GREEN VALLEY — At the end of the Tucson Chamber Artists performance here Saturday afternoon, you might have found yourself feeling a bit confused:
Should I be joyful and hopeful, the overriding emotion conveyed in Bach's Cantata 80: "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" (A Mighty Fortress Is Our God)? Or should I feel victorious but a bit melancholy from Arvo Pärt's "Berliner Messe"?
Both pieces had similar underlying messages: Faith in God and adherence to that faith is the only weapon you need in battle, be it hand-to-hand conflict or war of words. But the delivery was a contrast of moods that TCA Conductor Eric Holtan and his professional chorus pulled off with amazing clarity.
Holtan kept the tone mostly light and the tempo measured throughout the Bach, written to celebrate Martin Luther's Reformation and the introduction of the Protestant movement. He hung less on every word of the text and focused more on the overall message.
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The chorus sang the German text with sterling diction so even if you didn't know a lick of German, you could find you way by following the English translation in the program notes.
Soprano Christi Amonson projected a sweet, warm tone and a vibrant coloratura in a pair of arias; baritone Jeffrey Stevens sang with muscular clarity in his recitativos.
Mezzo Helen Karloski and tenor Doug Spurlin were equally noteworthy in their solo turns; Spurlin was possessed of a light, penetrating voice and pitch-perfect diction that captured your attention.
The ensemble's performance of Pärt's "Berliner Messe" was the first time a professional choir has performed the piece in Southern Arizona; it has been done at least once by an amateur group, Holtan said.
It is a piece that cannot be taken lightly. The Estonian composer sees the human condition as one of suffering, and his works are steeped in somber hues.
That's the case with the "Berliner Messe," which Pärt wrote after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the crumbling of communism that followed. The piece was written for strings and chorus, and the tempo lends itself to an overwhelming sense of reverence, the kind held at arm's length with nary a smile on your face.
Holtan drew wonderful warmth from the singers and the string players of the choir's chamber orchestra, made up of Tucson Symphony Orchestra players. His singers conveyed Pärt's somber tones with vibrant hopeful shades, rendering the piece as more of a meditation.
Holtan teamed the Bach Cantata and Pärt's Mass with Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 3, performed by the full TCA Orchestra, led by Concertmaster Carla Ecker.
The performance in Green Valley was the first of two Saturday; the chorus performed an evening concert in Tucson.
They will perform it once more: this afternoon in Tucson.
"Re:Formation" is the second concert in the Tucson Chamber Orchestra's fifth season.
Review
Tucson Chamber Artists in concert Saturday afternoon at Green Valley's Lutheran Church of the Risen Savior. The concert, "Re:Formation," repeats at 2 p.m. today at Christ Church United Methodist, 655 N. Craycroft Road.
Tickets: Half off on second ticket at the door; 401-2651.
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