Adams: Harmonium and Gerhard: The Plague
Saturday 15 January, 8pm | Barbican, London
Critics’ reviews
“Crouch End Festival Chorus and London Orchestra da Camera, conducted by David Temple, achieved harmonic brilliance and chilling dissonance in a single evening.”
Kay Kempin in Bachtrack
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“The chorus proved its mettle with some astonishing vocal techniques…”
John-Pierre Joyce in MusicOMH
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“The enterprising Crouch End Festival Chorus and indefatigable founder-conductor David Temple pulled out of the hat an enterprising and invigorating evening that put professional outfits to shame…”
Nick Breckenfield in The Classical Source
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“…the orchestra were on fine form in Gerhard’s taxing music and the chorus provided vividly atmospheric interjections with some profoundly poignant singing.”
Robert Hugill in Planet Hugill
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“Crouch End Festival Chorus is noted for bringing unusual and unknown works into the concert hall and we must be grateful to them for this revival. It was timely, exhilarating and essential.”
Bob Briggs in Seen and Heard
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Reactions from the audience and performers
We loved the concert, particularly the Gerhard, which we found really moving. Congratulations on the achievement of the choir and orchestra, as it must have been devilish hard to sing/play. The piece has a rare intensity and seemed to hang together perfectly. A great experience.“
“Don’t want to clog up your inbox, but felt I had to send thanks and congratulations following last night’s concert (Harmonium + Plague). It was a great programme: chorus and orchestra all performed superbly. A magnificent effort by everybody concerned. Have just downloaded form from your website in order to become a friend.”
“One of my guests, a person very experienced in contemporary music, said that the Plague was so good we really ought to be invited to do it at the Proms.”
“As the accordion player said – you inspire confidence and commitment.”
“From three of my friends who came – one had seen us a lot and said we just keep getting better and better. The second had not seen us before was absolutely amazed by the quality of the whole performance – couldn’t believe that an amateur group could do something so difficult and to such a high standard, or would even contemplate it!”
“I am using the opportunity to express my feelings at being, for the first time in eight years with CEFC, on the other side (the audience). It was quite exciting and strange to sit there, and hear the orchestra tuning, and see the lights come down, and not have the usual nerves and joyous anticipation.
“The first half was absolutely fantastic. I love Adams, he’s my favourite of all the contemporaries we have done, and the words and music for these three poems are a great combined work of art. The first was particularly brilliant, see-sawing and throbbing and making me very happy and envious at the same time. I thought the energy dipped just a tad for the Donne, which is the hardest, in my view, but that was from 10/10 to 8/10, and then it went back up again for Wild Nights. Thrilling.
“I don’t care for the Plague as a piece, I have to admit. I was keeping an open mind, but I think it is a (mainly conceptual) failure. But the energy and commitment of choir and orchestra went up another notch and there was no failure in the performance; the lights and staging also worked. The music, I think, is of its time, and might have worked in a different form, as an opera or tone poem, symphonic or with choir. To take only some episodic excerpts from one of the greatest pieces of literature of the 20th century, have them read out, and then express (sadly, explain) what has just been said musically cheapened and trivialized the source material considerably (and this has nothing to do with the performance of actor, orchestra or choir). I am not surprised the piece is never performed. It’s of mere interest as ‘that sort of piece from that time’, in my view. I don’t agree with those critics who didn’t like the depressing subject matter, art has to tackle these things. But the music didn’t leave me touched or shocked or depressed, just bemused. Now I can’t wait to return and see everyone on Friday.” -Florian
“Three friends came – one a reluctant teenager who came out at the end saying that she was glad that she had come: ‘Fantastic, beautifully presented, dramatically polished with the lighting effectively and sensitively done’. Another was fascinated by things happening in the orchestra – playing piano strings not keys. All in all was much enjoyed.”
“An exquisite first half and a dramatic and disturbing performance of ‘The Plague’. It is a long time since I have felt so completely absorbed and engaged by a musical performance: a wonderful choir.”
“It’s true for me that I have never sung (anything like) the Plague or Harmonium for that matter. But, for what its worth, my audience expected something inaccessibly modern but were captivated by the drama, atmosphere and spooky horror that the Plague conveyed. As a choral experience it was not sublime like Tavener, or as sumptuous as Brahms or Bach but it all made sense as a whole once we rehearsed with Paul M. Artistically and personally I think it is fullfilling to think outside the box. Thanks to you for having the confidence to do so!”
“Been meaning to email you with thanks for brilliant concert. I love Adams so it was good to hear his early minimalist self – though his sojourn there seemed minimal even in the piece itself.”
“Yes, it was an amazing experience on Saturday. I had been having a bit of a struggle with the Gerhard in particular but, by the time the performance came, I found that I had absorbed much more over the weeks than I had thought and so I found the courage to ‘give it some wellie’. Good old Doctor Theatre! It was a great event and I’m looking forward very much to the April concert.”
“I did enjoy the concert and was glad to have the chance to go. It was a dramatic evening in both sections. It was interesting to hear live the Gerhard piece. I must have heard much of him on the wireless in earlier days; he was quite popular with the BBC way back in the last century, and his voice seemed very much a 20th century one. The Adams was more contemporary, although one of his earlier pieces, and I am interested to hear more of his oeuvre; I go to see ‘Nixon in China’ from Met Live soon. Both pieces have fascinating choral and orchestral textures and structures; they would repay much study, and I haven’t any musical skills to analyse them, but the overall effects still hold my attention. One could hear hints of others in the Plague, a touch of Stravinsky at one point. He is an important ‘Modernist’ composer who had a considerable and varied output.”
“We had 13 people there on Saturday. The comments were mixed. Some found The Plague ‘interesting and very dramatic’ but much preferred Harmonium. Others absolutely loved the Plague and moved it into first place. All thought it was a fantastic evening’s entertainment. Phew!”
“Harmonium was superlative. Another masterpiece would have had to go some to stand up next to it. The Plague is not a masterpiece.”
“The performance of the John Adams Harmonium was perfectly silhouetted by Paul McGann’s portrayal of a chagrined Dr Rieux and the ensemble proved to be as beautiful as it was fearful. I’m half way through the original text by Camus and cannot but relive these sublime moments in my head.”
“The people who came absolutely loved the Harmonium and have gone out and bought CDs of it immediately. They didn’t really feel the same about the Plague but thought that the Harmonium was just amazing!”
“Thank you Crouch End Festival Chorus for giving me a fantastic evening of music last Saturday. I came with four friends, three of whom are actresses and one of whom is a semi-professional musician. They all, without exception, joined me in thinking the evening utterly brilliant both dramatically and musically. Harmonium was wonderful to hear in a concert hall. I’ve sung it at least twice and listened to it many times from a recording but the subtleties within the ensemble that you can hear when listening to it live made it a new and fresh experience. Very exciting. However, the Adams’ piece paled when matched against The Plague which was just extraordinary. Dense, complex and mesmerising. I know from personal experience that it is a very difficult piece to rehearse because it is so bitty and musically challenging but as a member of the audience I have to thank you for sticking with it and committing to it in performance because the result was BRILLIANT, BRILLIANT, BRILLIANT!”
“Thanks for last Saturday. Loved it!”
“Thanks for the lovely Barbican treat – very glad I got to hear that.”
“Thank you so much for a lovely evening on Saturday – a rare treat!”
Photos: Paul Robinson