"Petite Messe solennelle" by Gioachino Rossini performed in a special way

Everyone with face masks: the conductor, the soloists, the choir and the audience. A strange performance by the Zug chamber choir Cantori Contenti in the Festsaal Theater Casino Zug, which raises questions.

This weekend, it was probably the first time for the vast majority of people in the Festsaal Theater Casino Zug – as well as the writer – that they experienced a classical choir concert in which all the participants wore corona-related face masks. When the Cantori Contenti started rehearsing the "Petite Messe solennelle" by Gioachino Rossini last winter, no one thought of a performance wearing a protective mask. This only came into question after the concert was shifted from this spring to the autumn – being the only way to somehow get the project, which had been repeatedly delayed by the Corona virus, to the finish line. What seemed impossible only a few weeks ago has now been achieved.

All the participants wore a black fabric face mask, which, from a distance, was a little like singing with the "Sordino" sound damper used for string instruments. The Forte came through to some extent, but the piano was additionally weakened. The unstressed end syllables were often hardly audible: in fact, the soloists briefly lifted their face masks in the lowest parts of the more exposed passages, in order to make the otherwise suppressed hissing sounds, such as "s", "z" and "sch", more audible. While individual singers communicated through unmistakable gestures that they felt restricted by the protective masks, the playing of the two pianists, Adrienne Sos and Ivo Haag, as well as the accordionist Viviane Chassot, did not seem to be too affected.

Vocal clarity was compromised
Nevertheless, the changed conditions adequately accentuated the qualities of Cantori Contenti under the direction of Davide Fior, who was the only one to wear a face shield made of Plexiglass. Four numerically and musically balanced choir registers impressed through their sure preparation, concise presentation and excellent intonation, even up to the more extreme ranges. The face masks impaired the comprehensibility of the speech of course: but this was to some extent compensated by the text of the Latin mass being presented on the printed program. The one positive point was that the face masks led to a more balanced sound, even among the soloists, in which particularly distinctive individual timbres were balanced out.

The Cantori Contenti choir during their performance. The singers also wore masks.

In their interplay with the choir, the four young soloists formed a homogeneous quartet, in which – a rare phenomenon – alto and bass not only fully matched the tenor and soprano, but sometimes even dominated them. All the soloists were also given the opportunity to freely express themselves in the sense of opera arias, especially in the Gloria, which was extended by many text repetitions. This is often only accompanied by the piano, without the direct involvement of the conductor.

Piano duo Soes-Haag harmonised each other

Maria Caballero, soprano, reached her best moments after a somewhat tentative beginning with an impressive performance of the "O Salutaris Hostia". The alto Margherita Sala appeared to be most affected by the face mask, although this did not prevent her from providing an impressive interpretation with a large, yet unforced voice, culminatng in the three calls of the "Agnus Dei". In the extended "Domine Deus", the tenor Remy Burrens found exactly the right balance between lyrical design and the heroic tenor required by Rossini.

The "Quoniam" of the bassist Francesco Leone sounded voluminous and rounded; it was only a pity that some individual high tones were somewhat forced. The two pianists, who had played together for some time as the "Piano Duo Soós-Haag", interpreted the demanding piano part confidently in every respect. In terms of sound production and volume, the accordionist Viviane Chassot offered an appropriate alternative to the harmonium of the original version.

Due to the Corona virus measures, and at the request of the organisers, the audience left the hall row by row, and refrained from forming larger groups in the concert foyer. One can only wonder when will the next choral concerts will follow, and how will they be presented.