There was no thinking small at Saturday night's performance of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, the Memphis Symphony Chorus and the University Singers of the University of Memphis.
The Berlioz Requiem commanded the full program of the evening, 10 movements of ambitious emotional scope and well suited to the hall at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts.
Maestro David Loebel wanted this work done in this venue and the combined symphony and singers did justice to the composition that Berlioz wrote in 1837. The French composer imbued the piece with an energetic romanticism, with strong contrasts and bold harmonies.
The setup alone is enormous. There were about 140 singers plus tenor soloist Gergory Turay, and 96 instrumentalists. Four brass choirs were present, two on stage and two in the upper balcony of the hall, all the better to usher in Judgement Day.
The effect was as intended -- "The wondrous trumpet, spreading its sound" was multiplied and enhanced by other brass to provide spine-tingling moments. The Memphis Symphony Orchestra does know how to ramp it up.
But the piece, even with its grand scope, also has quieter parts that are alluring and unnerving. Recurring passages, such as the interplay between flutes and trombones, were gorgeous.
The vocalizing was robust and beautiful. The combined singers, overseen by Lawrence Edwards, performed as they usually do with precision and heart.
Soloist Turay, winner of the 2000 Richard Tucker award, was outstanding in his virtuoso rendering of the Sanctus movement.
It is rare for the Memphis Symphony Orchestra to perform only one work and to do that only one time -- there was no repeat performance Sunday. Clearly, however, a performance this spectacular and complex deserved a singular treatment. -- www.memphissymphony.org
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