Critics Corner

Choruses And Orchestra Strike Up An Impassioned `Carmina'
By KURT LOFT
© The Tampa Tribune
published April 6, 2003

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CLEARWATER - If you watch the war on CNN with the music from ``Carmina Burana'' playing in the background, you have an instant and symbiotic soundtrack.
Carl Orff's barbaric masterpiece strikes an impassioned chord from the first note, when chorus and orchestra shatter the air with the biggest primal scream in music.

The Master Chorale of Tampa Bay injected drama and power into this famous cantata Friday night at Ruth Eckerd Hall, topping the memorable ``Carmina'' it staged three years ago. Anyone who enjoys the sweep of large musical forces should consider tonight's final performance in Tampa: The choir teams up with The Florida Orchestra, Tampa Bay Children's Chorus and three solid soloists under the direction of guest conductor Boris Brott.

The Master Chorale is an amazing instrument and proves it this weekend. Throughout ``Carmina,'' the voices project the dual text - in Latin and low German - with fever and clarity. The opening ``O Fortuna!'' chorus is an awesome display of vocal energy, and the chorus is magnificent in the hushed intensity of the words that follow.

But ``Carmina'' isn't all about impact, and Brott's depiction Friday night brought out the work's inner charm - its humor, cloying melodies and mysticism. ``Carmina'' is based on two dozen Medieval poems discovered in 1803 at a Benedictine abbey near Munich. The poems - both sacred and profane - describe a blasphemous and lusty world that inspired Orff in 1936 to write his most memorable score, and music of expressive simplicity.

The orchestra had fun jumping through the thicket of razor-sharp rhythms, drones and ostinatos, the violins stabbing their bows in the air as their brass brethren sounded downright sarcastic. The musicians as a whole captured the pulse of this music, and its blocklike harmonies that support the chorus, all of which hint of the baroque cragginess of Monteverdi's ``Vespers.''

Baritone Theodore Baerg was a wonderful ham, singing with swagger and animated gestures during his ``burning inside'' aria, and tenor Stuart Howe's lament as the roasted swan was perfect. Soprano Laura Whalen's pure, bell-like tone gave life to her ``Cupid'' and ``Sweetest One'' arias.

The children's chorus, deftly prepared by Averill Summer, shone in the Court of Love section, and artistic director Richard Zielinski made sure his Master Chorale closed the hourlong cantata with a full-throttle return of the ``O Fortuna!'' chorus.

Brott began the night with a crisp performance of the ``Passacaglia for Orchestra'' by the American composer Benjamin Lees. The musicians cut a clear path through the 19 short variations that lead to an arresting coda.

The first half included three of Antonin Dvorak's ``Slavonic Dances,'' which complement ``Carmina'' in their raw and earthy feel. But the central theme of No. 1 was drowned out by the percussion, making the piece sound oddly one dimensional.


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