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RECORDINGS
Choral and Song
BERNSTEIN: MASS
 Sykes, Wulfman; Morgan State University Choir, Peabody Children's Chorus, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Alsop. English and Latin texts. Naxos 8.559622-23 (2)
Marin Alsop's new recording of Leonard Bernstein's Mass was made in conjunction with performances of the work in New York, part of the citywide celebration of what would have been Bernstein's ninetieth birthday. Taping was done in Baltimore, where Alsop is music director of the Baltimore Symphony, in October 2008, just prior to live performances at Carnegie Hall and at the United Palace Theater in Washington Heights later the same week.
The big news here is American baritone Jubilant Sykes, singing the musically and dramaturgically challenging role of the Celebrant. Sykes stakes a bold claim to the part right out of the gate with "Simple Song"; he does remarkable things at the pianissimo end of his dynamic range, giving the piece a heightened level of reverential awe. Some might judge it overdone, but he unquestionably reinvents the number. In general, Sykes is authentically passionate and vocally enthralling, masterfully fusing his classical, jazz and gospel backgrounds to the point where it seems the piece must have been written for him. His "The Word of the Lord" has a compelling, almost shamanistic power I've not heard elsewhere, and he makes every word of the oceanic, fourteen-minute "Things Get Broken" seem essential.
Quite a few tracks sound remarkably like the 1971 Bernstein original, in terms of tempo, balance and spirit. Alsop, who studied with Bernstein at Tanglewood, clearly knows and respects that durable and inspiring recording, but she has her own complementary vision. She knits large sections together coherently and does a particularly good job of reconciling the schizoid series of variations in "Meditation No. 2." There is unusual clarity and vibrancy in the choral singing. Soprano Amy Justman provides some especially beautiful phrasing in "Thank You," and the affecting "World Without End" drives to an exciting climax, led by soloist Theresa McCarthy. Boy soprano Asher Edward Wulfman kicks off the sumptuous closing "Secret Songs" with heavenly purity. Max Perlman's bright, propulsive "I Believe in God" is another standout.
I would recommend this recording straightaway, in fact, if it weren't for the recent, electrifying Kristjan Järvi recording on Chandos, which I praised in the August 2009 issue of this magazine. The highly accomplished, much honored Alsop has impressive crossover credentials, but her jazz and blues sections don't sizzle or swing as Järvi's — or even Bernstein's — do. "I Don't Know" is missing a certain gritty, rock-'n'-roll drive, though it is well-anchored by earnest, muscular singing from Timothy Shew. In "Gloria tibi," there's some struggling over tempo. (It sounds as if Sykes wanted it to go faster). "Gloria in Excelsis" is appropriately rousing, although the backbeats could be sharper, and it would be nice if the chorus were miked more closely.
This is nitpicking that I wouldn't do if it weren't for Järvi's having set the bar so high so recently. But Alsop and her forces are certainly worth hearing, especially for Sykes.
JOSHUA ROSENBLUM
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