CHORAL SOCIETY MARKS 75 YEARS
Ottawa Choral Society and the NACO Reviewed Friday evening At St. Joseph’s Church
The NAC Orchestra officially ended its 2015-16 season two weeks ago with Wagner. Unofficially, it still has a few concerts before the summer break. Friday night, the orchestra backed up the Ottawa Choral Society as it celebrated its 75th anniversary with Mendelssohn’s oratorio Elijah.
More than 700 people crammed St. Joseph’s Church in Sandy Hill to hear the work, which remains perennially popular for its big, stirring choruses and hummable melodies. Combined with the orchestra and chorus, it made for a very hot and stifling environment, but nobody seemed to mind (more importantly, nobody fainted.)
Duain Wolfe, who splits his time as chorus master between the Chicago Symphony and NACO, conducted a disciplined, meticulous performance that also delivered big on emotional sincerity. He isn’t the most exciting or expressive conductor to watch, but his calm, Swiss-watch approach worked to his advantage.
The Choral Society — supplemented by the Capital Chamber Choir and Ottawa Regional Youth Choir — sounded superbly prepared, with a lovely, expansive sound, warm and flowing legato, and clear diction. The “Angel” choruses from the second half were rendered with great sweetness and loving devotion. Wolfe also created a surprising and dramatic visual effect by asking them to stand up only a couple of beats before their entries, and sit down as a unit immediately after.
The all-Canadian quartet of soloists was led by the eminent baritone Russell Braun in the title role. From his first commanding declaration, Braun simply was Elijah: at turns prophetic and stern, mocking and vengeful, and full of care and concern. Above all, Braun made the almost operatic story come alive.
Soprano Monica Whicher has a bright, focused and thrillingly powerful instrument. But she carries tension in her jaw and mouth, often singing through almost clenched teeth, making her diction almost unintelligible.
The magnificent, aristocratic Susan Platts reminded me of the great English contralto Kathleen Ferrier, with the same shadowy colour, exquisite vulnerability and complete expressive openness. Her aria “Woe unto them who forsake Him” was delivered with the grave sorrow of a weeping madonna.
Tenor Isaiah Bell gave a subtle, nuanced performance — the part is ideally for showing off his elegant sense of phrasing and exceptionally ringing, golden middle register.
The brass and woodwinds luxuriated in the church’s long reverb, but the heat and acoustics weren’t always friendly to the tuning in the string section.
The Choral Society also announced its program for next season, under new music director Jean-Sébastien Vallée. Highlights will include Beethoven’s C Major Mass and a Christmas concert featuring tenor Ben Heppner and soprano Mireille Asselin.