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New HSC season is year of firsts
By Thom Sloan, HSC
I had an opportunity to visit with Dr. Charles Hausmann
about the 2008-2009 Houston Symphony Chorus season and hear his thoughts on the
major works that are scheduled this year. The following article is distilled
from that interview.
It could certainly be called a year of firsts in that all the major works that the HSC is performing as part of the Classical Concert series are works that have not been performed by the HSC previously. In addition, the three works for the full chorus are all masses which represent different periods and styles of the traditional mass form.
The first concert of the year was the Symphony No. 13 in b-flat by Dimitri Shostakovich,
featuring the men of the chorus. This piece centers on the poetry of Yevgeny
Yevtushenko, who was present in Houston at the concerts to read his poetry
before each half of the concert. This symphony is described in more detail in
Carl Cunningham’s notes in the September issue of Houston Symphony Magazine, but Dr. Hausmann describes this work as
being important for its dissident nature. It was banned in
The first work that the full chorus will perform
this season is Franz Schubert’s Mass No. 6 in E-flat. This piece has never been performed before by the HSC and Dr. Hausmann
describes it as a significant work for many reasons. According to Dr. Hausmann,
“The Mass No. 6 is Schubert’s last mass and it features the chorus
in a choral symphony.” Every composer’s signature style is demonstrated in
their masses, such as Verdi’s Requiem
has a quality of opera. As in Schubert’s lieder, the melodies in this mass
dominate and infuse every part of the music, including the fugues. Schubert’s Mass No. 1 in G is
a miniature version of the Mass No. 6 being an early work of
Schubert’s. While the Mass No. 5 in A-flat is more well-known, the Mass No. 6 is a bridge into the romantic
style.
The cyclic mass has long been used as a vehicle for
choral music; first in churches but later as part of the concert repertoire.
Anton Bruckner was a church musician and organist who helped set the stage for
20th century music as part of the Viennese modernism movement. His Mass in e is yet another work never performed by the HSC. Dr. Hausmann describes
this work as “using primarily winds in the orchestration to create textures and
richness in a unique way. That texture includes the chorus as a part of the
orchestration as opposed to a featured sound.” This piece is more symphonic in
concept and even though Bruckner draws on the style of Renaissance forms, he
created new sounds that were forward-looking. The sounds Bruckner tried to
achieve are the resonance that might be heard in his own
Finally, the last performance of the season will
feature another mass, one never performed by the HSC, and one never performed
in Houston before. In fact, there have been few performances anywhere of the Missa Latina by Roberto Sierra. The guest conductor for this
work, Leonard Slatkin, commissioned the piece for the National Symphony. It premiered at the
This should be an exciting season with new works to be learned and shared with our audiences.