by Brian Hathaway

by Brian Hathaway

​Let me begin my latest post with a story.  Every year since I joined The Master Chorale in 2007, there is a singer survey at the end of the concert season where we answer a series of demographic questions and offer our opinion about the season just past.  One of my favorite questions is:  “What orchestral and choral work would you like to perform with The Master Chorale?”  For the past five years I have given the same answer: “The Brahms German Requiem”.  At last that wish is coming true, for we will be offering Brahms' "A German Requiem" in concert with The Florida Orchestra on the weekend of March 11-13, 2016.
 
Although I had many of Brahms works in my listening collection, they focused more on his orchestral works.  Fortunately, many years ago I had a church choir director who challenged us musically and he introduced me to “How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place.”  Being fairly new to choral singing, I found the piece a bit of a challenge, but I loved the sound of it, and shortly thereafter added the German Requiem to my listening library.

As we move through our musical journey to prepare for the performance of this work, there are some interesting elements that can promise an exceptionally memorable musical event. 
 
The first is the Florida Orchestra and its new Music Director, Michael Francis.  His love of choral music became apparent last year when we performed the Faure Requiem with the Orchestra.  Maestro Francis chose a more intimate orchestral score that made the choral portion of the score more apparent.  He also took additional steps to improve the acoustics at Mahaffey Theater to enhance the sound of the chorus more in that venue.  This fall, he chose The Bells by Rachmaninoff, a very difficult and infrequently performed choral work which we sang in Russian.  His enthusiasm for the Chorale was apparent through the rehearsals and performances, solidifying our artistic collaboration that began with the Faure Requiem.
 
Second, The Master Chorale has a long and storied history with the Brahms Requiem.  From 1986 to 1997, the Master Chorale performed the Brahms Requiem five times.  One of those performances in 1996 was with choral giant Robert Shaw at the podium.  Now, almost 20 years later, The Master Chorale will again present this wonderful work.
 
Third, our Music Director, Dr. Bass, wrote his Doctoral Thesis on Johannes Brahms, so we have at our podium every week one whose encyclopedic understanding of Brahms can only help us put our music into context with the message Brahms intended to deliver.
 
Finally, in 2012, Dr. Bass was Chorus Master for a recording of the Brahms Requiem by Seraphic Fire and the Professional Choral Institute leading to a GRAMMY nomination for this recording. In listening to that recording, I can see how Dr. Bass is applying the approach that made that recording fresh, innovative and memorable to our preparatory work.
 
With all these elements of success, it is up to us on the risers to apply our best efforts to make these performances memorable.  I for one, am extremely excited to be a part of these performances, for at last, my wish is coming true!

By Brian Hathaway

As I was considering how to start my latest blog post, I came to the word humanity, because making music is part of what makes us human.  Billy Joel stated “I think music itself is healing.  It’s an explosive expression of humanity.  It’s something we are all touched by.”  Making music is something that defines our humanity and probably first occurred as humans sought to recreate sounds that they heard.  John Koopman, in a 1999 article noted that “The voice is presumed to be the original musical instrument, and there is no human culture, no matter how remote or isolated, that does not sing.”

The Master Chorale recently completed singing in four concert presentations of Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana” with the Florida Orchestra, USF Chamber Singers, and the Tampa Bay Children’s Chorus.  With over 200 singers on the risers, we collaborated with the Florida Orchestra to present one of the most frequently performed choral works in the repertoire.  While many of the works we perform are sacred in origin, Carmina Burana most certainly is not.  Rather, it celebrates our humanity as we sing about love, desire, eating, drinking, and the arrival of springtime.

The concerts were a huge success and we received standing ovations and multiple curtain calls after each of the four concerts.  Many Chorale members recounted their own stories regarding the experience of their friends or family members who attended.  I was most interested in those who had never attended a live performance of Carmina Burana.  One member of the Chorale encountered a young woman who was moved to tears upon seeing this performed for the first time.  I had a friend who sings in my church choir come to the Friday performance who recounted to me that she was blown away by the performance.

In processing the concert experience, many Chorale members shared their impressions on social media.  A common thread through the conversation was one of unbridled gratitude, thankful that we were a part of this effort. The realization that we were joining together with others to create art that was much more than the sum of its parts was both exhilarating and humbling at the same time.  I heard or read this sentiment over and over again as I connected with my colleagues.  This mass of humanity on stage created a truly memorable experience for those who came to see and hear us.

What amazes me is that we are at our best when we are most decidedly human, where we step out of our day to day existence to create something noble and uplifting.  Out of that creation we are able to leave an indelible impression on people; one that I hope will encourage them to return to hear us again and bring a friend to share the experience.

That is why we are here.  That is why we sing.

Auditions for our 14-15 season officially begin today! Good luck to everyone! 

May this video of The Master Chorale of Tampa Bay and The Florida Orchestra rehearsing Beethoven's Symphony No. 9  from last fall inspire you as you are preparing for an audition or getting ready to return for another fantastic season. Shout out to the USF Chamber Singers who were also on stage with us for this amazing collaboration.

Here are a couple videos from our friends at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus to get you excited about Saturday's music!  The Chorale will be performing both pieces with The Florida Orchestra this season.