Jorge Martin's new cantata, Stronger Than Darkness

Today a trek out to the "wilds" of Red Bank, New Jersey, to hear the Monmouth Civic Choir led by Mark Shapiro in the first public performance of "Stronger Than Darkness," a cantata by Jorge Martin derived from his opera-in-progress "Before Night Falls," a music-drama based on the memoir by Reinaldo Arenas, a gay Cuban poet who escaped to the US in the Mariel boatlift.  The same story was the subject of a very successful fill of the same name starring Javier Bardem and Johnny Depp.

This piece has been long in gestation, and I've been privileged to hear excerpts of the work in progress twice - a reading with piano at Lincoln Center of some portions, and a brief selection at a house party the composer gave to help raise money to support today's performance.  Portions of the work were reshaped for this cantata.  This was the first time I heard this material with orchestral accompaniment.  Although the Monmouth Civic Chorus did not care to say anything in their program about the chamber orchestra that was accompanying the concert (I'm assuming it was a pick-up group, as not regular organization was named and the musicians were not even named in the program, even though every member of the chorus was...), I thought they did well with the material, and some more than well - especially the solo oboe. 

The work had a tremendous impact, not least because of the sterling performances of the soloists, Ross Benoliel (baritone) as Arenas, Jeffrey Behrens and Nathan Baer as composite characters here called Ovidio and Victor, and Angela Meade and Barbara Dever as the "muses" who help to inspire Arenas's poetry, the Moon and the Sea.  It is hard to describe the style of this music in words.  Although Martin has obviously absorbed many influences, the sound of the music is distinctly his own.  (The best way to get a sense of his style would be to hear his song cycle, The Glass Hammer, which is available in a very fine Koch Classics recording.)   Mark Shapiro's energetic leadership and the contributions of the chorus were also important, of course.  Overall, this experience really whetted my appetite to hear a performance of the full opera, but in the meantime, this cantata is musically and dramatically satisfying on its own.  I hope it has many more performances and a good recording, which it surely deserves. 

The rest of the program consisted of three of the four movements of Randall Thompson's The Testament of Freedom, a World-War-II era patriotic work setting texts by Thomas Jefferson that are rather wordy to the extent of trying the listener's patience at times, although the music is never less than enjoyable to hear, and the fourth movement of Beethoven's 9th Symphony, with the text altered in emulation of Leonard Bernstein's famous performance of the 9th to celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall by changing the German for "Joy" to "Freedom."  Here the soloists came through rather well, but the chorus was not big enough to do justice to the big moments, and the chamber orchestra was distintively underpowered - more strings were very much needed.  HIgh spirits carried the whole ensemble through, however.

Of the vocal soloists for the program, I was most impressed by Mr. Benoliel, whose warm and well-focused baritone voice falls within my favorite vocal range.  The other men were also very good, and the women as well, but Martin's music really gave Benoliel a chance to shine.   I hope to hear him sing again.