Under the nuanced direction of conductor Manfred Honeck, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus gave a spirited performance at Symphony Center on Thursday night. The first half of the program had a contemporary piece by Scottish composer James MacMillan, Largetto for Orchestra, and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony no. 1 in C-Major.
The second half was devoted to a large vocal work by Franz Joseph Haydn, Mass In Time of War in C-Major. For this wonderful spectacle, Honeck, the CSO Orchestra and Chorus were joined by soprano Joélle Harvey, mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano, tenor Andrew Haji, and baritone Joshua Hopkins.
This musical line-up provided a wide variety of material for Honeck to display his talents, and the orchestra, chorus, and soloists performed well. While not the greatest music ever written, an excellent ensemble of players makes music like this very enjoyable, and that’s what happened Thursday night.
First up was MacMillan’s slow Larghetto for orchestra. As the program notes explained, this work is an adaptation of Miserere, a vocal work based on Psalm 51. This slow-tempo work in an orchestral setting created a very moody and pensive vibe. MacMillan’s score highlights different sections of the orchestra that Honeck carefully brought together. The cellos opened with a quiet chorale in three-part harmony and were soon joined by the violas and a single oboe. The violins soon added to the sound. A climax arrived with the lower brass. Later in the performance, horn, trumpet, and trombone soloists scattered in the balcony gave it a surround-sound feel.
Being a slower piece, the Larghetto did not require ostentatious conducting from Honeck. With baton in his right hand, he messaged the music with his left, and swayed through moments of greater intensity. Beethoven’s first symphony provided Honeck with a very different aural palette, and he grasped the opportunity to expand his presence. At times during the evening, Honeck’s arms and hands were still, while his head and torso would signal the orchestra.
Turning to the Beethoven, it is always a good sign when a performance provides new insight into a piece music that does not typically interest me. In considering his first symphony, it’s hard to believe the revolutionary changes that would come from his quill in just a couple of short years. In the meantime, the first symphony allowed Beethoven to milk everything that was left of the classical model he inherited from Haydn and Mozart. Even while basking in past glories, several things that would become Beethoven hallmarks came through, such as the lengthy coda that closed the opening movement and a minuet that was a thinly disguised scherzo.
The symphony provides lots contrasts in volume and intensity. As the melodies shifted between the sections in the opening movement, the playing was precise, with perfect phrasing and intonation. This also came out in the finale, when the violins haltingly introduce the rapid main theme, the notes of which were clear and even. Honeck gave the second movement Andante cantabile con moto a jolly feel.
After intermission, the focus shifted from the youthful Beethoven to the elderly Haydn, whose Mass was only completed four years earlier than Beethoven’s first symphony. Toward the end of Haydn’s long life, he wrote a lot of vocal music, which is something he had not done in a long time. Future generations have paid most attention to the Haydn’s fabulous oratorios The Creation and The Seasons. While working on these incredible masterpieces, he was also composing six Catholic masses, some of which are rarely performed today. Indeed, until this weekend, in its long and storied history, the CSO had never previously performed the first of these Masses, in C-Major, the Mass in Time of War. Thursday night’s performance demonstrated that the CSO’s audiences have been missing a real gem.
In reflection of the Napoleon’s imminent attack on Vienna in 1796, Haydn himself gave this mass its title. It has also been referred to as the Paukenmesse, “Kettledrun Mass,” due to Haydn’s widespread use of that instrument. Composing at the end of a long career that featured lots of symphonic works, Haydn threw everything into this Mass, which is scored for as large of an orchestra as Haydn had previously used. Haydn also called on some the new harmonies he’d been using at this time.
The Kyrie starts with the chorus singing rather quietly, but the sounds quickly expanded into a sunny space with Soprano Harvey providing a bright solo, the first of many. The other soloists joined in, with Harvey and mezzo-soprano Cano trading melodies with tenor Haji and baritone Hopkins. Throughout, the orchestra, chorus, and soloists jibed well, with Honeck holding it all together.
Each of this work’s six sections has something remarkable, but Haydn put a lot of drama in the Gloria and Credo. Especially noteworthy is the passage in the Gloria where Baritone Hopkins traded poignant solos between Principal Cellist John Sharp and Principal Flautist Stefán Ragnar Höskuldsson. In the Credo, which has several sections, the choir, soloists. and orchestra flawlessly traded passages back and forth on Thursday. Throughout, the different chorus voices offered tight counterpoint, and the chorus and soloists traded the Amen between them. In the Benedictus, the soloists and strings shared the limelight.
This concert will be repeated this evening, Saturday, March 15, 2025. Symphony Center, at 7:30 pm. For ticket information, click here.