STABAT MATER DOLOROSA/CARMINA BURANA

I grew up in a Protestant church, with music that ranged from hymns to praise and worship songs. The hymns became less and less sung over my growing up year, but when I attended a Luthern high school, liturgical sermons and hymns were more the norm. The Christmas concert was a choir event that included bells and acoustic pieces. The soundtracks of movies from that era often included classical music. It was a familiar, and enjoyed genre of music, but not as much for my peers.

So when I invited a friend to a recent ballet with medieval music like Carmina Burana and Stabat Mater, I wasn't sure what she was thinking during the show, but I was elevated to another plane with the performance of the orchestra, choir, and soloists. Montreal tends to react negatively to religion, and push boundaries that I would consider nearer heresy than secularism, so I wasn't sure how the show would be, nor how it would be received.

Piano Nobile bar above the orchestra floor(A quiet floor, perfect for a drink before the ballet started)

On Friday at Les Grands Ballet, the Opera began with what seemed like the whole company of dancers. The stage was filled with dancers before we even sat down. The costumes were muted and simple. This is the second time I saw the Latin phrase Stabat Mater, and remembered it was Mary Mother of Jesus' song. It means "Grieving Mother Standing". It's from a fourteenth century poem, and it has been set to music by multiple composers. The teams were equal of men and women. The ballet this past weekend was the version done by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, written in the 1700s.I am listening to a recording of it offered on youtube.  It's a beautiful arrangement, and it was staged, a little surprisingly, in a religious theme, complete with aa clear story of the crucifixion.

Carmina Burana was a work done by a German composer, Carl Orff,  in 1935-6, and first performed in Frankfurt's impressive Alte Oper. This was the second act of Friday's event, and my favourite half. The feature that was most noticable was a large ring handing over the stage that represented a "Wheel of Fortune". The opera was inspired by a collection of stories, and begins with a piece called O Fortuna. It is a dramatic beginning to an emotional opera, and the recording brings it to memory, but its real life was in a silent Wilfred Pelletier, with exquisite voices raised in excellent acoustics. On stage the ring, resembling a giant magnet, descended from the ceiling and lowered to contain some dancers, and exclude others. At one point, the tenor onstage links hands with the dancers on either side, while singing exquisitely all the while. The latin lyrics cover  the gammet of topics from fate, springtime, attraction, dance, love, virginity, misery, taverns, and joy. It was easy to stand for an ovation with such an ending.

Thankfully, taking my friend was a great idea. She loved it too!