Glory, indeed, to Janacek for writing the the mighty, sweeping, gorgeous,
exquisite "Glagolitic Mass."

Glory to Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony for giving
a performance of it tonight that might have gone all wrong, but ended
up as a towering achievement.

Glory to Vance George's SFS Chorus for going well beyond the expected
superb performance.

And finally, one more "Slava!" to the SFS management for engaging
four major soloists for roles that Janacek might have meant for singers
from the chorus.  In the event, Davies Hall exhibited ex-Merolini/now
international star Jill Grove in order to sing...  eight words (five of
them twice, true), and perform a total of 15 seconds.  Granted that these
were 15 excellent seconds.  Another young star, Tigran Martirossian, had
perhaps twice the mezzo's work, and did OK, but appeared and sounded ill
at ease.  The tenor Sergej Larin had more to sing, but less voice to
sing with.  As usual, at either end of Grove Street, in the Opera or at
the Symphony, Larin sounded underpowered and without a voice to write
home about.

Ah, yes, but there is good news tonight: the debut of Measha Brueggergosman.
An Earth Goddess in size, appearance, and with a voice to match, Ms. B.
is sporting a foot-high spiked (and fascinatingly teased) Afro, and she
may well be the first SFS soloist to sing barefoot, albeit wearing a
floor-length gown.  Besides those items of visual interest, she sings
like, well, an earth goddess - with great power, absolute command, and
a huge smile both on her face and in her voice.  Think of an enchanting
version of Jessye Norman, without the attitude.  Plus flawless diction.
And a true "Slavic" sound.

And yet withal, Brueggergosman was a minor episode tonight, even if she
had more to sing than the other soloists combined.  The true "It" was
about Janacek, MTT's driving fervor, the Chorus' mighty sound, the
orchestra's commitment and excellence - and how it all came together.

This special event began at the beginning.  Even against Janacek's unique
ability to engage total attention with the opening bars - the running
water of "Jenufa," the middle-of-the-melody theme (no opening, no closing)
in "The Cunning Little Vixen," etc.  - "Glagolitic" stands virtually
alone (although a kin to Vivaldi's "Juditha Triumphans") in hitting the
solar plexus right the way...  if the music is played right.

Those huge, rolling, cataclysmic notes are often played noisily,
sometimes (with the best of intentions) in a restrained fashion, this
way or that, but the MTT/SFS sound tonight was what Janacek must have
wanted: earth-shaking, heaven-storming, powerful rather than noisy,
sweeping the listener along inevitably to the cry "Gospodi pomiluj!" -
Lord, have mercy!

Loud passages were, yes, loud, and the lyrical interludes delicate, but
the dynamics had little to do with volume.  There was urgency, power,
awe, going to the edge...  and beyond.  In addition to the orchestra and
the chorus, those significant organ passages, as played with virtuosity
by John Walker, formed yet another aspect of a remarkable performance.

MTT's programming savvy contributed to the first half of the concert,
MTT's limited ability as a composer took away from it.  The good: a major
portion of Berio's "Duets for Two Violins," 12 brief duets played by a
member of SFS and a Youth Orchestra violinist each, all musicians coming
together in "Edoardo," a Stravinskian bravura piece.  Save the program:
most or all those dozen youngsters will be heard from in the future.

The downer: one half hour (yes, 30 minutes!) of MTT's "Island Music,"
an interminable faux-Balinese duo-marimba thing with a Jamaican-Yiddish
accent, Nancy Zeltsman and Jack Van Geem playing their hearts out, but
to what purpose?  MTT plays Janacek brilliantly, but he is no Janacek,
not by a long, very long and sleep-inducing, shot.

Janos Gereben
www.sfcv.org
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