Last week's concert was for schoolchildren and parents mainly. This week was a completely new level. Its not everyday that a choir gets to sing for a multinational organisation like Oxfam. And what makes this concert an even greater success was that it was organised by five of the younger boys in the choir.
Last week's concert was educational; this week's concert was professional. The soloists were pitch perfect at all times. The orchestra of 10 cellos was arguably one of the most talented group of instrumentalists I have heard. The pieces were equally brilliant, from mystical Gregorian chants to boisterous Mendelssohn. But two pieces in particular stood out for their power and historical backgrounds. Both were by Pau Casals, the legendary Catalan composer and cello player. It was very fitting therefore that the orchestra should have been formed in its entirety by cello players (along with the organ accompaniment).
The first piece by Pau Casals was his famous Nigra Sum. Sung from memory, the boys echoed their sounds across the naves, wave after wave of smooth decani sounds, followed by answering alto voices. It had echoes of Joaquin Rodrigo's famous Concierto de Aranjuez at the start. The choir and orchestra alternated sections, building up finally to a very emotional choir-only climax. If a single word could describe this performance, it would have to be Perfection.
This piece has a very strong recent historical significance: it was sung in 2010 by the Escolania at the mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI in Gaudi's famous Sagrada Familia in Barcelona to commemorate its consecration.
The second piece also composed by Casals, with a much closer link to the choir. As mentioned in a previous post, this particular piece was composed by Casals himself for the choir, and thus carries with it a deeper sense of devotion for those who sing it. I only wish I was still a treble and be able to sing with the boys!
Here is a link for a similar recent performance by the choir inside Montserrat:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coL8Dl17RiM&playnext=1&list=PLC2ECC280A73987A2
For the Oxfam concert, however, the performance became even more special. The boys placed themselves around the church nave at equal distance from the middle. These same voices had a completely new sound now. It was like listening to the choir through surround system speakers. Each voice could be heard individually depending on where you sat. The dynamics were beautifully in shape and perfectly timed: one moment a velvety alto with vibrato would sing forte a long note; the next moment a single pure decani voice would be heard across the church, slightly more forte than the rest, and the next thing you hear is a group of soloists singing a verse from different points of the church. What made this even more special was that they mostly managed to stand behind columns; the sounds seemed to sprout out of nowhere! And furthermore, each time you turned your head to listen to another voice, you would block out one sound by turning your head and a new one would enter your turned ear.
The cause for the concert was helping Sudan. This last motet, however, was offered for the victims of the Japan earthquake and tsunami. The first half of the concert was dedicated to one of the more elderly monks at Montserrat, who today celebrates 25 years in the community. Very elegantly he stood up at the end of the first half to bow to the audience. He had composed many of the motets in the first half, and as a sign of gratitude the choir started applauding as well, which is a very rare honour for anyone here.
This concert has shown how capable a group of young voices is of transforming the lives of people. Not only was this a solidarity event to help people who need support, it was also a great achievement by all those involved, especially the five boys who contacted Oxfam Spain and who organised most of the concert themselves. Unforgettable work boys!
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