Any local music lover who is worried about the state of the region’s classical music scene would have had their concerns calmed at least to some degree had they followed me around this weekend on my concert-going rounds for the LOCAL.
I took in a splendid opening of the Opera Company of Philadelphia’s production of Puccini’s “Manon Lescaut” in a jam-packed Academy of Music Friday night, I heard the Philadelphia Orchestra give superb renditions of three Russian masterpieces in a sold-out Verizon Hall on Saturday evening, and I rounded out the weekend with the debut concert of the Philadelphia Archdiocesan Choir directed by John Romeri in the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter & Paul Sunday afternoon, in which Chestnut Hill’s Zachary Hemenway took part.
Interestingly enough, all three of the performances took place in the city’s most appropriate setting for the music at hand. The Academy of Music was built as an opera house – not a concert hall – in 1856-57. It remains the perfect venue for Italian opera, visually resplendent and acoustically resonant, especially when staged traditionally and with excellent ensemble. Many of the acoustical drawbacks that were immediately apparent in Verizon Hall at the time of its opening more than a decade ago have been remedied, rendering the space an excellent venue for symphonic concerts. Finally, major sacred choral works such as Mozart’s “Coronation” Mass were intended to be performed in cathedrals such as the Basilica of SS. Peter & Paul. Its open expanses enhance the sound of the singing and playing.

CATHEDRAL CONCERT
It was the Archdiocesan Choir’s Sunday afternoon concert that proved to be the weekend’s most scintillating and encouraging. Only a year old, the choir combines the members of the Cathedral Choir with additional singers drawn from 40 parishes across the Archdiocese to form a 70-member choral ensemble that sang a program of demanding music, climaxing with Mozart’s “Coronation” Mass.
Playing organ continuo throughout the program was Zachary Hemenway, organist & music director at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Chestnut Hill.
“This choir is amazing,” he told me during intermission. “It’s only a year old. John (Romeri) formed it out of nothing. He’s like a force of nature. And the resonance in this cathedral is amazing.”
The program opened with Gabrieli’s “In Ecclesis,” with Romeri splitting the choir in half to recall the famed antiphonal effects possible in Venice’s legendary Basilica of St. Mark. The modal harmonies echoed across the length of the center aisle from back to front, with the instrumental ensemble proffering subtle yet solid support. Romeri wisely chose moderate tempi for the score’s contrasting yet complimentary sections so that the Latin text was clearly projected.
“Let the Bright Seraphim” and “Let Their Celestial Concerts All Unite” from Handel’s oratorio “Samson” followed with soprano Rochelle Ellis singing stylistically and operatically in the former and the choir delivering a theatrical punch in the latter.
Two works by the contemporary composer Philip W.J. Stopford received loving interpretations. “Ave Verum Corpus” (Hail the True Body) is a gorgeous example of a modern yet moving setting of a traditional Latin text while “The Spirit of the Lord Is Upon Me” was commissioned for the September 8, 2011, installation Mass for the Most Reverend Charles Chaput as Roman Catholic Archbishop of Philadelphia. Romeri led the choir with an admirable sensitivity to the meaning of the words in both works, achieving a high degree of tonal blend and textural balance.
Mozart’s “Laudate Dominum” (O Praise the Lord) from his “Solemn Vespers of the Confessor” brought Ellis back to sing the work’s elegantly rounded phrases with sweet lyricism and disarming spirituality. The “Hallelujah” Chorus from Beethoven’s oratorio, “Christ on the Mount of Olives,” brought the concert’s first half to a thrilling conclusion.
Mozart’s “Coronation” Mass is not only one of his finest sacred choral pieces – it’s one of the most potent musical settings of the six movements of the Ordinary of the Traditional Rite of the Latin Mass ever composed. The “Kyrie” (actually Greek!) is as direct and to the point as simple plainsong; the “Gloria” is exuberantly celebratory; the “Credo” delivers the dogma of the faith forcefully; the “Sanctus” and “Benedictus” seem to float down from Heaven; and the “Agnus Dei” expresses divine mercy with loving kindness. Romeri led his choir, orchestra and four vocal soloists with a deft hand and an intense commitment to choral expressivity, producing a sterling rendition that filled the Cathedral Basilica with glorious music making. Though only a year old, the Archdiocesan Choir sang like a veteran ensemble. It’s a worthy addition to Philadelphia’s many excellent choruses.