Ravinia 2019, Issue 4, Week 7

Rock Singers contemptuously describe their feigned contrition in Trope: “Easy.” The Cele- brant slowly dons his liturgical vestments and pronounces forgiveness on all. V. Meditation No. 1 . The orchestra prolongs the tension between questioning and peaceful ac- ceptance of faith. VI. Gloria . A jubilant 5/8 rhythm underlies the praise-filled “Gloria tibi,” sung by the Celebrant with the Children’s Choir in echo. The Choir continues with a more aggressive offering of praise in the Greater Doxology (“Gloria in ex- celsis”). The Street Chorus raises the level of cynicism with its Trope: “Half of the People.” A solo Soprano longs for the days when she sang “Glory” and “Thank You,” but they are gone. The Celebrant calls the people to prayer. VII. Meditation No. 2 . A set of orchestral varia- tions on a “sequence by Beethoven”—fragments of the “Ode to Joy” from the Symphony No. 9— follows. Two Altar Children enter with a large Bible and thurible, which the Celebrant uses to cense the holy book. VIII. Epistle : “The Word of the Lord.” As the Celebrant begins the Gospel reading about the power of the Word of God to endure hardship, voices from the street recite passages from let- ters of hatred, independence, persecution, and imprisonment. IX. Gospel-Sermon : “God Said.” A Preacher leaps onto a bench and begins a sermon for his Street Chorus congregation, twisting the Bibli- cal Creation story from something good into a satirical account of religious imperialism, sexual repression, and meaningless ritual. X. Credo . The statement of faith begins with the Celebrant’s free, expressive intonation but con- tinues with the Chorus’s mechanistic pecking away of syllables to a pre-recorded tape and percussion accompaniment. Members of the Street Chorus and Rock Band challenge faith in a series of mocking Tropes: “Non Credo” (“I don’t know why / I should live / If only to die”), “Hurry” (“You said you’d come again / When? / When things got really rough / So you made us suffer”), “World without End” (“Lord, don’t you know it’s the end of the world?”), and “I Believe in God” (“I believe in God, / But does God be- lieve in me?”). Unfazed, the Celebrant again summons the people to prayer. XI. Meditation No. 3 (De profundis, part 1). The Chorus cries out in despair, its “meditation” turned to anguish and chaos. An ominous can- on for brass segments the choral clamoring. XII. Offertory (De profundis, part 2). The Cel- ebrant, Children’s Choir, and Acolytes press on with the ritual, carrying lighted votive candles, sacramental vessels, and Sanctus bell. The Cel- ebrant exits, and the worshippers approach the holy vessels and “dance around with fetishistic passion.” XIII. The Lord’s Prayer . Alone, the Celebrant sits at a piano, plucking out a tune with his finger while singing the “Our Father.” The Celebrant continues with a Trope of perseverance (“I Go On”) and praise (“Lauda, Lauda, Laudē”) as the Altar Children wash and dry his hands. XIV. Sanctus . After ringing the Sanctus Bell, the Celebrant prepares communion while the Children’s Choir sings the “Holy, Holy, Holy.” A joyous dance follows, and then the Celebrant re- ceives a guitar to accompany a joyous song. The Chorus returns with gift offerings, completely encircling and obscuring the Celebrant. As they move away, an altar is revealed. The Celebrant approaches and takes the monstrance contain- ing the consecrated host. XV. Agnus Dei . Soloists from the Street Cho- rus interrupt with demands for the immediate granting of peace. The Celebrant grows increas- ingly flustered and insecure. Feelings of un- worthiness increase as he approaches the altar, where he raises the monstrance and chalice with the consecrated wine, whispering a silent prayer. The Choir, Street Chorus, and instrumental- ists wander the stage as demands for “pacem” (“peace”) increase. The continued “heavenly si- lence” sparks a revolt: “So if we can’t have the world we desire, / Lord, we’ll have to set this one on fire!” XVI. Fraction : “Things Get Broken.” The Cele- brant screams “peace,” but finds none around or within himself. In frustration and desperation, he hurls the sacraments to the ground, breaking the chalice and monstrance. His spirit and psy- che shattered, the Celebrant marvels at the red wine and broken glass. The delusions continue as he grabs the altar cloths and waves them in the air, dances on the altar “like a madman pos- sessed simultaneously by fury, pain, and high glee,” and tears off his vestments and casts them into the crowd. Fragments of previously heard sacred and secular texts jumble in his mind. The Celebrant departs a broken man. XVII. Pax : Communion (“Secret Songs”). Fol- lowing a sustained silence, the solo flute reprises the haunting “Epiphany” theme. A Child Sopra- no sings the melody of “A Simple Song,” now bearing the text “Sing God a secret song Lauda Laudē .” A Bass Solo begins a long, casual canon of praise. As the embracing singers extend into long lines, the Celebrant returns in his simple street clothes. Members of the Children’s Choir share the “touch of peace” with the audience. The ceremony concludes with the standard words of dismissal and commission: “The Mass is ended; go in Peace.” –Program notes © 2019 Todd E. Sullivan A MASSIVE MISSIVE As the story of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass unfolds, members of the Street Chorus find themselves in an existential quandary, wondering how they can believe in and coexist with a god and a world that are seemingly blind to their plights. They address these social issues in the form of letters. As Bernstein sought to address the ills of the early 1970s in America when he created Mass , so too does the creative team behind Ravinia’s Mass seek to turn eyes and hearts toward the troubles of today. In a special companion booklet at tonight’s concert, letters from students and educators involved in Ravinia’s Reach Teach Play music programs as well as the musicians of the Highland Park High School band and Chicago Children’s Choir present what’s on the mind of today’s young people as they look at the issues facing our world, our country, their community or school, or their families. Here is one example. Diego Martinez, age 8 I think a problem in the school and community is bullying. Kids push the person that they are bullying and they are probably making fun of the kid’s name. Kids need to treat the other kids how they want to be treated. Kids need to understand everyone is unique and special. Maybe we can have a Day of Kindness. The Day of Kindness is about your bully and you. You can play a game with your bully or share a book. It doesn’t cost anything to be kind. RAVINIA MAGAZINE | JULY 15 – JULY 21, 2019 94