In the chorales he bravely played with nuance, from the lightest pianissimo to the strongest forte. He places candles with words by delaying and accelerating.
‘Gewikt & gewogen’
Leeuwarder Courant, March 24, 2016
Place: Grote or Jacobijnerkerk Leeuwarden.
Company: Stendenkoor, Nationaal Symfonisch Kamerorkest, Koorschool Viva la Musica.
Performance: Mattheus Passion of J.S. Bach.
Crowd: 300
Stars: 3/5
In a musical landscape with ups and downs the first Mattheus Passion of the Stendenkoor led by Hans de Wilde took place. The Stendenkoor, founded by Harm Witteveen 25 years ago, is this composed of (ex-) hbo student, mbo music studens and coworkers from Stenden University. Stenden can righteously be proud of this choir. In a dynamic setting of ‘masters and company’ the supple choir sound sounded (also in the highest registers) until the end of this passion story.
De Wilde showed a lot of vocal technique experience and carried the ladies and gentlemen competently through the exciting ‘Donner und Blitze’ fugue and other heavy ‘turbae’ choir parts.
Regarding rhythm and volume balance between choir and orchestra there was some room for improvement, mainly in the first part. Soloists had to fight against woodwinds and flute, which did not benefit the musical experience. For Bert van de Wetering (fine bass sound with a light vibrato), who stood more towards the back of the stage for his Christ part, this was especially tough. This made his interpretation less dramatic.
The clear soprano voice of Lauren Armishaw floated above evrything effortlessly and in her aria Aus Liebe accompaniment and her moving singing came together beautifully. Also the fiery timbre of bass Julian Hartman convinced with his inspired performance.
Evangelist Andre Post signed for some beautifully sung passages, but appeared to have intonation problems during his long tale.
After the break we experienced the most beautiful moments. The conductor now led with decisive gestures and put all his cards on interpretation. In the chorales he daringly played with nuance, from the lightest pianissimo to the strongest forte. He places candles with words by delaying and accelerating. Willful and artistic, fully focused on emotion. The Stendenkoor surpassed itself and layed down an intense, overwhelming and rhythmic Sein Blut.
Jeanine Kramer