Resurrection In Progress
Attended the SSO open rehearsal for Mahler's 2nd "Resurrection" Symphony last evening. The rehearsal was FOC and open to Friends of the SSO, subscribers and ticketholders, but as I had to rush from work, it cost me $18 in cab fares, but the almost 4 hour evening was totally worth it.
Upon admission, I quickly scurried and made my way through the inner corridor to the Balcony seats where I managed to snag the first seat in Balcony A, that which I had wanted to book for the concert proper tomorrow, but that it wasn't being sold? So anyway, I'll be seated in Row AA at Circle 1, a metre behind my preview seat.
I've always loved attending rehearsals and from the couple that I've attended, somehow, it even seems to eclipse the occasion itself for sheer je ne sais quoi. It was a riot of colours as instead of their de rigeur black and white dress code, the musicians were dressed in mufti and personal bags and instrument cases were strewn all over the stage.
Order was called and guest conductor John Nelson soon appeared and he was wired up with a microphone so that the "invisible" audience would be privy to his communication with his musicians. Strangely, they didn't do this for Lan Shui for previous incidents, so either this is something new, or maybe Lan Shui can't be understood when he attempts to speak in his pidgin English.
What can one say about the Mahler Resurrection that hasn't already been said, or rather, that can do justice to the immense scale and promise of the music? All the more sweeter, the session opened with Movement 4, the paralysingly beautiful Urlicht which was taken by mezzo-soprano Patricia Bardon who commanded the stage from her first utterance.
That deep throaty purr that resonated within the confines of the concert hall all the more made its presence felt as the reverberation chambers had been thrown fully open. The purpose of this was to be fully exploited in the massive finale and climax when the augmented orchestra (10 horns!) and combined choir let rip in the magnificent vision of hope.
It is all the more apparent that mine is a very superficial appreciation and understanding of music (I like what I hear) when many times during the rehearsal, the maestro was so exacting in his requirement of the music and how he wanted it to be played. Many a times, he stopped the music when they were off pitch or early or late coming in. He even consulted with concert leader, Lynnette Seah for bowing standards and even hopped down to pencil in pointers on their scores.
When the choir joined the rehearsal later in the evening, choral master Lim Yau first took them through their parts, and his too was an iron fist as he exacted the standard of singing that he expected. Later, the two maestros switched positions as Nelson wanted to go out into the audience in the stalls to hear how it was coming across.
Suffice it to say that even though the audience had been requested not to applaud during the rehearsal, Nelson actually turned to invite applause to encourage the musicians when they finished the triumphant work. It was not hard to see his love for the music when he actually berated the off stage trumpets positioned on high at the organ level for making their exit towards the organ for that spoilt the mood by distracting the audience with their movement. He then wrapped up the session by beseeching the musicians not to waste the music by not taking back with them the meaning behind the music, one full of hope, regardless of the differences of backgrounds and religions within the ranks.
Does one even need to attend the performance proper with such a revelatory rehearsal?
Upon admission, I quickly scurried and made my way through the inner corridor to the Balcony seats where I managed to snag the first seat in Balcony A, that which I had wanted to book for the concert proper tomorrow, but that it wasn't being sold? So anyway, I'll be seated in Row AA at Circle 1, a metre behind my preview seat.
I've always loved attending rehearsals and from the couple that I've attended, somehow, it even seems to eclipse the occasion itself for sheer je ne sais quoi. It was a riot of colours as instead of their de rigeur black and white dress code, the musicians were dressed in mufti and personal bags and instrument cases were strewn all over the stage.
Order was called and guest conductor John Nelson soon appeared and he was wired up with a microphone so that the "invisible" audience would be privy to his communication with his musicians. Strangely, they didn't do this for Lan Shui for previous incidents, so either this is something new, or maybe Lan Shui can't be understood when he attempts to speak in his pidgin English.
What can one say about the Mahler Resurrection that hasn't already been said, or rather, that can do justice to the immense scale and promise of the music? All the more sweeter, the session opened with Movement 4, the paralysingly beautiful Urlicht which was taken by mezzo-soprano Patricia Bardon who commanded the stage from her first utterance.
That deep throaty purr that resonated within the confines of the concert hall all the more made its presence felt as the reverberation chambers had been thrown fully open. The purpose of this was to be fully exploited in the massive finale and climax when the augmented orchestra (10 horns!) and combined choir let rip in the magnificent vision of hope.
It is all the more apparent that mine is a very superficial appreciation and understanding of music (I like what I hear) when many times during the rehearsal, the maestro was so exacting in his requirement of the music and how he wanted it to be played. Many a times, he stopped the music when they were off pitch or early or late coming in. He even consulted with concert leader, Lynnette Seah for bowing standards and even hopped down to pencil in pointers on their scores.
When the choir joined the rehearsal later in the evening, choral master Lim Yau first took them through their parts, and his too was an iron fist as he exacted the standard of singing that he expected. Later, the two maestros switched positions as Nelson wanted to go out into the audience in the stalls to hear how it was coming across.
Suffice it to say that even though the audience had been requested not to applaud during the rehearsal, Nelson actually turned to invite applause to encourage the musicians when they finished the triumphant work. It was not hard to see his love for the music when he actually berated the off stage trumpets positioned on high at the organ level for making their exit towards the organ for that spoilt the mood by distracting the audience with their movement. He then wrapped up the session by beseeching the musicians not to waste the music by not taking back with them the meaning behind the music, one full of hope, regardless of the differences of backgrounds and religions within the ranks.
Does one even need to attend the performance proper with such a revelatory rehearsal?