Los Angeles Master Chorale singers

Maestro Gershon began with a set of arranged folk songs, Me-Na-Ri by Hywon Woo, a triple choir piece that began with an enormous crash of a gong by redoubtable Theresa Dimond, and brilliantly accompanied by percussionist Timm Boatman on two large ethnic drums, with the Master Chorale divided in the Walt Disney Concert Hall into a choir onstage, with the second and third choirs lining the staircase on each side of the orchestra seats. If one sat at the end of an aisle, scarcely two feet from the nearest Chorale member, it became difficult to hear what the other two choirs were doing when all three were singing, but the work could be said to be somewhat antiphonal, perhaps even canonical in places - a beautiful effect over the treasured words “Arirang, Aririyo, let me walk over the peak at Arirang.”

What followed was a truly “different” setting of the Latin “Dona Nobis Pacem” by Hyunchul Lee, Hangangsu Taryeong, arranged by Ben Jisoo Kim (who was present to accept plaudits), Gyeongbokgung Taryeong, arranged by Heejo Kim, Dal-A Dal-A Bal-Geun Dal-A (no, not about the American currency), and finally, a setting of Airirang Fantasie by Hojun Lee (also present), in which the famous folk melody was difficult to discern, but whose inventiveness was nothing short of spectacular.

A very special musical event followed intermission, a world premier performance of a work entitled Mugunghwa (Rose of Sharon) by American composer Mark Grey, an inventor of sound whose career must be followed based upon the tremendous success of Mugunghwa, an incipient opera perhaps(?) based on a series of letters and poems written by Namsoo Kim, a Korean who was born in the North, fled to the South, was separated by war from his intended bride and family, spent his life hoping for reunification of the peninsula but ultimately died, not having achieved his dream.

The poetry – at least the English translations thereof – was hauntingly beautiful, and spoke to the sad yearning of not only the Korean people, but universally to all people whose lives and destinies are separated by brutal, lethal forces. One felt the powerful emotions as they were sung, a truly enormous achievement for all concerned.

Mugunghwa, the Rose of Sharon, the national flower of both Koreas, and included in the national anthem of the South, is the symbol of immortal reunification of the peninsula. Mr. Grey met Miah, the daughter of Namsoo Kim in Colorado, who told him of her father’s writings, and the creative process began. It is a work that should be performed everywhere, as its universal appeal transcends that of one nationality.

Violinist Jennifer Koh, conductor Grant Gershon

A very busy violinist, Jennifer Koh, a Chicagoland native as is Mr. Grey, was given a major solo role, although her offering was often lost in the mass of sound produced whenever the Master Chorale sang in dynamic levels of forte and above, nonetheless cherished a few moments of solo playing, revealing her extraordinary talent. Ms. Koh’s playing was also intensely personal, as her own family experienced the same set of circumstances that separated family from family during the Korean War.

The longish opus includes a well-selected chamber orchestra of four ‘celli and one each of French horn, bassoon, clarinet, oboe and flute, and a very big plus: the piano accompaniment of the brilliant Lisa Edwards.

For tickets to other Los Angeles Master Chorale concerts, call (213) 972-7211 or visit www.lamc.org
 

Douglas Neslund is Classical Voice correspondent and a noted voice/choral teacher in Los Angeles.