Both soloists from the U.S.A, the soprano Vanessa Joy and pianist Marvin Goldstein (pictured from the right), gave a special touch to the concert performed by three of Gottfried Allgaier’s (pictured center) conducted ensembles.
Music unites and touches
Concert performed by Nesselwang choirs and soloists from USA inspire their audience in the parish church of St. Andreas.
Nesselwang. There were a few seats free in Nesselwang parish church, but the approx. 180 people visiting the “Music unites” concert, made up for the few empty places with their enormous enthusiasm. Thanks to the contact made by Gottfried Allgaier, the two soloists from U.S.A enriched the performance with their great knowledge and religious feeling.
The well practiced St. Andreas church choir opened the concert radiantly with the Psalm “Lord our Lord” (Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy) and “Praise God ye Christians” by Johann Sebastian Bach. Most impressively, “Da Pacem”, the peace motet by Wilhelm Stockhausen, challenging and with flowing euphony. The church orchestra played Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Church Sonata in D with vigor. Marvin Goldstein from Florida shone as restrained accompanist and spirited soloist on the piano and unlike the familiar “Oh Great God”, “How great thou art” became an emphatic anthem.
Religious fervor highlight
The soprano Vanessa Joy from Arizona sang with intimacy and softness in the hymns, and an absolute highlight full of religious fervor was the virtuoso Ave Maria by the Florentine Giulio Caccini, consisting only of the words of Ave Maria. The Agnus Dei text of “Pie Jesu qui tollis” from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Requiem was heartfelt and wonderfully interwoven. With the church’s excellent acoustics, Georg Friedrich Handel’s “He shall feed his flock” resounded from the gallery, accompanied on the organ by Gottfried Allgaier, who also played Bach’s Prelude in C to add a touch of Christmas heavenly joy.
The small, exquisite a capella choir “Ensemble Vocale” added a baroque elegance to the concert with Lord and Praise (Gottfried August Homilius), inspired with a spirit of romance with Mendelssohn’s message of an angel “Glory to God in the highest” and a moving listening experience of modern religious music with “By gracious powers so wonderfully sheltered” (Fietz/Büchner). A salute to the guests from the U.S.A was “O precious Lord”, the traditional spiritual. Together with the soprano, the Ensemble sang Charles Gounod’s “Repentir” in the well known English version “O divine redeemer”, the imploring musical prayer of the sinner.
As a finale, all the concert performers combined with a grand performance of Bach and Handel chorals. The visitors were not only elated, but also deeply moved by the artistic performance and spirituality of countries and continents across the ocean.
