New York Times
The question on Wednesday was whether Trinity Wall Street’s version of Handel’s “Messiah” would be as good — as bracing, as riveting, as disturbing and consoling — as I remembered . . . But the performance over the past week that has lingered with me most is clear. If someone asks for a recommendation — for the holidays, or for music in New York in general — my answer is the same as it’s been for years: Trinity’s “Messiah.”
What a relief to find that Trinity’s “Messiah” is still burning and gladdening, vivid in both darkness and light. If Brandau’s account lacked some of Wachner’s charged, even savage intensity, that wasn’t entirely a bad thing. The performance on Wednesday added some elegance to the urgent, heartfelt directness, the emphasis on communication, that has been Trinity’s standard in this piece.
Brandau guided the score so that “Hallelujah” seemed to emerge from the preceding numbers, which gradually rose in fieriness. And he, choir and orchestra built patiently to the work’s true climax — “The trumpet shall sound,” sung with annunciatory power by the bass-baritone Edmund Milly and accompanied with eloquence, on a difficult-to-control, valveless natural trumpet, by Caleb Hudson — before the shining waves of the final “Amen.”
Though pleasant enough, a pared-down New York Philharmonic’s “Messiah,” heard on Tuesday, paled in comparison.
The Choir of Trinity Church Wall Street and Trinity Baroque Orchestra
Reviewed by Zachary Woolfe
December 2023
Philadelphia Inquirer
The chorus — here a quite strong Philadelphia Symphonic Choir — tells the story …
It’s important to remember the miracle of successfully putting on these kinds of forces (orchestra, chorus, vocal soloists) in COVID times. But even apart from that consideration, this was a polished performance, in no small part because of Nézet-Séguin’s detailing and the unified — yet finely colored — 67-voice choir.
Philadelphia Orchestra and Philadelphia Symphonic Choir
Reviewed by Peter Dobrin
June 2022
Out in Jersey
Princeton Pro Musica: Joy to the world
Reviewed by Toby Grace
I had the pleasure of attending what may very well be the most beautiful Christmas concert I have ever experienced. Of course we are well used to world-class performances from Pro Musica but even with that established reputation, this concert was really something special on December 11 at Trenton’s magnificent War Memorial auditorium…
…Concluding with the most beautiful arrangement of “Auld Lang Syne” I’ve ever heard, and a magnificent grand finale, this was a memorable concert indeed. Anyone who is not keeping up with the performances of Princeton Pro Musica is missing one of New Jersey’s leading treasures.
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Town Topics
Princeton Pro Musica: a Musical Feast
Reviewed by Nancy Plum
A 40-year history is commendable for any performing organization, and Princeton Pro Musica, which presented its first concert in the spring of 1980 and has only had two music directors in four decades, celebrated this milestone this past weekend with a festive concert at the Princeton University Chapel.
The excerpts from Alexander’s Feast included four choruses and one aria, which was sung by guest soprano Sherezade Panthaki. Well-known throughout Baroque performance circles, Panthaki showed no fear of the space in the University Chapel, displaying a voice which soared into the Gothic architecture. It takes an unusual singer to fill the Chapel acoustic as a soloist, and especially in the upper registers, Panthaki’s voice was clear all the way to the last pew. The sopranos of Pro Musica were extremely vocally bright in the choruses from this oratorio and handled the vocal runs well, as Brandau ended each chorus with orchestral cadences that tapered away. The fifth chorus in particular, “Your Voices Tune,” shifted styles effectively, with a solid and driving underpinning from the celli and double basses.
Brandau closed the concert with a graceful and elegant performance of Handel’s Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day in which Pro Musica showed that the ensemble was well at home in this period of music.
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Out in Jersey
Princeton Pro Musica: Carmina Burana
Reviewed by Toby Grace
The May 21st performance of Carmina Burana by Princeton Pro Musica at Richardson Hall was more than a performance – it was a phenomenon. Enhanced by the brilliant dancing of the Roxey Ballet company, skillfully integrated with the music and by a clarity of sound created both by the chorus itself and by the outstanding acoustics and sound engineering of Richardson Hall, the production left me stunned and entranced.
By including the ballet, Director Ryan James Brandau returned to Orff’s true vision of how this work should be staged and the Roxey Ballet’s sensual, wonderfully costumed and highly skilled performance gave life to the vision. I have heard Carmina Burana performed by larger choruses with full orchestras and in larger halls, including the London Proms at Royal Albert and they were very good – very good indeed – but not as good as this Pro Musica production, lacking as they did this essential visual quality brought by the ballet.
The 96-voice chorus is a powerful instrument, perfectly rehearsed and performing with a precision and clarity that was absolutely meticulous.
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Seen and Heard International
Amor Artis: Bach New Year’s Eve
Reviewed by Daniel Spahr
Despite countless choices for a New York City New Year’s Eve, the packed pews at the elaborate St. Jean Baptiste Church on Lexington Avenue revealed Bach’s timeless appeal. Amor Artis Chorus and Orchestra presented a celebratory evening, eloquently crafted, that elicited a sense of harmony and hopefulness for the coming year.
Along with extra energy from the soloists, mezzo-soprano Sarah Nelson Craft gave a particularly mesmerizing reading of the Agnus Dei. Her voice flowed with a smooth, honeyed quality that seemed to trickle down the church’s thick stone pillars. That she and the orchestra blended so well was further tribute to the chemistry with Brandau and his focused direction.
The choir gave distinct attention to vocal layering, built phrases that framed Bach’s deific harmonies, and used dynamics to emphasize contrapuntal shifts. A particularly joyful Gloria movement was one of many memorable sequences. And Brandau satisfyingly and precisely measured the very last note—just the right length—which resonated throughout the church’s pleasing acoustic.
Town Topics
Princeton Pro Musica: Handel's Israel in Egypt
Reviewed by Nancy Plum
For those curious about how Dr. Brandau has developed Pro Musica’s trademark choral sound, the “horse and his rider” choruses were worth the price of admission. Dr. Brandau took these two choruses like the wind, and the singers of Pro Musica did not miss a note in the choral coloratura, bringing the work to a typically Baroque glorious close. This oratorio may have been a handful for a choral singer, but the members of Pro Musica never let on that they were anything less than ready for more.
Town Topics
Princeton Pro Musica: Mozart Mass in C Minor
Reviewed by Nancy Plum
To open Sunday afternoon’s Pro Musica concert, Brandau led a chamber-sized orchestra and guest clarinet soloist Pascal Archer in a spirited performance of Mozart’s three-movement Concerto.
Brandau’s conducting was precise and stylistically informed, as Archer took his time on long phrases, showing strength of air.
Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor is a work which the Pro Musica chorus would have well in hand, and the ensemble’s singing of the homophonic choruses was strong and well-blended.
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Dr. Brandau kept a good flow to the performance, maintaining drama which held the audience’s attention. With Pro Musica providing its customary solid work and Mr. Burton clearly a star in the making, Sunday afternoon’s performance went by in a well-performed flash.
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Town Topics
Princeton Pro Musica: Mendelssohn’s Elijah
Reviewed by Nancy Plum