John sings Mahler's Resurrection again!!

[John Kim]

I will be singing the low tenor part on May 16th and 17th:

http://www.rainiersymphony.org/

It's been five years since I sang it last time at Seattle's Benaroya Hall.

Tonight was the first choir rehearsal. I went there totally unprepared, being afraid that I won't remember a single note.

But as soon the rehearsal started most of the notes sprung in my heart and it went smoothly all the way  .

As usuall, it's an enormous experience to participate in performances of such a masterpiece and tonight's practice reminded me how great the music is both technically and emotionally.

Regards,

John,

[Jot N. Tittle]

I will be singing the low tenor part on May 16th and 17th

I suppose that means you won't be going to Carnegie Hall to hear Boulez and Barenboim.

Congratulations, John! Now you are the envy of the Board.

     . & '

[John Kim]

I will be singing the low tenor part on May 16th and 17th

I suppose that means you won't be going to Carnegie Hall to hear Boulez and Barenboim.
     . & '

Not unless someone will pay me for an air ticket to NYC and tickets for the concerts  .

John,

[barry guerrero]

Alright John, knock 'em dead!! (actually, make them rise!!!)

Barry

[Russell]

Best of luck, John!  (If I were singing it, I'd probably be too overcome with emotion!)

Russell

[John Kim]

Alright John, knock 'em dead!! (actually, make them rise!!!)

Barry

I will, I will  .

For me the greatest pleasure of participating in the concerts will be to sit in the back of the orchestra observing all the instruments and the conductor. This can all happen in the fourth movt. and the finale. It's going to be really fun  .

John,

[John Kim]

If it isn't asking too much, could you consider posting something about anything you might notice during the performance--from a perspective most of us have not had--sort of inside or behind the orchestra?
--John H

John,

I will try.

Unfortunately and perhaps inevitably, the conductor decided to bring in the choir in the middle of the Finale right before the first entry of the singing  . This decision was necessary because there will be no chairs we can sit on for the rest of the performance. Normally, we would get on the stage after III so we could see the performance for the second half. That's what happened the last time I sang.

So, I will be able to watch only the last 15 min. of the performance. At least I will get to watch the final climax  .

John,

[John Kim]

Fortunately, after reading my long email in which I requested the conductor David Waltman to reconsider the timing for the choir entrance, he decided to bring us in after the Third movt. .

Last night was the first of two joined orchestra/choir rehearsals and it went very well.

Boy, my voice is finally getting soothed and seasoned.

Cheers.

John,

[John Kim]

One thing I noticed during last night's rehearsal is that the low and high tam tams in the final pages were hardly audible. I saw the percussionist striking them but apparently he didn't do it hard enough. After the rehearsal he shook his head suggesting something didn't go as well as he planned.

There wasn't organ either  BTW .

John,

[john haueisen]

Thanks for these postings, John.
We non-performers especially enjoy every "behind-the scenes" or rehearsal stories we can get.
--John H

[barry guerrero]

"One thing I noticed during last night's rehearsal is that the low and high tam tams in the final pages were hardly audible. I saw the percussionist striking them but apparently he didn't do it hard enough. After the rehearsal he shook his head suggesting something didn't go as well as he planned."

Probably more to do with the timing and placement of the tam-tam strokes. What Mahler wrote is actually rather tricky, rhythmically speaking. The conductor is beating in two (cut-time), but the deep bells and tam-tams are alternating salvos with dotted half-note figures that are tied over the bar lines. That effect is called "hemiola". They really shouldn't sweat the actual rhythms so much, and just make certain that what they're doing is, indeed, audible. In other words, "HIT THE D__N THING!". If they're trying to cover both gongs with just one percussionist, that's not a great idea.

Many conductors, Bernstein included, simply have the deep bells - often times just a rolling rack of tubular chimes - play ad lib. When that's the case, then the percussionists only have to get the timing correct between the two gongs, and not worry about the placement of the three bell pitches too.

I like what Gary Bertini does at the end of the "Resurrection" which is to have one set of onstage bells play the rhythms as written, while another set of deep bells - possibly a recording of digitally manufactured church bells - plays ad lib. in the distance. I've sometimes wondered if Bertini got the big cathedral in Cologne - which is right next door to the Philharmonie - to ring their chimes at the right moment (?).

[barry guerrero]

"There wasn't organ either  BTW"

It's not a great idea to let that go for too long either. It's important to get the balance between the chorus and organ just right. That's one reason why I like the Eschenbach/Philly M2 that pretty much everybody important has ignored: the balances between the chorus and organ are perfectly gauged. Typically, one party pretty much covers up the other one. Starting from "auferstehen", the chorus and organ work pretty much in unison, so they should be in balance.

It's a common flaw to not to rehearse the details to the endings of M2, M3, or M8 nearly enough - believing that those endings will simply take care of themselves, and that the audience will go bonkers no matter what. I guess that's OK in a "live" context, but not really good enough for recordings.

[John Kim]

The first concert which occurred Saturday evening (5/16) didn't go all that well, mainly because the orchestra wasn't quite warmed up yet. In particular, the percussionists missed many entries and even placed cymbal and tam tam strokes at wrong spots (in the coda, for example). But the singing was excellent. More importantly, the acoustics at IKEA Performing Arts Hall were not well suited for this mammoth work.

However, the second concert on Sunday at a different hall could have not improved better .

Not only the orchestra played very well (how do I know this? Because I was sitting in the audience for the first two movts.) making hardly any mistakes, it sounded full and rich, almost like a professional orchestra. More importantly, the acoustics were far better than at the IKEA hall. I am sure the musicians were also encouraged by the improved sound of themselves.

The chorus had actually pretty good number of members participating from Seattle Symphony Chorus, so no wonder the audience praised our singing. I had some difficulty following the high notes near the end, but managed to come through.

Standing at the back of the orchestra, it was difficult to hear the true integrated sound of the orchestra; it was mostly the brass and low strings my ears were picking. But when I sat among the audience I realized how good a band this orchestra really is. Had we performed a third concert it would have been close to what Seattle Symphony could have done.

I read a report that some audiences were crying at the end. That's a good indication of the excellence of the Mahler Second concert .

Regards,

John,

[john haueisen]

Thanks John, and I'm glad you were able to provide us with several perspectives on the performances, including position in the orchestra vs. the audience, AND the improvements after the earlier performance.   
I am also very glad when I see some people cryinging at the end of M2.  The music should move people and it usually does.  Actually, there are few M2 performances that fail to move me.  The music is so ingrained in me that my brain and feelings fill in many inadequacies.  Glad the performances went well, and thanks for helping us almost attend vicariously.
--John H

[barry guerrero]

John and John,

It's amazing how the differences in acoustics can shape the outcome of any given performance. Indeed, second and third class orchestras can play much more like first rate ones, when everybody involved can actually hear each other. I'm very happy to know that your second concert well so well. Congratulations.

Barry