Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

The fist of God

Only the locals do work on the Berlioz Requiem at La Jolla Symphony

Tuba mirum bitches.
Tuba mirum bitches.
Video:

Beecham - Berlioz: VII. Offertorium

We could say, for comparison's sake, that Mozart's Dies Irae is something like an 18th Century cavalry charge and Verdi's Dies Irae is like a choreographed shock and awe campaign. Berlioz's Dies Irae? Berlioz is like the glowing, radioactive fist of God descending on the world with total, nuclear, annihilation.

The extra brass and percussion had the audience flanked on both sides while the orchestra and chorus crowded the stage. The La Jolla Symphony concert of Berlioz's Requiem was sold out on Sunday afternoon, March 15. It was a good performance of a difficult piece.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The “big bang” was big and “bangy” and that’s exactly as it should be. For those who don’t know, the Berlioz Requiem uses 38 additional pieces of brass for the Dies Irae/Tuba Mirum. 38 pieces of brass is a decent-sized middle school band.

I would have to say that on the whole the chorus did a fine job. However, and this is a much larger issue, the sound was consistently spread. This “spread” sound is an epidemic amongst all but the very finest choruses.

What is a spread sound? When there is no height to the sound then the tone begins to spread and starts to sound flat, even if it isn’t technically flat.

Real quick, say “eeeee.” Now say “aaaaaaaah.” We tend to feel “eee” horizontally and “aaah” vertically. A singer, at any level, wants to avoid feeling the tone horizontally and always feel the tone vertically.

The chorus went vertical from time to time, and when they did, the sound sparkled and had life. When the tone was spread, the sound was dull and lacking energy. The energy had nothing to do with effort. Folks were doing work up there but a spread tone will never, ever, sound energized.

Let’s take a moment to acknowledge my brothers in the tenor section. Berlioz, ever the experimentalist, didn’t write an alto line in the chorus part. There is first and second soprano but no alto lin — except there is an alto line.

The first tenors end up singing what amounts to an alto line. By the time we get to the Lacrymosa and the opening line for the first tenors, things are beginning to fray. I’ve got to hand it to the tenor section for singing that bear three days in a row.

Now, how about that tenor soloist? The Sanctus (holy) section has a potentially beautiful tenor solo — potentially. This sanctus was less “holy” and more “holy crap, I think that guy is going to spew blood all over the first three rows.” (Maybe that should be the “splash zone”).

This is going to get brutal. You see, if a soloist is terrible, but is a local artist, then I can at least say something such as, “It’s always nice to see local singers get an opportunity.” In this case, I can’t do that.

I also ratchet up the critique when a singer is obviously based on the East Coast, judging by their bio, and is brought to San Diego to sing what amounts to about three minutes of music.

Tenor John Tiranno was awful. He sounded unprepared. The solo is easy. The tune is simple and lyrical. However, the solo is also infinitely difficult because of the way it sits in the tenor voice.

It sounded to me that Mr. Tiranno had not worked the piece into his voice sufficiently enough to perform in public. It was painful and disappointing. La Jolla has consistently done a wonderful job using San Diego and Southern California soloists. I hope they return to that practice.

I was surprised to find that my favorite section of this performance was the Offertorium. The strings were gorgeous and the woodwinds — oh, the woodwinds. They were remarkable as they bubbled to the surface with their brook of arpeggios midway through.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

OSHA rules wall falls our fault

Who, U.S.?
Next Article

Reader Music Issue short takes

Obervatory's mosh pit, frenetic Rafael Payare, Lemonhead chaos, bleedforthescene, Coronado Tasting Room
Tuba mirum bitches.
Tuba mirum bitches.
Video:

Beecham - Berlioz: VII. Offertorium

We could say, for comparison's sake, that Mozart's Dies Irae is something like an 18th Century cavalry charge and Verdi's Dies Irae is like a choreographed shock and awe campaign. Berlioz's Dies Irae? Berlioz is like the glowing, radioactive fist of God descending on the world with total, nuclear, annihilation.

The extra brass and percussion had the audience flanked on both sides while the orchestra and chorus crowded the stage. The La Jolla Symphony concert of Berlioz's Requiem was sold out on Sunday afternoon, March 15. It was a good performance of a difficult piece.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The “big bang” was big and “bangy” and that’s exactly as it should be. For those who don’t know, the Berlioz Requiem uses 38 additional pieces of brass for the Dies Irae/Tuba Mirum. 38 pieces of brass is a decent-sized middle school band.

I would have to say that on the whole the chorus did a fine job. However, and this is a much larger issue, the sound was consistently spread. This “spread” sound is an epidemic amongst all but the very finest choruses.

What is a spread sound? When there is no height to the sound then the tone begins to spread and starts to sound flat, even if it isn’t technically flat.

Real quick, say “eeeee.” Now say “aaaaaaaah.” We tend to feel “eee” horizontally and “aaah” vertically. A singer, at any level, wants to avoid feeling the tone horizontally and always feel the tone vertically.

The chorus went vertical from time to time, and when they did, the sound sparkled and had life. When the tone was spread, the sound was dull and lacking energy. The energy had nothing to do with effort. Folks were doing work up there but a spread tone will never, ever, sound energized.

Let’s take a moment to acknowledge my brothers in the tenor section. Berlioz, ever the experimentalist, didn’t write an alto line in the chorus part. There is first and second soprano but no alto lin — except there is an alto line.

The first tenors end up singing what amounts to an alto line. By the time we get to the Lacrymosa and the opening line for the first tenors, things are beginning to fray. I’ve got to hand it to the tenor section for singing that bear three days in a row.

Now, how about that tenor soloist? The Sanctus (holy) section has a potentially beautiful tenor solo — potentially. This sanctus was less “holy” and more “holy crap, I think that guy is going to spew blood all over the first three rows.” (Maybe that should be the “splash zone”).

This is going to get brutal. You see, if a soloist is terrible, but is a local artist, then I can at least say something such as, “It’s always nice to see local singers get an opportunity.” In this case, I can’t do that.

I also ratchet up the critique when a singer is obviously based on the East Coast, judging by their bio, and is brought to San Diego to sing what amounts to about three minutes of music.

Tenor John Tiranno was awful. He sounded unprepared. The solo is easy. The tune is simple and lyrical. However, the solo is also infinitely difficult because of the way it sits in the tenor voice.

It sounded to me that Mr. Tiranno had not worked the piece into his voice sufficiently enough to perform in public. It was painful and disappointing. La Jolla has consistently done a wonderful job using San Diego and Southern California soloists. I hope they return to that practice.

I was surprised to find that my favorite section of this performance was the Offertorium. The strings were gorgeous and the woodwinds — oh, the woodwinds. They were remarkable as they bubbled to the surface with their brook of arpeggios midway through.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

March is typically windy, Sage scents in the foothills

Butterflies may cross the county
Next Article

Centennial Salute to San Diego’s Military, East Village Block Party, Birding Basics Class

Events March 29-March 30, 2024
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.