RequiemCGO - Page: 1 of 1

In an interview I had with conductor Laurence Gilgore a few days before the concert I asked him how he intended to interpret Verdi’s score. He bristled, gently and said he didn’t intend to interpret it at all, but rather would perform it, exactly as Verdi wrote and heavily annotated it, and he would defend his strict construction of the score with orchestra, chorus, singers, and anyone else who thought Verdi meant for his work to be “interpreted”.
Those who are familiar with the history of this Requiem, understand Maestro Gilgore’s reasons for wanting to distance himself from those who took liberties when it was first released.
On Saturday evening, March 19, 2005 at the Palace Theater in downtown Stamford, Laurence Gilgore delivered on his promise to be true to the composer’s detailed notes, and along with the resident orchestra of Connecticut Grand Opera and Orchestra, a chorus of some 180 singers from the Mendelssohn Choir of the Connecticut Choral Arts Society and the Fairfield University Chamber Singers, combined with the superb and emotionally-driven performances of Michele Capalbo, soprano; Margaret Jane Wray, mezzo-soprano; Michael Hayes, tenor, and Philip Cokorinos, bass-baritone, delivered to the audience a performance that would have made Verdi proud.
The advantage to listening Verdi’s Requiem with the orchestra out of the pit and the chorus standing behind it on a plain stage, is obvious: the audience is given the treat of hearing the full, rich, deep and majestic sounds of this Requiem in an acoustically suited forum – instrument to ear. It is an experience that can’t be duplicated even with the best sound system in one’s home or anywhere else. Requiem has to be heard, or more appropriately, experienced, to be fully appreciated, and the only way to experience the visceral emotionalism of this work is to be there when it is performed.
From the ethereal pianissimo sound emanating from the bass, cellos and violins in the first moments of “Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine” – perhaps the most beautiful and inspirational music ever composed -- to the forte, fortissimo of the Day of Wrath in “Dies Irae”, perhaps the most disturbing, Maestro Gilgore, in a studied, unhurried and confident manner guided the small army of performers before him through what in lesser hands might have been a formulaic exercise – the recital of the liturgy of a Requiem – into, instead, something bordering on a rip-roaring spiritual revival.
The orchestra felt it, the chorus felt it, the audience felt it, and the singers, most clearly felt it. When he wasn’t singing bass-baritone, for example, Philip Cokorinos sat with his eyes tightly closed and with brows furrowed, he swayed ever so gently, imagining the score to himself – evidently experiencing every moment just as we in the audience experienced it. He sang with passion and obvious personal commitment to making every moment a meaningful one, and he scored high on each effort. Mezzo-soprano Margaret Jane Wry, her voice full, fluid and steady, darn near levitated when she sang, and with soprano Michele Capalbo who displayed the wonderful talent of being able to arrive at the highest of notes from nowhere, concealing the beginning of sound behind a Cheshire expression that said the voice would follow only when she commanded it, delivered their parts with expert control and tons of humanity and soulfulness. For his part Michael Hayes, singing tenor, is quickly evolving into a charismatic personality on stage who, when he calls on the lyric tenor that is there, emotes a quality of sound that is crisp and powerful without being overbearing or shrill and a stage presence that says, “look to me”. Semper Fi, Michael! All in all, this was a fine cast with a mission to achieve, and the talent to deliver effortlessly, as they clearly did. Maestro Gilgore said he would select his singers carefully. He did, and the rewards for those in the audience were enormous.
Requiem is comprised of a score written for many participants, not the least of which is the chorus which gets a chance to explore its own reasons for being with enough space around it that it is able to add not just background, but as was done time and again Saturday evening, actually drive the deepest emotional moments of this Requiem with just the right mix of inspiration and fullness such that the sound was both – in a whisper -- heavenly and -- in a shout -- threatening, depending on where Verdi wanted his audience to be at any given moment in the piece.
I have listened to “Dies Irae” on CD from different orchestras in different settings, and always found this part of Verdi’s work to be the most uncomfortably jarring – almost too loud for the piece. Last night, Maestro Gilgore, who said he intended to push fortissimo when called for proved that when done properly, it could be exhilarating. Indeed, if you don’t think timpani and bass drum can add anything to a piece, think again. The Day of Wrath came alive, and in those bars when the two combined one after the other to emphasize the stark reality of final judgment, the experience was breathtaking and anticipated. It’s a small thing, but to this reviewer it was going to be an important standard by which I measured my own reaction to how well I thought it was performed. I was knocked out!
Lastly, I can’t say enough for this orchestra. Verdi’s Requiem is a magnificent piece of music and when done well and with love, it resonates with the kind of passion and beauty that invokes the purest and most genuine reverence. When the orchestra, chorus and singers were finished last night, we in the audience were every bit as drained as they, for we were carried along by the music to the alpha and omega of our own existence, and just as the music gave its own reason for being, it gave each of us spiritually a sense of our own mortality, too. This is what great performances are all about.
If I had one regret it would be this: the theater was not at capacity as it usually is. For those who said, “Oh, the Requiem, I’ve heard it before”, this writer would add one caveat: never think you have heard a performance before, no matter how many times you have heard it. There is always something different, something new to experience when listening to a live orchestra and singers, and last night’s performance of Verdi’s Requiem under the expert leadership and caring attention to detail of Laurence Gilgore, was just such an occasion.