NOVA CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES, Libby Gardner Concert Hall, Jan. 11
As one of the most significant composers of the second half of the 20th century, Olivier Messiaen’s music demands to be heard. Thanks to Jason Hardink, pianist and artistic director of the NOVA Chamber Music Series, Salt Lake City has had numerous opportunities to become acquainted with the great French composer’s works.
Tony Arnold (Photo Credit: Claudia Hansen)
At Sunday’s NOVA concert, the sizable audience in Libby Gardner Concert Hall was able to hear one of Messiaen’s early works, the song cycle Harawi from 1945 for soprano and piano, performed by guest Tony Arnold with Hardink at the piano.
The cycle is a nearly hour-long set of love songs that go well beyond the expected. With Messiaen nothing is ever simple or easy or obvious. In Harawi he takes his listeners on an excursion of epic proportions that is spiritual, otherworldly and mysterious.
Arnold and Hardink’s vision of the song cycle brought clarity, cohesiveness and sense of purpose to their virtuosic performance. The harmonic language of Harawiis at times harsh, dense and strident, yet there is also an exotic lyricism that flows through each of the 12 songs, and that was something that the two captured brilliantly. Theirs was a wonderfully crafted reading that was always lucid and eloquent. It was a powerful interpretation that underscored the immensity of the work and its depth of expression without compromising its profoundly moving lyricism.
Jason Hardink (Photo: Courtesy of the artist)
The concert opened with Gregorian Chant and J.S. Bach, which at first might have seemed out of place, but in context with Messiaen’s deeply spiritual song cycle, made complete sense.
The Choristers of the Cathedral of the Madeleine brought their angelic voices to bear in a number of plainchant melodies as well as Maurice Duruflé’s Te Deum. Under the direction of Melanie Malinka, the youngsters sang with crystalline crispness and pure intonation. They were accompanied by cathedral organist Gabriele Terrone.
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s principal organist, Richard Elliott, rounded out the concert with a radiant account of Bach’s wondrous Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582. Elliott’s impeccable artistry and musicality, not to mention his prodigious technique, were on full display as he played what surely must be one of Bach’s greatest works for organ. He brought finely crafted phrasings and well delineated expressiveness to his reading. He captured the grandeur of the work with his virtuosic playing and never lost sight of the nuances and subtleties that help define this piece.