By Reg Huston
The Carmel Bach Festival’s Sunday afternoon concert featuring movements from Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and works by Mendelssohn and Brahms will be difficult for me to review. Let me start with the good things: Mendelssohn and Brahms. The performances of Psalm 42 in F major, Op. 42 by Mendelssohn and Nänie, Op. 82 by Brahms were a joy to hear.
These composers have created some of the finest large choral works ever written. Brahms, especially, was capable of writing music that would roll over you with wave upon wave of power and then mix in moments of lyrical, heavenly softness that would enfold you with delicate, sublime beauty. There is something about the human voice (or an ensemble of voices) that touches each of us in a unique and personal way.
