Empress : Kaiserin

Beethoven's Missa Solemnis

WE... MADE IT!!!!

And what a relief! *wide grin* In my opinion we did better than any of the rehearsals! I think this is my best performance ever since I joined the symphony chorus. It was, simply a marvellous experience.

A tribute to choral singing Missa Solemnis is.

Before gloating and spazzing, let's backtrack:

I was so terribly drained after two consecutive nights of rehearsals (I've been giving my best for the two nights too, and did not save up my voice and stamina for the big day ahead), and I swtiched off during German class this morning. My classmates even said that I looked tired. Oh well. Two nights of Missa Solemnis had taken its toll.

I didn't manage to catch a wink before leaving home for the warm-up session, because of the time wasted on looking for thigh-high stockings in town (after German lesson, which inconvienently ended late as well). I had decided to wear my high heels to the performing venue because it suits my formal wear better, but intended to change to flats before the performance. Standing throughout the first three movements of Missa Solemnis ought to kill everyone, and I wouldn't like to crumble to the ground in the middle of Gloria or Credo anyway. If so, I would assassinate everyone in the Concert Hall because I can't bear the humiliation - and an insult to Beethoven as well. Lol.

So at late afternoon I boarded the train via town, fuming about why the conductor would want us to report at 17.30 Uhr when performance time is 19.30 Uhr. He got to be crazy, I thought. And since I had lunch at 14.30 Uhr I'm afraid I might be hungry after the warming-up, and bought bread for dinner. I was glad I did that - the warming-up, which turns out to be a selective run-through of the entire Missa Solemnis (o_O), only ends after 18.50 Uhr. What the...?! However we made the conductor mad during this session, heh heh. We all went sooooooo out of pitch. Our poor, poor rehearsal pianist - he struggled with the reduction parts because all the four parts were singing four different keys!!!! XD XD XD But because we were trying to conserve our energy and also because of the acoustics of the empty stage (except for us), we could hardly hear anyone.

And 19.30 Uhr came. I was running here and there at the backstage searching for the programme booklets. Haha, go me... =___= I was lucky it didn't affect my singing later. The outburst of Kyrie! Followed immediately by the high-charged Gloria. It was wondrous. Everyone was miraculously following the conductor, especially at the concluding Presto section. And thanks to the latecomers, we get a chance to sit for tens of seconds. Here comes Credo, and the sustained B-flat on the second page. Yeeesh! I pulled through! And more B-flats and Bs! Not a problem, and I'm so glad with myself. I had thought I might have overstrained my voice after the rehearsals. Consubstansialem Patri, per quem omnia facta sunt - this was the line that I can't help grinning. I loooove what Beethoven did with this sentence. A beautiful march-like line indeed. It's only tragic that it lasted for only two pages. Alas. The double fugue at the end of Credo was surprisingly tidy. (If not, then it sounded so from my side, lol.) I was worried because some sopranos tend to rush at this part, considering the impossible speed we were actually going. But I worried too much, haha. We then got to sit again at the beginning of Sanctus - for around four minutes. A rest well deserved! The concert master today was brilliant - the solo violin melody at the start of Benedictus moved me nearly to tears. Beethoven's writing is soooo beautiful... Sigh... The soloists' parts too... I melted in the midst of the lush melodious lines. However, there was a major problem at the end of this movement. The conductor held the fermata too long a tat and the sopranos struggled in vain to sustain the soft sustained high G. I confessed I couldn't it through the end. For a sustained high G in pp, it's very difficult to come back once you have released your control over the tone. In other words, staggered breathing is logically almost impossible here. But that aside, the last movement Agnus Dei has began. And we get a taste of Beethoven's mastery in word-painting. The line Miserere nobis tugs at heartstrings. Firstly sung by the tenors and basses, and after a soloists' interlude, repeats itself - this time together with the altos. And I was there, twitching my toes and holding my music, dying to sing that powerful phrase when it appears for the third time after what seems like ages to me. The motif for Dona nobis pacem presented itself, and the Presto orchestral interlude started - and all chorus members start to get nervous. Exactly at Page 120. It's a nightmare as described by my previous post. Entries, entries and entries. All made blurred because of the excessive synopation writing. I counted, and counted, and made it through! Seems like I've become the leader for those standing near me. The war-like section is a form of humanity, and insanity. The conductor thinks it's also honesty and directness. Whatever the case, I managed to enter correctly twice in the middle of the orchestral chaos. I was so contented! I was like: No way! I got it! I got it! And then I missed my third entrance. o_O;;; Oooooops... Luckily it was just a pp section unlike the first two fortissimo passages, but I'm still not going to forgive myself for it. The closing for entire work was nicely done, wrapping up the "it has ended, but not yet the end" message from Beethoven.

Summing it all up, I think everyone (including the soloists) did a great job.

Sorry for the looooong entry, but I'm not finished yet. Here comes the POST-CONCERT RANT - or What Happened Behind The Stage After 20.50 Uhr.

Priscilla and I ran up to our dressing room, me pulling out the stocking, kicking off my flats and changing into high heels again in a snap - and dashed to the soloists' dressing rooms area, which is located directly beside the stage. Just like those Elijah times, we (and a few of the chorus members) collected all the autographs from the four soloists! Hooooray!!! Another item of memories.

However, apart from running around the backstage with a pen like little girls, the soloists also managed to spare a few moments chatting with both of us. (It's always good to be the last few.) First we started a conversation with the bass, and at the point when we were talking about Missa Solemnis there was this line he said "this is such a difficult work, aber all of you were great!" I blinked and started thinking, wait a minute, that's German... *brain stops working* *shiny eyes* *a splatter of German started coming out of my mouth*

Woohoo!

We were in the bass soloist's dressing room then, and when we came out, we ran into this conversation between the soprano and the tenor, who were standing directly outside the door. "Haben Sie... blah blah... abends... blah... gegessen?" and the soprano answered with something I can't quite recall. But it's auf Deutsch! I take it that most musicians (if not all) do speak German! A note to all - among our four soloists tonight, only the alto is a native German. And anyways, I started another conversation in German with the alto, like if I didn't have enough of German lessons this morning, lol.

To speak to native Germans is an experience, but to converse in German with musicians is an honour.

I would so cherish the memories of tonight.

posted by empress @ 7:25 PM