“Solemnis” or Just Plain “Solemn”?

Being a student, I have discovered about a million and one ways to fall asleep, one being opening my biology textbook, and the other being eating three plates of turkey on Thanksgiving. However, a new addition was made to that very list upon attending a performance at Carnegie Hall—Missa solemnis, featuring the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique and the Monteverdi Choir. The performance, portrayed as a celebration of Ludwig van Beethoven’s music, had high standards to meet as I was excited and extremely enthusiastic to finally witness a stage at the world-renowned Carnegie Hall. Although the journey to reach our reserved seats was somewhat tiring, that was unfortunately probably the most exciting part of the performance as the rest assumed a more dull and uninviting nature. As the performance started, I was immediately drawn to the orchestra playing in the pit rather than the chorus members that took their positions on stage. It was definitely an interesting experience to see the music being played live rather than already being recorded and merely drowned out by the choir, as I had seen in previous performances I had attended. I enjoyed observing the violin players zig-zag their bows across the strings in a violent, yet engaging, fashion and found myself enticed by their fast-paced and precise movements. Each musician played his or her part to an impeccable degree and never missed a beat, the total sum of the players performing so much in sync that it seemed like just a single instrument was playing. However, their playing could only engage my attention for so long as I grew accustomed to it and eventually tuned that out as well.

Despite the limited space at the location our seats were located at, the venue was absolutely breathtaking and spectacular. The red carpet and velvet strewn throughout the venue was stunning and granted a feeling of prestige and honor within me that I was given the opportunity to witness the performance that would follow. Although we were up pretty high, we still had an excellent bird’s eye view of the orchestra and the choir, giving us a more holistic perspective on the performance since we were able to see how all the pieces and performers of the puzzle were sewn together as opposed to the spectators on the ground level whom could only witness the few performers within their optic range. The sound that traveled to the ears of those of us seated high up at the performance venue was glorious and resonated quite well, every orchestral note as clear as day and every change in the pitch or dynamics of the lyrics tangible to our ears. Despite these aspects of the performances that should be applauded, there were undoubtedly aspects of it that I did not enjoy nearly as much.

Although the singers of the choir had quite mesmerizing talent, I found it difficult to follow along with them in the music pieces. The fact that the music was in a different language brought a different perspective to the piece, but it made the overall performance easy to drown out in the midst of confusion due to the language barrier. I did enjoy how the words flew out of the singers’ mouths effortlessly, yet conveying the same deep religious meaning, but I was dismayed that I could not understand what they were saying and found it cumbersome to locate exactly what they were saying in the supplied translations since many of the words were drawn out multiple times and parts were switched off. The fact that the same words were being repeated several times made the performance seem tedious and monotonous, although the choir actually performed five different pieces. The saving grace of the performance for me was being familiar with the prayers presented by the songs—however, that did not prevent me from feeling as though the performance was drawn out and too “solemn” for my liking. However, despite my disappointment with the specific aspects of the performance, I enjoyed the experience at Carnegie Hall and look forward to future performances at the venue.