For Bach, National Cathedral > Kennedy Center

Since three of my friends joined the National Cathedral Choral Society, I've been more proactive about attending choral events. First I saw Verdi's Requiem at the National Cathedral in October, followed by Bach's St. Matthew Passion in the same location in February. Then this past Friday, my singer friend Michelle and I saw Bach's Mass in B Minor at the Kennedy Center. This last experience taught me that venue may play an important role in enjoyability, at least when it comes to Bach.

Typically, I love live choral music because the power of the choir simply cannot be replicated on a recording. Even though I had terrible seats for Verdi's Requiem, the moment the horns started for the second movement, Dies Iraes (Day of Wrath), chills ran down my spine. The several dozen voices seem to mirror the terror of the day of wrath.

In contrast, the St. Matthew Passion is a less emotive piece. Like an operetta, it features many soloists playing the roles of Narrator, Jesus, Judas, etc to tell the story of Jesus betrayal, crucifixion, and resurrection. Despite its lack of loud movements, and its heavy dependence on soloists, the chorale verses still emitted chills. Though the Passion didn't evoke the lushness of Verdi's Requiem, I recognized that this was mostly due to the less lush instrumentation of the Baroque period in contrast to Verdi's Romantic inclinations. In addition, a play that tells is story is not simply there to overwhelm the listener, but to narrate events in a nuanced fashion.

Despite knowing that Bach is not Verdi (or Brahms, or Orff), I was still surprised by the National Symphony Orchestra's production of the Mass in B Minor at the Kennedy Center. This "authentic" production used both a small choir of around 30 voices, and a reduced orchestra. While this may have been truer to how a 17th Century German would have enjoyed Bach, it was not the best staging for contemporary audiences at the Kennedy Center. The Kennedy Center's Concert Hall is fairly tall, with four tiers of seating. I was in the second tier towards stage right. Though I had a good view of the performers, they sounded extremely distant, as if I were listening to a recording. This made it difficult to stay engaged. Unable to see the soloists' expressions clearly, it was difficult to tell what mood the concert was supposed to evoke.

After nearly falling asleep, I wondered why the Mass was simply not speaking to me the way I had come to expect of choral pieces. Part of this was the nature of the piece and the minimalist staging, but part of it was most certainly the venue. The National Cathedral Choral Society's concert series is subtitled, "Glorious Music in a Glorious Setting." Glorious the Kennedy Center's concert hall is not. The mauve colored creaky seats screamed seventies. It was more difficult to let oneself go. Though I appreciated Ivan Fischer and his orchestra's technique, I won't hesitate to choose the National Cathedral over the Kennedy Center for choral events in the future.