Chorus, symphony take on Beethoven work

A not-to-be-missed concert will take place on campus when the UW–Madison Choral Union and Symphony Orchestra present Beethoven’s larger-than-life “Missa Solemnis,” Op. 123, in Mills Concert Hall, Mosse Humanities Building, Saturday, May 1, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, May 2, at 7:30 p.m. The 160 voices in the choir and 78-piece Symphony Orchestra will strain the Mills Hall stage, which will be extended to accommodate the choir, orchestra, four soloists and conductor.

Considered a masterpiece of Western music, it is rarely performed, due in part to its difficulty. It has been 15 years since the Choral Union last performed the work. The trying technical demands, though, give a huge musical reward; it is exuberant and triumphant, yet can be moving, tender and quite personal. “It’s like Beethoven invited 20 people over for dinner and there is only room for six at the table,” says Beverly Taylor, director of the Choral Union and choral activities at UW–Madison and professor with the School of Music.

The “Missa Solemnis” follows the traditional Catholic Mass in structure and text, with Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus and Agnus Dei movements. The work is religious, but is symphonic in its feel, with Beethoven’s musical genius in full force. Beethoven inscribed the manuscript with these words: “From the heart — may it go to the heart!” Indeed, there is emotion in abundance, with barely contained emotion and fervor.

Beethoven’s choral writing can be treacherous for singers to execute, and the “Missa Solemnis” is a challenge, but for the listener, the experience is a joyous ride. Taylor says it has some of the most demanding choral parts a choir is likely to encounter and that the extended high notes and low notes and fast and slow sections all contribute to its difficulty. “Just when you think you couldn’t sing one more high note, you turn the page and there are more high notes!”

The soloists for the performance are Brooke Jackson, soprano; Jennifer Sams, mezzo-soprano; Heath Rush, tenor; and Thomas Weis, lyric bass. All have a past or current connection to UW–Madison.

Jackson has performed with the Apollo Chorus of Chicago as well as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Sams is pursuing her doctorate and has performed with the Knoxville Opera Company. Rush studied with James Doing at UW–Madison and has performed with the Madison Opera, the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Orlando Opera Studio. Weis has been an active voice teacher and performer at Carroll University in Waukesha, and has performed with the Milwaukee Symphony, the Heartland Festival and Skylight Opera Theater.

Beethoven completed the “Missa Solemnis” in 1823, four years before his death. At this point in his life he was completely deaf. His music and treatment of the text at the end of the Credo movement provides fodder for what he may have been feeling. The text is: “Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum, et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen.” (And I expect the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.) He repeats the words “and the life of the world to come” over and over, page after page, without interruption, mirroring unceasing eternity.

And what of Beethoven’s take on eternity? Scholars know that Beethoven did not attend Mass regularly and his actual religious beliefs are not clearly defined. But his letters imply a belief in an ultimate, benign and intelligent power. It is impossible to not speculate that he may have envisioned an everlasting existence in which his hearing would be restored.

Single admission tickets are $15 for the general public and $8 for students and seniors, available at the Wisconsin Union Theater Box Office, 265-ARTS. Remaining tickets will be sold at the door.