Houston Symphony Orchestra– 09/30/23

The Houston Symphony, joined by the Houston Symphony Chorus, performed at Jones Hall this weekend. There was a lot to unpack. Days before opening his second Houston Symphony season, music director Juraj Valčuha signed a contract extension through the 2025–2026 season. Starting in the 2022–23 season, Valčuha assumed the role of music director. His brief tenure has shown improved performance through committed and involved music making and attention to detail. These series of concerts are his first of the new season and the first in the newly overhauled Jones Hall. The acoustics of the previous hall were marked by a warm, velvety texture that rarely sparkled. This has been improved by having the shell permanently fixed and lined with the same wood as in the hall, making it part of the room. The triangular UFO’s that provided stage lighting have been replaced by a uniformly flat surface with seven rows of lights providing ample lighting. Two huge speakers are placed high on both sides of the stage, presumably for multi-purpose events. The platforms for the winds and brass are less angled than before, making sightlines more difficult. While the primary product of an orchestra is sound, we are nevertheless oriented to the visual. I have heard that there is another stage of improvements that will hopefully alleviate this issue. All the hall seats have been replaced with firmer cushions that do not swivel front to back. They feel more like a Mercedes instead of a Cadillac and absorb less sound. To reduce noise, there are fewer entrance doors, but exit lanes have been added along the sides. The row numbering system is different, causing a few seating delays.

As for the sound, it remains warm, but with better focus and clarity, with individual instruments and string sections having more color definition. Balance was good within the orchestra from top to bottom, enhanced by better bass projection. Double bass pizzicatos popped and piccolos sparkled, with timpani more integrated. Dynamics now have greater range, with yet more to explore on the pianissimo spectrum. Details of ensemble and intonation are more audible, requiring greater attention, but with giving the confidence that what is being produced is being fairly projected.

Valčuha chose an all-French program of works by Olivier Messiaen, Francis Poulenc, and Maurice Ravel. Even though all three composers are of the same national origin, stylistically they are quite different. The two halves of the concert can be divided into the sacred and the profane. Messiaen’s "Les offrandes oubliées" (The Forgotten Offerings) is perhaps the most profound of the three. Composed in 1930, it incorporates the composer’s spirituality based in Catholicism. Written with a huge dynamic range, it covers three parts titled “Cross,” “Sin,” and “Eucharist.” The tempo markings show the deeply emotional feelings of the young composer. Valčuha led a committed and tightly controlled performance.

Poulenc’s writing is a unique tonality that is worthy of greater interest. Traditional in form, his music never fails to renew admiration. His Gloria has elements of spirituality and good-natured humor. The Houston Symphony Chorus was rhythmically incisive and well balanced. Past vicissitudes in the tenors were not present this evening. The chorus completely filled the back of the stage, possibly indicating greater numbers. The orchestra strings gave a strong and unified opening to the titular Gloria movement. The second movement Laudamus Te had an uneven beginning in the trombones but quickly settled into joyous humor. Soprano Erin Morley was ravishing in her lyrical solos, with the chorus responding empathetically. They gave a strong and unified opening to the last movement, Qui Sedes Ad Dexteram Patris, alternating with hushed pianissimos. Valčuha found a nice balance between the rhythmic and the lyrical, with the symphony and chorus responding to his direction.

Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloe is his longest work. Performing the complete ballet without scenery or dancers emphasizes that fact. Given the inherent duplication of musical ideas, the combined Suites 1 and 2 would have sufficed. Even given the wonderful playing by several solo winds and brass, it is a long time to Sunrise and Bacchanal. Principal horn William VerMeulen opened with several seamless solos that filled the fifths as well as the hall. Flutist Aralee Dorough was a star attraction given that French Impressionist composers loved the flute. She also produced a decidedly French tone not always evident throughout the orchestra. Written at a time when most attention was given to the woodwinds, clarinet, bassoon, oboe, English horn, and piccolo solos were in the mix, all beautifully played. The harps glistened. The Houston Symphony Chorus sang their non-verbal part with aplomb. The strings make the tonal difference in this music, with tonight’s result sounding more like Fauré than Ravel. The new sound environment should enhance such stylistic differences given exposure. It will be exciting to hear.