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Musica Sacra under the direction of Timothy McDonald once again demonstrated their collective choral skills and sensitivity last Saturday.

Their third concert of the season featured the two great cathedral composers of Salzburg: Mozart and Johann Michael Haydn. Two compositions of each were performed:  Missa Brevis in D Minor, K. 65 and Missa Brevis in B-flat Major, K. 275 by Mozart and Haydn's Laudate Pueri and Ave Maria. 

In keeping with Rockhurst's 2010 salute to Marc-Antoine Charpentier, the concert opened with his Regina Coeli.

Bookended in the program by the Mozart short masses, the two Haydn pieces reveal why Franz Joseph Haydn's younger brother was a well-respected composer in his time, even if we hear less of his work these days. Laudate pueri is written for female voices only, and here Musica Sacra played to one of its great strengths.  The women's voices were well-blended and precise, especially in the opening "alleluia."  The women were joined by the rest of the chorus for the stunning Ave Maria.

The first Mozart Missa Brevis featured a solo quartet of Elaine Minden, soprano; Debra Hohly, mezzo-soprano; Victor D. Tan, tenor, and Greg Yeutter, bass. This Lenten Mass in the unusual key of D minor is very Baroque in style with a particularly extraordinary "Benedictus," characterized by a delicate chromatic setting, ably executed by the chorus. The later Missa Brevis in B-flat Major, K 275, concludes with the exquisite "Agnus Dei," in which chorus and soloists engage in an elegant, dance-like "dona nobis pacem." 

Diction and balance here were particularly crisp, conveying the clean, clear composition with ease.  Soloists in K. 275 were Claire Ranieri, soprano; Jennifer Snyder, mezzo-soprano; Robert Craig, tenor, and Ken Sanderson, bass. Both quartets balanced well with the chorus with clear diction and expression.  There were only a few moments when individuals tended to be overpowered by the orchestra.

The two Mozart short masses-composed for ordinary Sunday worship-include a brief "sonata all'Epistolo" (an "Epistle sonata) following the "Gloria."  This short instrumental interlude was designed to "aid meditative reflection" following a reading.   These brief sonatas featured a crisp performance of the two violins, cello and organ that comprised the orchestral accompaniment.

Saturday night was a bit logistically traumatic because of the intense weather and bad roads.  Unfortunately, I was delayed, as were many people in attendance that night. Thus I missed almost all of the Charpentier to my great dismay.  However, as I settled in and began to breathe again after white-knuckling it all the way there, the peace of the evening fell over me. As I looked around the sanctuary at the audience, I was amazed at the number of people in attendance given the night's terrible weather forecast. Clearly, these were people compelled by the need for choral beauty, and Musica Sacra and Timothy McDonald did not disappoint on this night.

REVIEW
Musica Sacra
Music in Salzburg
Saturday, February 20, 2010
St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church
52^nd and Troost Avenue, Kansas City, MO
www.rockhurst.edu/musicasacra

By Sarah Young

Classical and Musical Theatre Contributor

Sarah Young is a freelance writer and performer in opera, theatre, choral and musical theatre. She has been seen locally with Wichita Grand Opera, Kansas City Symphony Chorus, Kansas City Civic Opera, Lawrence Community Theatre, Chestnut Fine Arts Center and in other local venues.  She studied voice at the University of Kansas, and has been trained in artist programs at Indiana University, Aspen Opera Theatre and the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria.