Washington Classical Review

Matthew Robertson directed The Thirteen in an all-Bach program Friday night. Photo: Stan Engebretson

No one knows why Johann Sebastian Bach composed his four Missae brevis (Short Masses), adapting movements from several of his own cantatas to set the Latin texts of the Kyrie and Gloria. Some speculate that Bach had a commission he wanted to fulfill as quickly as possible, while others theorize that the composer wanted to make his weekly liturgical compositions less parochial by grafting the music onto more universal texts. To modern ears, they sound like first-rate Bach cantatas with occasional touches of something more.

The Thirteen Choir and Orchestra, under music director Matthew Robertson, presented two of the four Masses on Friday night in the Immanuel Chapel at the Virginia Theological Seminary, and while the performance had some rough spots, many moments showed this less-familiar Bach in its best light.

The program opened with a much better-known work—the Violin Concerto in A minor, BWV 1041, with concertmaster Adriane Post as soloist. 

In the first movement, Post played sweetly and smoothly, but one missed a little fire and her light tone was sometimes covered by the orchestra. Post allowed herself more rhythmic freedom in the Andante, her keen concentration sustaining the melodic line. In the finale, Post kept her fine tone but played with more adrenaline, while the orchestra matched her with strongly pointed rhythms.

In the Mass in G major, BWV 236, the twelve-person choir had a few out-of-sync moments, and some of the soloists faltered as well. Baritone Harrison Hintzsche could barely make himself heard over the orchestra in his “Gratias” solo, while soprano Tiana Sorenson and mezzo-soprano Kristen Dubenion-Smith failed to match their tone and attack and made a mess of the “Domine Deus.” 

Andrew Brown, however, displayed a ringing tenor and impressive sustained notes in the “Quoniam,” a fine foil for oboist David Dickey’s eloquent rendition of the angular melody. The orchestral playing had many delights — the string figurations in the “Gloria” sizzled, and the “Cum sancto Spiritu” had a joyous bounce.

The Mass in F major, BWV 233, fared better. The opening “Kyrie,” with whiffs of Renaissance style and cadences that sound almost modal, received a glowing performance from the choir, with Brad Tatum and Burke Anderson’s natural horns adding warmth and power. In the festive “Gloria,” Robertson made sure the rhythms had a stylish spring as the choir kept the counterpoint clear, to stirring effect.

Bass-baritone Steven Hrycelak had no trouble being heard over the full orchestra in the “Domine Deus,” his sonorous voice navigating Bach’s tricky melodic line with flair. Sheila Dietrich’s soprano sounded tentative in the “Qui tollis,” but oboist Dickey wrung the pathos out of his obbligbato part. Countertenor Doug Dodson showed thrilling command in the “Quoniam,” even where Bach laid the Latin words a little awkwardly on the borrowed melodic line, with concertmaster Post silvery and tender in her solo. The “Cum sancto Spiritu” made a rousing conclusion.

Two even less well-known works rounded out the program. The Sanctus in G Major, BWV 240, exists in Bach’s hand but may not be his composition; the unresolved rhythmic hiccups didn’t much sound like Bach, but Robertson and the Thirteen did whoever wrote it proud with a rousing rendition. 

The Sinfonia from the Easter cantata Am Abend aber desselbigen Sabbats, BVW 42, however, is definitely the genuine Bach article, and the orchestra buzzed with busy counterpoint and festive energy in Friday’s performance.

The program will be repeated 7:30 pm Saturday at St. Peter’s Capitol Hill and 5 pm Sunday at Chevy Chase United Methodist Church. thethirteenchoir.org