A heroic martyr who deserved better

The Crossing's disappointing "Bonhoeffer' (1st review)

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4 minute read
Lloyd: A weakness at the heart.
Lloyd: A weakness at the heart.
The premiere of Thomas Lloyd's Bonhoeffer should have been one of the season's major events. It was presented by one of the best collections of voices in the region— Donald Nally's The Crossing— and the composer based the work on a powerful subject associated with powerful words: the life and writings of the German theologian and World War II martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

The 15 sections of Lloyd's "choral theater piece" cover the central ideas of Bonhoeffer's religious thought and the drama inherent in his return to Nazi Germany from the U.S. in 1939; his formation of the Confessing Church, which opposed the Nazi regime; his doomed love affair with Maria von Wedemeyer; and his execution, scant weeks before the end of the war, for his participation in the plot to kill Hitler.

The vocalists were supported, in addition, by a first-class chamber group that included Ulrich Boeckheler, a veteran master cellist endowed with a big tone as well as the kind of artistic sensitivity that turns big tones into moving statements.

For all those assets, Bonhoeffer was a disappointment. Its major weakness was the choral writing— the heart of the whole enterprise.

Irrelevant choral writing

Choral writing should fulfill two objectives: It should magnify the emotional power of the text, and it should be so musically satisfying you can listen to it without paying attention to the text, much the way you listen to instrumental music.

Like many contemporary composers, Lloyd adopted a straightforward approach that concentrates on the first objective. I'm happy to settle for that when it works, but most of the choral writing in Bonhoeffer seemed irrelevant. The words would have been just as effective if they'd been spoken by a competent actor.

A few bright spots

There were some exceptions. Lloyd creates a true musical drama in a dialogue with a soldier who joined the attempt to kill Hitler. His vocal writing captures all the emotional and moral tension in a scene that begins, "Shall I kill? Teacher, help me. I know I'll be inside the madman's headquarters with a revolver."

The scene even includes an inventive bit of musical business. The soldier begins a short speech with a big outburst— "But shall I…?"— and immediately segues to a soft semi-falsetto "May I kill him?"

In an earlier section, taken from Bonhoeffer's Letters and Papers from Prison, Bonhoeffer hears the voices of those "deeply tormented by long isolation" and the music heightens the impact of the words with a dramatic cacophony of voices and instruments.

Had there been more moments like those, Bonhoeffer would have lived up to its promise.

Cello's love poem

The instrumental writing produced the work's most consistently effective music. Percussionist Mike Sparhuber created several moving accents, beginning with the opening section's vibraphone passage, which suggested tolling bells. A soaring cello line accompanied a love poem to Maria. A beautiful piano accompaniment heightened a tenor aria quoting a letter in which Bonhoeffer discussed his decision to abandon his safe exile at Union Theological Seminary in New York.

The production also included a dance element, featuring dancers Tim Early and Carrie Elmore-Tallitsch. I've seen several music premieres that included contemporary dancing in which the dancers never added anything that enriched the music. To me, most modern dancing resembles rather obvious pantomime. If the text refers to Bonhoeffer's piety, for example, the dancer strikes a pious pose.

That may be a personal quirk. I form pictures in my head with very little prompting, whether I'm reading or listening to music. In such situations dancers seem like a superfluous distraction.

Chorus as church

The staging of Bonhoeffer, on the other hand, added meaningful visual images. In the opening scene, the small, all-male chorus entered from the back of the hall in a straggling group, like prisoners.

In a later scene, the Reich Bishop explained why the German church was capitulating to the Nazi government. The chorus members assumed the role of Bonhoeffer's Confessing Church and responded by forming a circle with their backs turned to the religious establishment that had betrayed its faith.

I should note that the audience at the Episcopal Cathedral gave Bonhoeffer a standing ovation. I seemed the only person there who felt it fell short. That happens sometimes.♦


To read another review by Kile Smith, click here.

What, When, Where

The Crossing: Lloyd, Bonhoeffer. Maren Montalbano, Rebecca Hoke, Rebecca Siler, sopranos; Maren Montalbano Brehm, alto; Guillaume Comber, violin; Ulrich Boeckheler, cello; Mike Sparhuber, percussion; John Bailey, organ and piano; Tim Early, Carrie Ellmore-Tallitsch, dancers. Tim Early, choreographer; Donald Nally, conductor. March 10, 2013 at Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral, 38th and Chestnut Sts. www.crossingchoir.com.

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