"Music of the New World" premiered in Moscow with a sold-out house!

On March 4, 2023, at the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Moscow, a concert program was presented to the Moscow audiences titled "Music of the New World."

The concert was held as part of the III international music festival, "Spread New Music to the World," dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the birth of Sergei Rachmaninoff. With the support of the U.S. Embassy in Russia, the event was held in collaboration with two non-profit organizations: Lyrica Classic and De Boni Arte Foundation. In these difficult times, such an event is of great interest to connoisseurs of high art. There was not a single empty seat in the Cathedral!

The musicians presented not only new music but music that united countries into one idea: peace and goodness among people. It seems that the theme is eternal, and composers and musicians spoke about these lofty virtues more than once in different voices. About the world, we hear intonations in the symphonies of Beethoven and Mahler and in the chamber music of romantic composers. The 20th century is full of this theme.

Finding new musical intonations in a conversation about the world in the 21st century is difficult. Especially when the public already knows a lot of bright and epoch-making opuses on this subject. However, each of the presented composers was able to leave their unique and memorable melodies in the listener's soul, and the impression of an hour and a half of "Music of the New World" was powerful and bright.

The program featured the following composers: the Belgian-American composer Emmanuel Dubois, whose name has already become known to Russian audiences thanks to Lyrica Classic, and the Israeli-American composer Eli Tamar. The compositions of the concert program belonged to the sacred music category; in the program, they were arranged in a very interesting contrasting order, but at the same time, with this contrast, all the compositions were united by one powerful, all-encompassing idea: peace on earth. These words did not sound like a request or a plea but like the earnest demand of mankind to the Almighty. And this perseverance was emphasized by the timbre power of the organ, which intensified this inexorable idea in every composition: to stop evil and enmity at all costs.

"From darkness to light, from struggle to peace” - the concert began with these intonations with the Emmanuel Dubois' Organ Sonata in four parts, the second part of which is Ave Maria for soprano and organ masterfully performed by organist Marianna Visotskaya and soprano Yulia Petrachuk.

Yes, there were dissonances typical for a work of a highly professional master, and in combination with the timbre of the organ and the abstractions of Sue Slagle's video sequence(her digital performing art was also presented at the evening), they created the effect of the strongest tension. But Dubois found a way to soften this image with a simple refrain of an ascending fourth. It would seem such a simple motive. But it's so easy to strive for goodness. In the sonata's finale, a swift run of light organ modulations arose - the idea of a bright finding of happiness. This technique of fine rhythmization and fugue texture has long been familiar to both professional musicians and ordinary listeners from organ works by Bach, Messiaen's opuses, and to this day, such a composer's decision remains a strong means of musical expression in these kinds of compositions.

The following three compositions by Eli Tamar sounded very contrasting with Dubois'. Stylization under the old Russian intonations of lamentations was embodied in "I Paki Ti Reku" (And I’ll tell you again), "Lord's Prayer," and "Prayer for Peace" performed by vocal trio Melody (sopranos Svetlana Polianskaia and Olga Veselova, contralto Olga Nadezhdina), organist Marianna Visotskaya and soprano Yulia Petrachuk.

The composition "Lord’s Prayer," performed by the vocal trio Melody, left a special impression. This prayer has been set to music numerous times by various composers. But it was completely unexpected to hear the intonations of Russian folklore combined with the organ in the interpretation of an American composer. From nothing, from zero, from one note of the organ, and from the unison of three voices, the first phrase, “Our Father,” appeared. And growing with each new phrase into a broad texture, this unison turned into a dazzling chord on the words "and lead us not into temptation." God is in the small and in the great; God is among the three and everywhere. It is interesting how Tamar forms each phrase of this prayer. There is not a single point, not a single musical completion of a thought. Each phrase sounds like a question, like a request to the Almighty through the tears of Russian weeping. This composition permeated with folk undertones, imitations of lamentation, and created in such a non-standard interpretation by Eli Tamar, left an indelible impression.

Perhaps the next number was just as extraordinary. There are two layers in the Prayer for Peace: the realities of the tormented world and prayer. Moreover, the prayer here sounds like the prophet's word about the future time, light, and happiness, in which he truly believes. And this truth, like Danko with a warm heart, the prophet brings to the people of the future. Perhaps such a vivid image was achieved, among other things, by the highly professional performance of its soprano Yulia Petrachuk.

Particular attention to the concert program was given to the name of St. Francis. One feels a special relationship between him and his works and composer Tamar. There was an essay about the Virtues and the words of the prayer of the saint himself to the Almighty in the “Prayer of St. Francis." All the tension was on the organ part. And it seemed that the mezzo-soprano solo part, which Olga Nadezhdina performed with brilliance, speaks with the same intonations. But the ostinato in the part of the soloist again sounded like the voice of a prophet into the future.

The digital artist Sue Slagle offered to see the words of the Almighty through a "prism," a glass behind which there were vague outlines of the world, and each viewer had the opportunity to finish this world in their own way. The image of butterflies was chosen for the Virtues, and for the Prayer for Peace, a grid as an image of a prison.

And over all this, the voice of Rachmaninov suddenly sounded in his famous Vocalise. A rather gloomy and heavy-looking variant of Tamar and Nadezhdina's adaptation of this composition was performed by the trio Melody and the organ. But in the concert concept, this variant of the familiar and beloved work was accepted by the public organically.

The last chord of the concert was "Hymn to Brother Sun" - "Canticum Fratris Solis" by Eli Tamar. The words of the hymn were created in the last days of the life of St. Francis. This is the period of his feat in overcoming suffering from a serious illness, like our world today, so much tormented by enmity. The words of the hymn are the sum of Francis' life. But if in the “Prayer for Peace,” echoes and parallels were heard of the gloomy and heavy “Poems of the Penitents” by A. Schnittke, also written at the end of life, here Tamar emphasizes the enthusiastic glorification of the saints of the Almighty, gratitude and ecstasy from the knowledge of the inner light.

The pedals of the organ, enveloping the entire hall, combined with the words of the choir and soloists, created a feeling of space and another galaxy in the Cathedral, another space. The organ is an image of greatness, and the choir is the voices of angels; the soloists are the words of St. Francis and the saints who meet him there, in the middle of the heavenly world, where his soul aspired. The pedal of the organ, depicting the light of God's majesty amid the heavenly world, accompanies the hymn singing of the choir, the unison of which is based on Gregorian chants: "The Highest, Almighty good Lord, to You - praises, and glory, and honor, and all thanksgiving."?

The words of St. Francis, enriched by the music of Tamar, are like a cover from the past to the future, like words of light and goodness. It was impossible to listen to music without tears, in which the desire for peace is so great. Peace on earth for everyone. Tamar created a fantastic world of the future in music. And the audience was THERE. Let's not for long. But Tamar gave hope, and each of the listeners carried away the light of this hope in their hearts.

The audience was truly impressed by the remarkable skills displayed by the performers. The program showcased compositions written in a highly complex non-consonant vocal language, demanding a significant level of professionalism. Every concert participant put their heart and soul into their performance, which was especially crucial for the premiere of a composer's work - an authentic reflection of his soul.

"A lot of work has been done by the Lyrica Classic organization to spread new and exciting music in our country (Russia), and I hope, in the future new compositions and names will be presented to the domestic public thanks to friendship and peace between nations and the tireless inspiration of the organizers of the project “Spread New Music to the World" - Lyubov Shangina, conductor.

The article is a translated version of the original article from the online magazine BELCANTO published on March 17, 2023.