Joseph So, Musical Toronto
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra concludes its 2016–17 season with Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. It has been a tendency of the TSO to program a choral/vocal spectacle or two towards the end of each season. I recall a fantastic Verdi Requiem a couple of seasons ago. This month, we’ve already had terrific performances of Belshazzar’s Feast and Seven Deadly Sins. But here, the TSO saved its best for last in this series of four performances.
Composed in 1936, the Orff gained immense popularity in the ‘60s and ‘70s. It became one of the most-performed large-scale choral pieces, with many commercial recordings vying for our attention. Given it’s less ubiquitous these days, it’s nice to be re-acquainted with its magic. Orff chose 24 poems from Latin text dating from the 11th or 12thcenturies, unearthed from a Benedictine monastery in Upper Bavaria. The text deals with the vagaries of nature and the fickleness of human life, with all its pleasures and pain – all expressed in a rather uncomplicated way, and always with energy and passion.
Indeed, energy and passion were what defined the performance on Friday night. Peter Oundjian threw himself into the monumental work, conducting with a deft baton. Most importantly, there was a real sense of joy, something lovely to see. With appropriately brisk tempi, he raised the musical temperature to a scorching level: exciting, yes; raw, never! From the very striking opening of “O Fortuna,” one is completely drawn into the drama. The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir sang with impressive power, energy and incisiveness. I was particularly struck by how youthful the women sounded, almost like a treble choir – and I mean that in a good way! The Toronto Children’s Chorus provided the proper sound of innocence, so important in this piece.
Read the full review on Musical Toronto.