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Cathedral concert excels
Contributed by: Robin McNeil on 4/24/2007

Last Saturday evening, at the Cathedral Basilica of The Immaculate Conception, there was another concert of truly exceptional quality.

Entitled, "Easter Concert," the program was, once again, a perfect combination of works, ranging from the very early Baroque to the 20th Century. Putting a concert program together is not as easy as it sounds. One does not just glue pieces together to encompass a certain amount of performance time. To build a concert program one needs to know the repertoire very well indeed so as to make sure that works performed fit together with the same aesthetic purpose as a single piece. At this task, Dr. Horst Buchholz, Director of Music at the Cathedral, always surprises and never disappoints. Surprises because one comes away from all of his programs wondering how they could be put together any better than the last one - but they always are.

On Saturday the program opened with two works for two organs, one composed by Cesario Gussago (1550-1620), and the other written by Ludovico da Viadana (1560-1627). Cesario Gussago, not well known today, was an Italian composer and priest: in 1599 Vicar-General of the Order of S. Gerolamo in Brescia, and in 1612 organist of S. Maria delle Grazie. He published instrumental sonatas in up to 8 parts, and large- and small-scale motets and psalms. The Gussago work performed last Saturday is entitled Sonata "La Leona" a 8. Do not mistake a work called sonata from this period to be similar to, say, a Mozart sonata.

Late renaissance or early Baroque sonatas are extensions of the Italian instrumental canzona, which is a development of the French chanson. Ludovico da Viadana was very prolific composer. His historical importance lies in the fact that he established the use of the continuo in church music with his epoch-making collection of sacred music, Cento concerti ecclesiastici of 1602 (two additional volumes appeared later). The influence of the collection was immeasurable because it proved that continuo was feasible for church music. Both of these composers wrote for both organs that the church had at the time; a grand organ and a smaller choir organ. These organ pieces are absolute gems. Dr Buchholz played the small choir organ and Ms. Bohee Kim played the grand organ.

And a word here about Bohee Kim. She received her BM from Catholic University of Korea, MM from U of Memphis, and is now working on her Artist Diploma with Dr. Buchholz at DU. She is also the Cathedral Organ Scholar and Assistant Organist. Her performance was stunning, and there is no question that she has a remarkable career ahead of her. She is an outstanding organist and an outstanding musician.

Following the works for two organs were two works by Handel - an Aria for Tenor and Violin with choir organ continuo and an Aria for Soprano and Oboe with choir organ continuo. The tenor was none other than Daniel Fosha who has been heard many times at the Cathedral and also many times in opera productions. Mr. Fosha , as we have now come to expect, exemplifies fine musicianship, and has one of the most crystal clear tenor voices in the surrounding six or seven state area. Dr. MeeAe Nam was the soprano. She is always exquisite, and like Daniel Fosha, she is always on pitch, and she always has a powerful effect on the audience. Kathy Thayer was the violinist and Elizabeth Hardin, the oboist. Both displayed remarkable tone and virtuosity

The Handel pieces were very well done, and though these are sacred works, how many times have they been heard? Dr. Buchholz always finds literature that is rarely heard at the Cathedral.

Closing the first half of the program was an organ duet (four hands at one organ console) by English composer, John Rutter. Born in 1945, Rutter very definitely writes with 20th Century harmonies. The work performed was Variations on an Easter Theme which was played by Dr, Horst Buchholz and his student, Bohee Kim. Their performance was quite exciting and is very demanding technically.

The second half of the program was the Mass in C Major by Franz Schubert. This beautiful work was performed with two of Mozart's "Epistle Sonatas" - one before the Credo and one after the Credo. This was a traditional performance of any Mass in the Baroque and Classical periods of music. Handel, Corelli, and Haydn all wrote these sonatas da chiesa which were inserted in the Mass.

Though the Schubert Mass is certainly more well known than the works on the first half of the program, it is still fairly difficult to find a live performance, and the Denver community should be grateful to the Cathedral of The Immaculate Conception and to Dr. Horst Buchholz for making all of these works available to the public. Dr. Buchholz has available to him some truly fine performers. He takes full advantage of this in his programming, and the Cathedral is to be commended and thanked for its support of such a fine music program and for these concerts where sacred music is performed on such a very high level. The concerts at the Cathedral of The Immaculate Conception are proof that sacred music can and should be performed in concert, and that if it is, the public will respond.



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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Robin McNeil

Littleton , CO

Robin McNeil has posted 698 stories and 0 comments since joining on 9/14/2005. Robin McNeil 's average story rating is 5.
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