Sins and Grace

On March 23 and 24th, MasterVoices presented yet another fabulous musical evening.

Actually, make that a particularly fabulous musical evening. 

Musical Director Ted Sperling juxtaposed Faure's gorgeous requiem with the seven deadly sins, as written by nine theatre and concert composers/lyricists. 

Photo: Erin Baiano

The evening started with the requiem, gloriously rendered by a small orchestra, two soloists (Mikaela Bennett and Justin Austin), and the terrific 125-strong MasterVoices. Bennett's gorgeous "Pie Jesu" was the best I've ever heard, in person or recorded. I don't have official music vocabulary, but her voice was full, smooth, round, meaningful, and kinda perfect. (If you'd like to read a review by someone more musically knowledgeable, I recommend this one by David Wright.)

 

Mikaela Bennett
Photo: Erin Baiano

The writers of the sins were tasked with using the somewhat unusual orchestra (eg, no winds, only one violin), both soloists, and the MasterVoices. Some extra percussion was added.

All seven sins were well-served. My two favorites were on opposite ends of complexity. 

Lust, by Michael Abels, used a simple palette of noises, rather than lyrics. MasterVoices's performance of moans and other sounds was both sexy and quite funny. A real treat. (It's fun to imagine the rehearsals!)

Justin Austin 
Photo: Erin Baiano

Heather Christian's Wrath was so intricate that Sperling took time to explain that it really deserved an extended rehearsal period, which it hadn't had. With MasterVoices split into multiple choruses, and the orchestra--particularly the percussion--blasting away, the piece was noisy and angry and thrilling. 

I never understand why there are empty seats at MasterVoices performances. Their batting average is amazing, and tickets go for as little as $38. 

Wendy Caster