22 September this year marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (1875-1911) - Lithuanian artist, composer, painter and choirmaster, founder of Lithuanian national music and a representative of Symbolism and Art Nouveau. The concert entitled Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis - MKČ 150, which clearly referenced this anniversary, took place on Thursday 23 October at Besední dům. The programme combined Čiurlionis’s compositions with works by František Chaloupka, who also collaborated on the project as dramaturge. The concert was given the umbrella title Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis / František Chaloupka: Moje cesta (My Journey), a nod to one of Čiurlionis' pictorial triptychs. Chaloupka's work, however, does not follow directly on from Čiurlionis. It follows its own path, but connects with him through inspiration in mythology, where it sees a strong reflection of the present.
The concert was divided into two, or rather three, sections. The opening part was devoted to Čiurlionis’s choral works, performed by the Lithuanian chamber ensemble Aidija under the direction of Romualdas Gražinis – the group’s artistic director, who was, however, also relieved on the podium by members of the choir. Aidija’s performance showed exemplary intonation. The ensemble supported the pieces with clear text delivery, tightly blended ensemble and expressive work
with dynamics. The choir regularly rearranged itself during the first part, which may have been for the sake of acoustic variety or for purely practical performance reasons, when some pieces might be better sung with a different choral layout. In any case, it did not notably help the acoustics, but neither did it harm them, and in terms of sound quality, this first section was even. All sections of the choir were clearly audible, however the ensemble was arrayed, and in the performance firm basses blended with ringing tenors, warmly coloured altos and bright sopranos.
Although the choir’s performance was outstanding, the first part of the concert felt monotonous, which was largely down to the pieces themselves. At almost 45 minutes and with 11 works performed, it certainly wouldn’t have hurt to shorten the section slightly. The programme also announced that the pieces would be interspersed with intermezzi for clarinet and piano by František Chaloupka, which in the end, for unknown reasons, did not happen. Including the intermezzos would admittedly have lengthened the programme, but even so it would have helped ease the aforementioned monotony.
The second section was devoted to Čiurlionis’s works for solo piano performed by Miroslav Beinhauer, this time interleaved with Chaloupka’s intermezzi for solo clarinet. This section worked better in dramaturgical terms, despite the fact that Beinhauer’s piano playing was not especially deep in dynamic or expressive range. Technically, however, he handled the pieces very well. Chaloupka’s clarinet intermezzi worked extremely well as performed by Anna Paulová and added some welcome spice to the programme. The individual pieces were conceived so that the first intermezzo seemed to draw on folk music and, melodically, partly followed on from Oi giria, giria, which opened this section. Each subsequent clarinet miniature then moved ever closer to contemporary musical means of expression. The idea of a dialogue between piano and clarinet, between Čiurlionis and Chaloupka, was reinforced by placing the clarinettist on the balcony, the opposite side of the hall from where the piano sounded.
After the intermission came the world première of Hyperborea, an opera-oratorio by František Chaloupka (*1981), commissioned by the festival. The Aidija chamber choir was now joined by clarinetist Anna Paulová and pianist Miroslav Beinhauer, and a quartet of soloists consisting of Dovilė Pavilionytė (soprano), Laurynas Viliušis (tenor), Kajus Rudžionis (baritone) and Domas Saulevičius (bass), and conductor Adomas Morkūnas-Budrys took to the podium. The semi-staged presentation was enhanced by light design from Michal Pustějovský. The theme of the opera draws on mythology, chiefly Greek and Indian, and the libretto alternates Latin, Greek, Sanskrit and English. The performance was complemented by subtitles projected onto a screen on stage, which was certainly a good move, but may have been harder to read for some of the audience in the back rows.
Musically, Chaloupka’s work is compelling, at least for the most part. The handling of choral and solo lines was colourful, fresh, and interestingly complemented by a restrained but effective instrumental palette. On the other hand, the opera would not have suffered from at least a modest trim. Compared to the advertised thirty-five minutes, the running time ultimately approached fifty. Although the compositional procedures were interesting and musically effective, , the oratorio showed a tendency to frequent repetition, and the aforementioned strengths gradually ebbed away. As a whole, however, the work can still be described as successful. Its impact was bolstered by some excellent musical performances. The soloists and choir frequently had to cope with highly demanding voice-leading and tight, even dissonant, sonorities. However, there was no hesitation in the performance and the ensemble maintained excellent intonation. The instrumental side was equally accomplished. The only major criticism is that the clarinet was occasionally lost in the overall sound. Overall, under Adomas Morkūnas-Budrys the performance had flair. Despite the drawn-out nature of the second half, it managed to sustain momentum.
The directorial concept was somewhat peculiar. The semi-staging was represented mainly by hints of costume (masks, silver cowls, a raven costume, a swan) and by hints of action in the style of moving the choir, or, for example, a “raven’s march” through the hall and back. For those in the back rows the entire action was moreover completely unreadable, as it was not placed on the stage but in the area in front of it. On stage there remained only the screen with subtitles and a structure with red lights/lasers pointing to a lantern suspended above them – this constituted Michal Pustějovský’s light design, which thus came across as a little cheap. The positioning of the performers is quite clearly the biggest downside of Thursday's première and is still slightly baffling to me.
Thursday's concert was a dramaturgically interesting attempt that, in this instance, unfortunately did not quite come off. Despite the very good musical performances, the evening lacked any significant spark. Shortening the outer parts of the evening would surely have helped to a certain extent (the central section alternating piano and clarinet would not necessarily have needed this). One could also imagine splitting the concert into two separate events, which might have worked better still, as the pairing of Čiurlionis and Chaloupka did not entirely live up to expectations.
Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis: works for a cappella choir
Aš prašiau Dievą (I Asked God) VL 30, VL 30a
Anoj pusėj Nemuno (On the Other Side of the Nemunas) VL 27
I fed the horse (I Fed the Little Horse) VL 68, VL 68a
Ant kalno gluosnys (On the Hill a Willow) VL 27b
Lakštangėlė (Nightingale) VL 43
Beauštanti aušrelė (Dawning) VL 31
Kelk, dukrele (Rise, My Daughter) VL 42
Bėkit, bareliai (Run, Little Furrows) VL 32
Kas bernelio pamįslyta (What the Young Man Had in Mind) VL 41
Dainų dainelė (Little Song of Songs) VL 33
Oi giria, giria (Oh Forest, Forest) VL 52, VL 53
Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis: works for solo piano and František Chaloupka: intermezzos for solo clarinet
Oi giria, giria (Oh Forest, Forest) VL 276
Jūra (Sea) VL 317
Variations Sefaa Esec VL 258
Fugue in B minor VL 345
Prelude in F sharp major "Angelus Domini" VL 184
František Chaloupka: Hyperborea, opera-oratorio for clarinet, piano, soloists and choir - commissioned for the festival, world première
Dovilė Pavilionytė - soprano
Laurynas Viliušis - tenor
Kajus Rudžionis - baritone
Domas Saulevičius - bass
Anna Paulová - clarinet
Miroslav Beinhauer - piano
Aidija chamber choir
Romualdas Gražinis - choirmaster and artistic director
Adomas Morkūnas-Budrys - conductor
Michal Pustějovský - light design
Project dramaturgy: Vítězslav Mikeš and František Chaloupka
Thursday, 23 October at 7:00 p.m., Besední dům
No comment added yet..