Local instrumental creativity - Newspaper Kommersant No. 177 (7378) of 09/24/2022

Local instrumental creativity - Newspaper Kommersant No. 177 (7378) of 09/24/2022



In the Tchaikovsky Hall, Philip Chizhevsky's Questa Musica ensemble and choir performed Handel's legendary oratorio Messiah about victory over death and hell. How convincingly Yulia Bederova.

For the last ten years, the Moscow Philharmonic Society has ardently supported, if not simply led the Russian Handelian renaissance. At least once a season, textbook and rare (mostly, however, operatic) masterpieces were performed in the interpretations of authoritative European masters - world-class soloists, conductors and ensembles with an individual style: from Les Arts florissants to Il Pomo d'Oro, from Christopher Moulds to George Petru, and the final list of singers is simply too long to list. Let's just say that the second monographic festival of Handel's music, which was supposed to take place just this September, were invited by Yestin Davis, Anna Bonitatibus, Christophe Dumos and others.

In the program of the first, last year's festival ("Handel: the world above and below") there was already an oratorio, only one, but what - the oratorio "Theodore". The second festival and its “Heroes and Anti-Heroes” (as the new theme sounded) were unlucky, just like the entire Russian public. The festival was canceled, and the current “Messiah” – a three-part fresco about Old Testament prophecies, the sufferings of the Savior and the eternal triumph of redeemed humanity – is a project that was initially in crisis. No international stars, cross-cultural strategies or exquisite international collaborations - only own forces, although not without Handel's experience. The Ensemble Questa Musica and Filipp Chizhevsky have it not limitless, but it does exist: one of the main events of past seasons was the oratorio "The Triumph of Time and Insensibility" staged by Konstantin Bogomolov. However, there were also imported singers, and besides, not only directing, but also the performance seemed controversial to many.

The current "Messiah" is pleasantly far from a memorable level of ambiguity. In inventive colors and laconic contours of choirs, recitatives and arias, the oratorio produced a rather calm and even somewhat comforting impression, in full accordance with the opening words of the opus: “Comfort, comfort my people ...” in the recitative of the wonderful tenor Sergei Godin, perhaps the main hero of the evening. There was no provincialism in the sound - at least in technical and stylistic terms. But it also lacked what distinguishes the best European or international solutions - a distinct freedom of semantic interpretation, a conscious and unique emotional connection with the text and context.

Built on the principle of one final, perfectly made climax, the sound seemed too even, lightened not only in the instrumental sense (the performance itself by a small composition, without a greasy sheen only for the benefit of this music), but also emotionally. There was a certain unevenness in the solo numbers (the porcelain timbre of Lilia Gaysina sometimes shone with straightforwardness, the captivating expression of Daria Telyatnikova's mezzo was partially hidden by timbre instability, and Igor Podoplelov was full of elegance out of touch with what the score demanded). Although it is compensated by the measured movement of light tempos, the straightened contour of the sculptural game of affects - from tragic to triumphal.

“Messiah” speaks of redemption, but also of the hope of salvation too: “I know that my Redeemer lives…”, “I tell you a secret: not all of us will die, but we will all change suddenly…”, “Death is swallowed up by victory…” – so the most important replicas of the final part sound in terms of meaning. We have to admit that a deep musical and human correlation of this score with meaning and feeling is difficult to achieve today and requires non-decorative approaches. But one can console oneself with beautiful conformity to performing not emotions, but techniques accepted in the world, while it is still felt.



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