work that keeps them up at night. Expect different flavors and textures from members of a playwriting group who aren’t afraid to bare their souls to each other. In the spotlight are pieces by Steve Capasso, Gail Thornton Borkowski, Kathy Chetkovich, Ruth Elliot, Susan Forrest, Steve Spike Wong, Deborah Bryant and Wilma Marcus Chandler. Admission is free—donations welcome!—for the 7pm show on Aug. 11 at Actors’ Theatre, 1001 Center St, Santa Cruz. 36north.org.
Enchanted Melodies is a playful 45-minute opera filled with interactive music and storytelling designed to enthrall youngsters and families. We can thank the innovative Santa Cruz Opera Project for bringing soprano Emily Gallagher and pianist Caleb Yaezz-Glickman to town. The Los Angeles-based duo perform a brisk, magical experience that encourages children to try out their own voice. It starts at 1pm on Aug. 30 at the Market Street Senior Center, 222 Market St., Santa Cruz. Tickets: $20/adults;$15/ children. santacruzoperaproject.org.
Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s restless artistic director, Charles Pasternak, has programmed Monday Night Revels this summer: multi-musical offerings guaranteed to entice us up to DeLaveaga on Monday evenings. Fans of Shakespeare-inspired drag performance won’t want to miss Pink Ladies of the Sonnets on Aug. 4. Looking ahead, on Sept. 22, the Surf City All-Stars take the stage with a Beach Boys tribute. 7pm at Audrey Stanley Grove, 501 Upper Park Road, Santa Cruz. $5.50–$55. Tickets: santacruzshakespeare.org.
