Evening star., 1950-08-03
By Alice Eversmon

Maj. Pierre L'Enfant, resting in
peace across the river in Arling-
ton Cemetery, was honored by the
Sesquicentennial Commission with
a memorial concert at the Water
gate last night. Hector Berlioz'
Requiem" was performed. The
day being the anniversary of
L'Enfant's birth date, its COM
memoration provided an occasion
long to be remembered not only
as the first local hearing of the
Requiem" but as representing
the peak of artistic achievement
in the city he designed.
The performance was triumph
for the Sesquicentennial Chorus
which sang it, for Paul Galloway
who directed, the National Sym
phony and additional musicians
who created the unusual color of
the orchestration, and finally, for
David Lloyd, tenor, the single
soloist, who so admirably fulfilled
his difficult assignment. Dr. Sig
mund Spaeth was the commenta-
tor and his explanations of the
music. preceded by brief outline
of the lives of both L'Enfant and
Berlioz. enhanced considerably
the enjoyment of the perform
ance.
Nothing quite like it has been
heard in Washington. 1t was
thrilling, dramatic, grandiloquent,
sometimes touching, and always
with an undercurrent of terrify-
ing quality. 1t was also spec
tacle. Some 200 singers were
massed at the back of the stage
with strings. woodwinds and some
brass in front. Trumpets, from
bones and tympani, numbering 16
each, with six tubas, occupied an
other barge placed before the reg
ular one. These latter rose in
their might at intervals to drive
home the unacceptable meaning of
this Mass for the Dead.
The music Berlioz wrote for
the Requiem" is like an arch
spanning all musical time. It
embraces what has gone before
and what will come. The level
OF inspiration is not always high
and occasionally a touch of trite-
ness is evident. But the sweep
and grandeur of conception is
overwhelming in spite of some
theatricalisms. The spectacular
effect OF the brass choirs and
tympani in the Tuba mirum of the
Dies Irae escapes such classifi-
cation by the extraordinary force
fulness Of the music and the con-
sciousness of the composers vision.
He was a master of contrast, off,
setting moments that stir the soul
with quiet intervals such as the
soft ending of the Dies Irae and
the lovely melody of the following
Quid sum miser. sung by Mr..
Lloyd.
The Lacrymosa falls below the
sublimity of the rest of the work,
with its operatic style, and the |
Agnus Del is reminiscent of Mass
themes by less gifted composers.
The Offertory is a gem. It's ex-
preston is given to the orchestra,
while the chorus chants the words
on two notes. In all the brilliant
writing OF the Requiem" this
portion is the most notable for its |
simplicity and ethereal beauty.
The intriguing nature of the work
combines super religious feeling
in its most aweSome aspect, to-
gether with periods when the
solemnity is not maintained. Oc-
casional careless writing goes side
by side with magnificent, intricate
effects of brilliant originality.
Mr.. Lloyd's principal solo was in
the Sanctus. The tessitura is ex-
tremely high and the music diff
cult but Mr.. Lloyd's fine, we'll
controlled and well-produced voice
was more than equal to it. He
sang beautifully and with finish,
the quality of his voice blending
excellently with the women's
chorus, which joins him in the
Sanctus. The mems chorus was
heard to excellent advantage in
the HoStiaS. The combined
groups, singing cappella in the
Quaerens me, provided one of the
high points of the performance,