{"id":53937,"date":"2018-05-11T14:57:56","date_gmt":"2018-05-11T18:57:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=53937"},"modified":"2018-05-11T14:59:39","modified_gmt":"2018-05-11T18:59:39","slug":"record-keeping-nezet-seguins-bernstein-mass-is-an-electric-journey-into-existential-angst","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2018\/05\/11\/record-keeping-nezet-seguins-bernstein-mass-is-an-electric-journey-into-existential-angst\/","title":{"rendered":"RECORD KEEPING | N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin’s Bernstein Mass Is An Electric Journey Into Existential Angst"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Bernstein: Mass. Kevin Vortmann (Celebrant) and other soloists. Westminster Symphonic Choir. Temple University Symphonic Choir. The American Boychoir. Temple University Diamond Marching Band. Philadelphia Orchestra\/Yannick N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin. DG 483 5009 (2 CDs). Total Time: 107:37.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Bernstein100 is now in full swing. Throughout the year and all over the world performances are being given to celebrate the 100th<\/sup> anniversary of the birth of Leonard Bernstein, one of America\u2019s most important musicians. Bernstein first rose to fame in the 1940s as a flamboyant young conductor, then reached an even wider audience with his Omnibus programs for CBS television in the 1950s. Then came his incomparable Young People\u2019s Concerts with the New York Philharmonic, and in 1957 he took Broadway by storm with his hit musical West Side Story<\/em>. In short, he was a force of nature: a uniquely gifted educator, an exciting pianist who played concertos with orchestras conducting from the keyboard, a dynamic conductor touring internationally as music director of the New York Philharmonic and later the Vienna Philharmonic, and a remarkably versatile composer, creating Broadway shows as well as major classical works.<\/p>\n

Twenty-eight years after his death (1990), Bernstein\u2019s legacy seems stronger than ever. Just take a look at the events tabulated by the official Bernstein website<\/a> which have already taken place or are planned through the rest of 2018 \u2014 34 pages of listings in pretty small print.<\/p>\n

Mass, <\/em>while unquestionably one of Bernstein\u2019s major works \u2014 it lasts for nearly two hours and requires several hundred performers \u2013 is receiving very few performances even in this commemorative year. Gustavo Dudamel has already conducted performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic; Marin Alsop, a one-time Bernstein conducting student, will lead a performance with the Chicago Symphony at the Ravinia Festival this summer; and Peter Bay will preside over several performances in June with the Austin Symphony, but there are very few others scheduled.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, there are plenty of recorded versions available. The very first, a recording made in 1971, around the time of the first performances and conducted by Bernstein himself, features baritone Alan Titus as the Celebrant. More recent versions are led by Kristjan J\u00e4rvi (Chandos 5070), Marin Alsop (Naxos 8.559622), and Kent Nagano (Harmonia Mundi 501840). This latest one, based on performances given in April, 2015, is conducted by Yannick N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin.<\/p>\n

The first thing to note about Mass<\/em> is that it is not in any sense a traditional choral work. Its subtitle, \u201cA Theatre Piece for Singers, Players and Dancers,\u201d clearly suggests that the home listener really needs a video version to appreciate what the piece is all about. Unfortunately, there is only one commercial DVD version available (Kultur D2823), a mediocre effort filmed in Vatican City in 2000. But on YouTube, one can find a powerful performance of a semi-staged version given at the BBC Proms in 2012, conducted by Kristjan J\u00e4rvi and featuring the excellent Danish bass-baritone Morten Frank Larsen as the Celebrant.<\/p>\n