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The combined musical forces of The Missouri Brass Quintet with organist John Schaefer seemed to pop the top off the Gold Dome Cathedral last Sunday afternoon with soaring brilliant tones and sublime musical expression.  Kansas Citians eager to hear the final concert of the Summer Music at the Cathedrals series filled the pews of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception to near capacity in anticipation - and were richly rewarded. 

A brief welcome message from Ed Blasco of Immaculate Conception was partially lost to the lively reverberation in the marble laden expanse of the beautifully renovated cathedral.  The series owes its success to the joint efforts of Mario Pearson representing the Catholic Immaculate Conception Cathedral, and John Schaefer of the Episcopal Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral, who together organize and program the weekly chamber music series sponsored by the two Cathedrals to meet the appetite of the Kansas City classical music community during the slow month of August.  

The opening tones of the Fanfare from La Peri by Paul Dukas, played by The Missouri Brass Quintet from the narrow south gallery ledge beneath the rose window, burst forth into the Cathedral space with a gleaming brilliance.  It was the best I have ever heard this gem performed.  Perfect intonation among the five brass players and clean articulation performed within the context of spotless ensemble announced to the audience the beginning of an afternoon of glorious music.  But above all of that, their beauty of tone reigned supreme.  Had they played Chopsticks with those beautiful ringing tones, the hearts of the audience members would have been kindled to withstand four seasons of winter.  The Quintet's fabulous tone production in that live acoustic setting resulted in the fullness of sound of an ensemble of 20.  The members of the MBQ are trumpeters Keith Benjamin and Joseph Parisi, French hornist Ellen Campbell, trombonist for this concert Stephanie Bryan, who filled in for vacationing quintet regular JoDee Davis, and tuba player Tom Stein.

The brass fanfare was followed by the Prelude and Fugue in G major for organ, Op. 37, No. 2 by Felix Mendelssohn performed exquisitely by Canon Musician John Schaefer, organist and choirmaster of the Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral.  As a member of the Trinity Choir at GHTC which Canon Schaefer directs, I have the highest respect for his consummate musical artistry which he shares so generously with the Kansas City musical community, and do hereby disclose with candor my bias in his favor.  Having stated that for the record, it would be remiss to refrain from noting the organist's contributions to a concert in which the organ was so prominent in seven of the nine works on the program; hence I continue my review.  The warm colors and radiant glow of Mendelssohn's organ prelude were a perfect match to the warm tones of the brass in the previous piece.  Some music just makes every cell in one's body sing and smile.  Mendelssohn played by Schaefer does that for me.  Mendelssohn's seemingly boundless fount of melodic joy fares so well in the hands of Schaefer because he intuitively causes every musical line to sing as if it were a vocal part of the ideal choir he must hear in his mind, the one that never sings "just the notes", but always sings their parts beautifully realized and in perfect balance to the other parts to evoke the ultimate musical expression inherent in the composition. 

The Fugue brought shifts in registrations from the Ruffatti organ that showcased the tonal colors of that impressive instrument, all performed upon the pipe organ, not upon its adjunct electronic components.  Even the bass pedals (played by feet) carried the musical line forth as if it were a very musical bass singing in the world's most expressive choir.  Especially effective was the sostenuto pedal tone that held firm as the lines above built upon each other to the high point of the fugue.  Even in fortissimo, the tone quality of the organ had a beautiful singing quality driven by the musical line.                 

Richard Strauss' Feierlicher Anzug (Solemn Processional) for organ together with the brass quintet was not on the same compositional par as the first two pieces.  Its thickly orchestrated slow moving structure worked well in terms of the acoustic, but the piece was a bit of a sludge.  

The Partita on 'Jesu, Meine Freude' for organ, composed by Johann Gottfried Walther, a cousin of Bach, showcased Schaefer's versatility in achieving contrasting tonal colors.  Once again, Schaefer's remarkable talent for making the organ sound like an ensemble of chamber music artists catapulted his interpretation into the realm of the stellar. The set of variations cumulatively drew one into a meditative state enhanced by the beauty of the cathedral space.  Golden flickering candle flames reflected upon the white marble altar floor seemed to leap to the swirling ornamentations of sound.  One caveat: in the midst of that contemplative quiet an usher walked up and down the aisle handing out a new batch of printed programs to those who arrived after the initial supply ran out - an act of kindness gone awry with the disruption of such meditative beauty. 

Arguably, the highest point of the afternoon arrived with Keith Benjamin's rendition of the Prayer of St. Gregory for trumpet & string orchestra, Op. 62b, by Alan Hovhaness. Composed in 1946 as an interlude for the opera Etchmiadzin, the five minute piece has become one of Hovhaness' most popular short pieces.  The opening chords in the organ seemed to pick up right where the Jesu Partita had concluded, joined soon by the pure gold beauty of Dr. Benjamin's singing trumpet tone.  Benjamin's breadth of musical expression combined with the most beautiful trumpet tone I have ever heard in an acoustic perfectly tailored for a meditation on the prayer of St. Gregory the Illuminator (who brought Christianity to Etchmiadzin in Armenia), site of the oldest church in the world (301), accompanied on organ by a musical artist of Schaefer's depth - it just doesn't get more beautiful than that.

The music that followed the intermission was all first-rate.  The Quintet showed its command of dynamic contrast, flawless intonation, technical prowess and exceptionally fine musicality in the set of Elizabethan Consort Music pieces arranged by Raymond Mase.  Horn player Ellen Campbell partnered with John Schaefer on organ to play one of Bach's most beloved pieces, Jesu joy of man's desiring. That was followed by the Yorkshire Ballad by KU composer, James Barnes in a piece that featured trumpet and tuba together with organ.  The glorious beauty of tone and superb musicality achieved by trumpeter Joe Parisi reached the heights of beauty set by Keith Benjamin, and was matched closely by the mellifluous tone of tuba player Tom Stein - no wonder this Quintet soars.  The closing work for organ and quintet, Grand Choeur Dialogue by Eugene Gigout placed the exclamation point on the end of a superbly successful concert and brought the full house to its feet.      

For an encore, Canon Schaefer invited the audience to sing a hymn with the ensemble, Oh God our help in Ages past, with special instructions to really sing out on the last verse loud enough to cover the instrumental forces.  It was as robust a rendition of that hymn as I've ever heard, and sent concert-goers back out into the normalcy of the world, richer for the pleasure of having spent an afternoon among the heavenly sounds of beautiful music.

 REVIEW:
Summer Music at the Cathedrals Series
Brass & Pipes: The Missouri Brass Quintet with organist John Schaefer
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Visit www.ghtc-kc.org/music/events.html or www.kcgolddome.org for more information

By Gayle G. Hathorne

Classical and Vocal Contributor (Past writer)