Philadelphia Orchestra plays Bernstein's 'Mass' (second review)

It was Bernstein’s most private and, simultaneously, his most public work. It evokes his anguish over faith, government, and society and was an intimate cry from Bernstein’s heart, yet he presented Mass — a commission by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis — with great hoopla at the opening of the Kennedy Center. Yes, he was conflicted — in this dichotomy as well as in his faith and in other personal areas. Mass can be heard as an extension of his lifelong struggle with his own father and with all authority figures.

While Bernstein exposed his innermost family relationship, he did it in the brightest public spotlight of his career. The 1971 Mass was seen in the context of his actions of the year before, when he had hosted a fundraising party for the Black Panthers that was widely derided for promoting, in the contemptuous words of Tom Wolfe, “radical chic.” Bernstein’s daughter Jamie wrote: “For a time my father's stature as a musician was overshadowed by his awful new role as object of trendy ridicule.”

In Mass, Bernstein wanted to show his opposition to the Vietnam War and comment on the conflicts in the contemporary Catholic Church. He had visited Father Philip Berrigan in jail while writing it, and J. Edgar Hoover warned the Nixon administration that Bernstein asked Berrigan to supply subversive text. Nixon refused to attend the opening because of its political agenda.

Rallying the troops

Bernstein called additional attention by specifying huge forces — a large pit orchestra, symphonic winds and brass on stage, synthesizers, a rock band and a marching brass band, plus two choruses, a boy's choir, a Broadway-sized cast, and ballet dancers. It was as if Bernstein needed this enormous number of people to demonstrate his embrace of the community and the whole world.

Thankfully, much of the ‘70s political context is now forgotten, so the piece can be assessed as music-theater rather than as agitprop. The Celebrant, a priestly figure, starts to lead a Mass and faces objections from his congregation and from street people. He represents the establishment and the status quo. The climax is a sort of mad scene for the priest, with the vessels holding the sacraments destroyed and the Celebrant expressing doubts about his faith. The youngest member of the congregation, a choirboy, returns to supply a hopeful ending, singing parts of the “Simple Song” that opened the piece and reestablishing a sense of innocence and of community.

Celebrating community

Yannick Nézet-Séguin saw the composition as primarily a celebration of community, so he included disparate local groups to participate, including, in this production, Mummers in full regalia. Under his baton, Mass emerged as a coherent piece in which the contrasting elements came together with clarity.

Kevin Vortmann was spectacularly successful as the Celebrant, a role that Bernstein specified for a “high baritone.” His voice was warm and communicative throughout a wide range. All of the large cast were excellent, and the Philadelphia Orchestra was superb, even better than the original production’s orchestra.

The experience was quite moving, though the ending of Mass does not achieve the heartrending musical apotheosis that Bernstein supplied with “Somewhere” in West Side Story, “Some Other Time” in On the Town, or “Make Our Garden Grow” in Candide. His compositional capability fell shy of his social dedication.

One element was eerily reminiscent of the 1971 premiere: As we departed the Kimmel Center Thursday night, police lined the streets in response to demonstrators blocking traffic in Center City.

For Robert Zaller's review, click here.