a spectacular performance

July 11, 2003 performance, reviewed by Dave Conlin Read

Approaching the Tanglewood debut of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, we were expecting a spectacle, a grand circus act, because our knowledge of them was limited to what we'd seen on television, and that was colored by prejudice. What we got, instead, was a spectacular performance, first of Leonard Bernstein's "Chichester Psalms," and then of Brahms' A German Requiem, Opus 45, on words from Holy Scripture.

If there was an element of spectacle this evening, it was in the exuberance of guest conductor Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos, a man of constant motion, especially during the Brahms, as he swept back and forth across the Choir, gesturing with hand and baton to elicit a sweet array of sounds from the 350 voices, moving deftly, rapidly at times, as if the Choir were a tree of all fruits and his task was to collect one of each before it would vanish in a moment.

The Boston Symphony Orchestra played the Brahms beautifully, and even though out numbered by about 3½ - 1, they were not overshadowed by the Choir.

Members of the Orchestra at Temple Square (established in 1999 to extend the capabilities of the Choir), conducted by Craig Jessup, played the "Chichester Psalms," evoking the stark emotional contrasts called for by composer Bernstein, with especially startling effect just after the audience had been tranquilized by the familiar 23rd Psalm ("The Lord is my sheperd...").

Familiar as it may be, we can't imagine hearing a more affecting rendition as was sung tonight, in Hebrew, by 11 year old soprano Benjamin "Benji" Goldsmith, who, broad-shouldered and handsome in tuxedo, commanded the attention even of the birds in the rafters with the utter beauty of his voice. His performance looked effortless, as if he were but the source of this stream of pure sound, needing only to allow it to flow.

The soloists for the Brahms also turned in fine performances; most noteworthy was last-minute replacement soprano Heidi Grant Murphy, who was very emotive during her 4 -5 minute performance but remained still as a statue for the balance of the 71 minute Requiem, which was a remarkable accomplishment given how close she was to the conducting dervish de Burgos.

During the BSO's interregnum, de Burgos is becoming a favorite with Tanglewood audiences. He will return to the Shed podium with the BSO on July 25 and will lead the Tanglewood Music Center orchestra in Stravinsky's Rite of Spring in Ozawa Hall on July 29.

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