Spire Chamber Ensemble and Baroque Orchestra in performance of Mozart’s “Requiem” and Martines’ “Dixit Dominus” at Redemptorist Catholic Church. Photo: Spire Chamber Ensemble
Spire Chamber Ensemble and Baroque Orchestra concluded their 15th season with a magnificent concert of legendary works.
Founder and artistic director Ben Spalding has built one of the region’s foremost ensembles, bringing in top tier singers and specialized period instrumentalists from across the nation to Kansas City (along with a handful of first call local musicians). Each season, they’ve presented a range of works, Baroque era to contemporary, deftly prepared and presented.
Sunday’s performance was in the gorgeous sanctuary of Redemptorist Catholic Church on the north edge of Midtown, the stunning, intricately decorated venue a perfect host to the stunning, intricately developed music. The audience was encouraged to sit in the front third of the pews, so that details of music would not be lost in the echoes and reverberations inherent to the cavernous space.
Prior to this concert, I was unfamiliar with composer Marianna Martines, a prolific artist in her lifetime. Born in 1744, she was a respected contemporary of many familiar classical music names: Joseph Haydn was her upstairs neighbor and harpsichord tutor, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart attended her salons and wrote music for them to play together.
She outlived them both, but where their music and legends continued in performance and study throughout the centuries, it took dedicated scholarship nearly two hundred years after her death to resuscitate and share her music beyond 19th century Vienna (she died in 1812).
Her “Dixit Dominus,” composed in 1774, was a wonderful example of her work, for choir and chamber orchestra. The orchestral introduction was bright, springlike, with the chorus coming in like a powerhouse. Throughout, the instrumental underscoring was balanced to the singers, giving just the right amount of support.
Featured soloists were soprano Hannah De Priest and countertenor Doug Dodson, beautifully blended; mezzo-soprano Melissa Attebury with flutist Luke Conklin, their lines presented with wonderful virtuosity; and soprano Linh Kauffman, mezzo Julia Scozzafava, tenor David Adams, and baritone Jared Swope, each individual line eliding beautifully with the one previous.
Spalding was attentive to the space’s acoustics, the layered voices clear and energetic in “Juravit Dominus,” and cadences given just enough space to resonate before moving on. The final Amens, with the declamatory false cadence, were arresting and definitive.
At only 25 minutes or so, the Martines was a fast moving and inviting example of her work, following by the larger, more sombre Requiem Mass by Mozart on the second part of the concert.
Spire presented the Franz Beyer edition of the Requiem from the 1970s, revising and improving the version completed following Mozart’s untimely death in 1791. This is one of the more popular “monumental” works, in part because of its associated dramatic backstory, but largely because of the breathtaking scale of emotion within the piece, from repentance and sorrow to raging grief to something akin to triumph.
The performance was exciting and precise, gravitas tempered with the powerful surges in the piece, challenging contrapuntal lines, and an internal joy in performing this expressive music that carries such layered meaning. Spalding arranged the chorus into mixed sections, boosting the ensemble’s cohesive sound, with excellent soloists: soprano Meg Dudley, mezzo Patricia Thompson, tenor Jon Lee Keenan, and bass-baritone Enrico Lagasca. Lagasca, along with trombonist Erik Schmalz, gave a forthright and stentorian opening to “Tuba mirum.”
Attention was given to every detail, never a moment when the energy downshifted or split, each musician aligned and engaged. The ensemble thundered in the “Dies irae” with force that seemed to exceed the assembled 17 singers and 20 or so instrumentalists. The steady, sighing strings of the poignant “Lacrimosa” supported the lament in the vocal lines. They brought “Agnus Dei” to a close with petal-like delicacy. And the vibrancy and persistence heard in the “Kyrie” fugue returned in the final, ringing moments, reinforcing the hope for a merciful God.
After such a performance, naturally the audience gave a standing ovation. An encore of Mozart’s motet “Ave verum corpus” for chorus, strings, and organ finished the concert, ending it with a contemplative attitude.
Reviewed Sunday, April 6, 2025 at Redemptorist Catholic Church. For more information about Spire Chamber Ensemble visit spirechamberensemble.org.
