Rollo Dilworth was the conductor of the large chorus which has spent the past week preparing the work. The overall effect was that everything was a bit too slow and too uninflected. The sopranos seemed to be the weakest section, shredding pitches on high notes and singing flat some of the time. The men's sections sang quite well. It is difficult to make this magnificent work boring but tonight Mr. Dilworth and company managed to do this.
At the Berkshire Choral Festival, each week a different conductor prepares a different oratorio with a different chorus. This makes the preparation of a major work difficult. It is hard to pull together a major choral work in a limited amount of time allowed with whomever shows up to sing.
Mr. Dilworth's conducting seemed to consist largely of beating time. He seemed to give very little emotional or dynamic inspiration to the chorus, resulting in a mono-chromatic presentation. Having conducted the work a few times myself, I felt cheated not hearing the passion that is Brahms.
Tyler Duncan was the excellent baritone soloist, singing with a beautiful sound, easy technique, and splendid diction. I look forward to hearing more from him.
Ilana Davidson was less successful in the soprano obbligato. The voice is just not large enough to be convincing in this lyrical, emotional role. One doesn't need to have Eileen Farrell, but it would be nice to have something more in this role from the singer.
I would say the whole endeavor, except for Mr. Duncan, who was splendid, lacked energy.
Next week the Festival is doing the Bach St. John Passion. David will be singing in the chorus. I hope for a better result musically and emotionally.
