Music

RSNO                                                                                        

Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

Michael Tumelty

Four Stars

I DON’T think I’ve ever met two people who felt precisely the same about a musical event, so this could be a minority opinion: for me, and my perception of Verdi’s Requiem, one of the colossal masterpieces of the choral repertoire, the RSNO’s performance on Saturday night, with its chorus in fine form, and the evening garlanded with outstanding soloists, was a blazing success, within a well-known limitation.

There were many factors in that success. Key among them was the pacing of the work by Mexican conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto. It was, overall, a nippy performance with a fast and fleet feel to it. There was no indulgence with opulence, even though I longed for Time to stop in the Offertorio at the soprano’s endless Sed Signifer and the tenor’s heartfelt Hostias. Prieto’s ceaseless sense of momentum also generated a tremendous feeling of integrity to the performance: despite its multiple sections within sections, this Requiem felt integrated and unified, from the battering impact of the Dies Irae to the utter calm of the Agnus Dei.

The singing throughout was tremendous, though, 26 years on, we have to admit that the Royal will simply never be a rewarding hall for choral singing: the sonorities and articulation on which the RSNO Chorus clearly worked so hard did not pay much in the way of dividends in this thankless vocal acoustic.

The soloists, soprano Evelina Doraceva, mezzo Elizabeth DeShong, tenor Edgaras Montvidas and bass-baritone Hanno Muller-Brachmann, were phenomenal, adding real top-drawer status to the event. It was a great night, and I came home heady, my favourite choral work ringing in the mind.