With the pandemic subsiding, Portland Baroque Orchestra’s concert at Kaul Auditorium (March 20) reflected on our situation meaningful music from the Baroque era. Created by artistic advisor Jonathan Woody, the soul-searching performance featured eight singers and the members of the period instrumental ensemble in a memorable Lenten-inspired program entitled Voices Out of the Darkness.
Woody bookended the concert with two sacred cantatas by J. S. Bach and filled the interior of the program with Lenten-inspired pieces by composers who knew and/or were influenced by Bach. The singers (bass-baritone Woody, sopranos Sherezade Panthaki and Maya Kherani, mezzo Sarah Beaty (a last-minute replacement for Hannah Penn), countertenor Reginald Mobley, tenors Jacob Perry and John K. Cox, and baritone Elijah Blaisdell) conveyed the music with emotion and insight. Woody showed a natural, relaxed conducting style that set the tempo and sharpened the final measures of the ensemble pieces.
Right from the start, we heard a fine rendition of Bach’s Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich (Lord, I long for you). It opened with a beautifully somber Sinfonia followed by plaintive statements from Psalm 25. Word painting emphasized important phrases and ideas, such as a slow forte on “Mein Gott” (My God), then a faster, more anxious “ich hoffe” (I hope). The eight-voices and chamber orchestra deftly shaped the cantata with a lovely solo by soprano Sherezade Panthaki and a well-blended trio that featured countertenor Reginald Mobley, tenor Jacob Perry, and Woody.
In the second Bach cantata, “Aus der Tiefe, rufe ich, Herr, zu dir” (Out of the depths, I call, Lord, to you), which incorporates Psalm 130 and a church chorale, the entire ensemble (voices and instruments) expertly conveyed the emotion of the piece, which transitioned from misery to hopeful expectation. Woody ardently expressed the plea for mercy, supported by the elegant cantus firmus of soprano Maya Kherani and accompanied by superb terrific playing of oboist Margaret Owens. Tenor Jacob Perry and Mobley duetted elegantly in “Meinie Seele wartet” (My Soul waits), and the cantata concluded with an affirmative boost towards forgiveness and a clean slate from which to start anew.
Divided into a double-choir formation, the singers rendered Johann Pacheibel’s motet, Tröste uns, Gott (Restore us, o God), a cappella. With text from Psalm 85, the vocal octet created an urgent claim for understanding and a new chance to start afresh as God’s people. Panthaki’s high notes overpowered an otherwise balanced sound.
The ensemble sang “Wohl dem, der den Herren fürchtet” (Blessed are all who fear the Lord) by Nicholaus Bruhns, a student of the organist and composer Dietrich Buxtehude, who may have influenced Bach’s music. Setting the text of Psalm 128, in which the faithful will reap the promise of abundance for their household, this piece featured the poignant voices of Panthaki and Woody in separate solos.
Countertenor Reginald Mobley impressed everyone with his solo of Johann Christoph Bach’s “Ach, dass ich Wassers genug hätte” (Oh, if only I had water enough in my head). Mobley caressed the notes of this penitential lament with terrific finesse. At one point, he exquisitely extended the word “Sünde” (Sin) and later used a slightly breathy “Seufzens” (Sighs). It all connected extremely well with the audience, which responded with long, heartfelt applause.
Skillfully playing the Bond portative organ, Jonathan Oddie fashioned an enjoyable Canzonetta in D Minor by Dieterich Buxtehude. He did this by changing the relatively subdued first part to a much brighter sound, giving the effect of listening to a different piece altogether.
Before the concert began, PBO’s executive director, Abigail McKee, announced that the orchestra has made its decision on the three finalists for the artistic director position, and will make that known very soon. Woody, like the other four artistic advisors who gave direction to PBO’s 2021-2022 season, should be under consideration. Good luck!
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