Standing ovations are not unusual these days--almost any symphony or concerto with a blockbuster finale brings an audience to its feet now--but they are not at all common for large-scale 50-minute choral works written in 2003-04. Even so, Israeli composer Gil Shohat deserved the one he was given at the premiere of his new oratorio, Songs of Bathsheba. Sharing the glory were conductor John Nelson, soprano Twyla Robinson, and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.

Shohat is a young man with something to say--and it's worth hearing. He has created a vivid, moving, powerful, and (most important) memorable vehicle for conveying the message that melodic beauty and emotions like love, hatred, jealousy, and remorse are timeless. He calls Bathsheba his Gurrelieder, and while it employs similar large choral and orchestral forces and evokes similar late-romantic angst, one also hears elements of Daphnis and Chloe, Richard Strauss, Mahler, Miklos Rosza, and in some of the choral writing, even a little Carmina Burana. I refer to those composers simply to give you some idea of what this new music sounds like. Make no mistake: Gil Shohat is no copy cat. He speaks with his own resonant voice.

He also makes no apology for writing in a rich, direct, melodic, late-romantic style. The audience at both the premiere and the following night's repeat responded to it with spontaneous, vocal enthusiasm. (Overheard in the lobby at intermission: "I was prepared for the worst--any time there's a world premiere or something--but this was great!"). The work is not without a few minor flaws: for example, some of the trumpet parts seem too difficult for the instrument's range, and occasionally the composer relies too heavily on repetition of text for emphasis. Nevertheless, this is a piece of new music that people will actually want to hear once the word (and, one hopes, a recording) gets out.

Songs of Bathsheba is in 13 sections, alternating choral movements--the 51st Psalm sung in Hebrew--with soprano solos sung in English. To keep the piece's running time reasonable, three movements were omitted in Milwaukee. The work opens with an evocative orchestral introduction, reminiscent of Mahlerian Nachtmusik, followed by the gorgeous entry of the chorus on an orchestral climax. The string writing here is also gorgeous, as it is all through the piece, including several juicy violin solos beautifully executed by MSO concertmaster Frank Almond. Other instrumental touches include a slithery, serpent-like contrabassoon ominously rising from the depths at the line "I loved David your father, his bronze skin and blazing eyes" (IV; the solo comes back later in XII). The one purely orchestral movement, VI, is a stunning post-Mahler tour de force juxtaposing extended passages for string quintet against the whole orchestra.

The soprano's entrance in II recalls Richard Strauss at his best. One cannot find fault with the way Miss Robinson sweetly and lyrically conveyed Shin Shifra's bitter, anguished, regret-filled text (it sounds contradictory, but it worked beautifully). The orchestra sometimes swamped her, but most of the time she held her own. Once or twice one wished for a little more vocal amplitude, as in the great outpouring of regret, "Guilt! Guilt!" in IV, or in the soaring lines at the crushing climax of X (recounting the betrayal of Bathsheba's first husband, Uriah), but she did not strain and sang beguilingly--one could hardly blame David for succumbing to temptation. The singer seemed more at ease and actually more rested on the second night.

The Milwaukee Symphony Chorus was resplendent, handling with ease even the difficult rhythms of the playful, vigorous, scherzo-like III, `Purge me with Hyssop', which contained some of the most Carmina Burana-like moments. Also impressive were the chorus's unanimity in expressing the anguish of VII (`Deliver me from blood guiltiness'). Conductor Nelson had his hands full marshalling these massive forces, but he blended everybody's efforts into an exciting, moving performance that conveyed both Bathsheba's harsh bitterness and anguish and David's more lyrical, euphemistic outpourings. On the first night there were still some balance problems in the orchestra, but the chorus was firmly under control. Tempos seemed slightly faster at the second performance, which improved the overall flow of the music.

If the world-premiere of a major new choral work weren't enough excitement, the Beethoven Third that followed it seemed to have been prepared under festival conditions. Perhaps the wonder of discovering something new carried over from the first half of the program; Mr Nelson's interpretation made that overworked chestnut sound like new music. Some conductors emphasize the piece's rough-and-tumble fury; others burnish down the edges and concentrate on its polished, classical side. Nelson emphasized the contrast between the scowling Beethoven and the smiling Beethoven, balancing fury with suavity and delicacy with pile-driving power that was never merely punchy or jarring. The orchestra, especially the horn section, exceeded its considerable best. If possible, they played even more brilliantly than they did the week before in a blistering Shostakovich 10th Symphony led by music director Andreas Delfs.

A powerful new work by a brilliant young composer and the work of a master sounding fresh and new--it was a night that even the most jaded concert-goer couldn't forget.

LAWRENCE HANSEN
American Record Guide - July/August 2005