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Symphony and chorus perform 'The Creation' with appropriate joy
By Elaine Guregian
Beacon Journal arts and culture critic
Published on Monday, Apr 21, 2008
For Franz Joseph Haydn, composing The Creation was a devout gesture — a spiritual commentary brought to the concert hall.
For the Akron Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, the timing to perform the work on Saturday could not have been better. Akron's landscape sprang to chartreuse-and-yellow life over the weekend, as trees and shrubs budded and flowered.
Haydn's cheery, visual depiction of the biblical story of creation found persuasive performers in these instrumentalists and choristers, as well as soloists Joyce Guyer (Gabriel/Eve), soprano; Karl Dent (Uriel), tenor; and Timothy Jones (Raphael/Adam), baritone, all under the baton of music director Christopher Wilkins.
Mezzo-soprano Sandra Ross ably joined the group for one of the shortest appearances in composition, a stint of under five minutes to fill out the vocal soloists' voices in the finale of the nearly two-hour work.
The orchestra's assistant conductor, Christopher Lees, served as chorus master and Robert Mollard as the chorus' rehearsal director and accompanist. Both deserve a bow for preparing the chorus so thoroughly, and Mollard should take another for his work onstage as harpsichordist in the quiet recitative accompaniments. He and principal cellist Marie-Thais Levesque provided stylish accompaniment in this element of the baroque style of Handel, a composer Haydn admired.
A good performance of The Creation depends on performers who can make listeners hear Haydn's terrific descriptive powers, whether that means insects buzzing, storms roiling, or whatever. The ensemble got the E.J. Thomas concert off to a promising start when it grew from a whisper to a magnificent shout to illustrate the line: ''And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.'' A trio of flutes — Beverly Crawford, Kyra Kester and Ralph Morrison — brought special sweetness to Haydn's depiction of morning.
The chorus was impressive for its control of dynamics and for its clarity in the fugal writing that Haydn often uses. As vocal lines darted in and out, the texture stayed notably clean.
Orchestra management gets my vote, too, for handing out full translations and pointing out to the audience that house lights were being left at reading level. Encouraging everyone to get involved with the text (which was sung in English, as written) was a good move.
In comments before the concert, Executive Director Margo Snider also recognized chorus member Mary Helen Bowers on the occasion of her final appearance with the chorus. Bowers is the last of the founding members of the chorus, which began in the 1956-57 season.
She has an extraordinary record, having missed only a single performance in all those years. Congratulations on a job well done.
Elaine Guregian can be reached at 330-996-3574 or eguregian@thebeaconjournal.com.
For Franz Joseph Haydn, composing The Creation was a devout gesture — a spiritual commentary brought to the concert hall.
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