Honouring J.S. Bach

By John Lehr special to THE TORONTO STAR

Saturday was a day of anniversaries at the George Weston Recital Hall: the 25th anniversary of the Amadeus Choir, Lydia Adams' 15th anniversary as the choir's conductor and the 150th anniversary of J.S. Bach's death. The choir celebrated it all by singing Bach's St. Matthew Passion.

The St. Matthew is the larger of Bach's two surviving accounts of Jesus' arrest, trial and crucifixion. Instrumentalists and singers were packed into every available inch of the Weston Hall's stage and the balcony above it. Big Bach on a grand scale: the 120-voice Amadeus Choir was joined by the Elmer Iseler Singers, the Bach Children's Chorus and the Guelph Youth Singers. And they made a noble sound: full, well-tuned and precise. Bach's work came to life whenever the choir sang.

The soloists varied in ability. Counter-tenor Matthew White excelled in every way: vocally ravishing, emotionally committed, intellectually acute. Fortunately, he had a lot to sing. Tenor Floyd Gadd, the narrator, had even more to sing; the story depended on him. But he told it too laconically. A quicker pace and more intensity, a more forward placement of the voice, would have helped.

Some soloists seemed to have difficulty concentrating on Jesus' sufferings when they themselves were suffering through Bach's torturous vocal lines. Was that why bass Thomas Goerz and soprano Karen Wierzba, though impressive vocally, seemed emotionally distant? As for the other soloists, the spirit was willing but the flesh was weak. Hugues Saint-Gelais had the right timbre and style, but not complete vocal security. And Michael Donovan's voice, at times very beautiful, was inconsistent in timbre and often faltered in pitch.

But soloists come and go; the choir remains. On Saturday, the choristers dominated the stage. Adams had prepared them well, and they came through with a fine performance.