With his suggestive leadership, de Wilde transferred his passion onto the choir
Zutphen’s daily De Stentor – April 2, 2007
By: Ton van Ingen Schenau (translated from Dutch)
Passion music Stabat Mater by Giovanni Baptista Pergolesi, performed by a project choir led by Hans de Wilde. In collaboration with Ensemble Ars Floreat and Gert Oldenbeuving, organ.
Performance: March 30, Sint Willebrorduskerk, Vierakker.
One can genuinely call Hans de Wilde, even though it does not suit the sacred character of the music, a musical warlock. He picked six sopranos and as many altos out of the various choirs he leads, let them get acquainted, rehearsed with them twice and presented a breathtaking performance of Pergolesi’s Stabat Matar.
This piece from 1736, of which the music consists for a large part of his five year earlier composed Dies Irae, displays the ?smart? Of Maria when she sees her son hanging at the cross. ‘Grief had captured mother’s heart, tears flooded her cheeks, where her son hung crucified’ is the rhymed translation of the first strophe by Willem Wilmink.
A sold out church was ear witness of a concert where musical level wa high, both instrumentally and vocally. The upbeat was the well known Canon by Pachelbel, which was played by Ars Floriat with playful ease. Through four virtuously Performed parts out of Bach’s Die Kunst der Fuge, the ensemble proved that they were highly professional. Afterwards, with Gert Oldenbeuving as stable factor in their midst, they supported the choir with the Stabat Mater as a perfect continuo.
Immediately at the with poignant dissonants intoned Stabat Mater Dolorosa it was clear that the choir was in pitch and that, thus, the voices were chosen well. This also became clear later with the accurate intonations and full sound. The unisono pieces remained in pitch and the voices mixed well in the two-part pieces. The latin text might have come over even better with some sharper articulation.
With his suggestive leadership, de Wilde transferred his passion onto the choir, raising it to the level he wanted, which was almost professional. The excellent acoustics of the beautifully restored church made it all a first class musical spectacle.