The Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s most famous concert given at Holy Name Cathedral in the presence of a dignitary of the Roman Catholic Church was in 1979, when the orchestra under Georg Solti played Bruckner’s Fifth Symphony for an audience that included Pope John Paul II. The concert was given in honor of the pontiff’s first visit to Chicago.
"I assure you I am not the Chicago orchestra," the pontiff told a cheering crowd in the church courtyard after the concert. "I am only the pope."
The return of the CSO to the seat of the Archdiocese of Chicago on Friday night may not prove quite as historic an event but it most certainly was a deeply moving occasion for the more than 1,000 people who packed the church to hear Riccardo Muti conduct members of the orchestra in a special pre-Lenten performance of Haydn’s "The Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross."
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This hourlong devotional sequence of slow movements reflecting on Christ’s final moments on the Cross is one of the great monuments of sacred music. It could do no better than being played by musicians such as these in a magnificent church setting such as Holy Name.
And there was the considerable bonus of hearing the seven sonatas interspersed with original meditations spoken by Cardinal Blase Cupich, archbishop of Chicago.
The cardinal’s inspiring readings touched on various areas of Christian faith and belief, offering the balm of hope and spiritual solace to the audience-congregation, more than 200 of whom were community members participating in programs supported by the church. Complimentary tickets were offered to those who would not otherwise have been able to attend a CSO performance. Furthermore, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association donated a portion of the ticket revenue to Holy Name to support its ministries and outreach programs.
The special concert was originally scheduled to take place a year ago but was postponed after the cancellation of Muti’s winter 2016 residency so that the music director could recover from hip surgery.
Haydn’s "Seven Last Words" ("Seven Last Exclamations" would be a more apt title, Muti told me in an interview last week) carries special significance with the maestro, who has given countless performances worldwide and recorded the work three times. The version he presided over Friday was the orchestral original, played by a chamber ensemble of 34 CSO members. (Haydn’s own arrangement for string quartet has long been a Chicago tradition in the Vermeer Quartet’s annual Lenten performances.) The acoustical warmth of the high-ceilinged cathedral created welcome intimacy to a deeply involving musical experience.
The fact that Haydn’s tempos never vary from largo to lento to adagio to grave — except for the violent presto depiction of an earthquake at the very end — can make for a solemn slog under less considerate hands than Muti’s.
His pacing was remarkably flowing and varied, allowing the subtle dynamic contrasts of piano and pianissimo their full effect in Sonata 2 ("Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise"), with its sonorous layer of four horns. Accents were forcefully applied in Sonata 3 ("Woman, behold thy son"), poised in high relief against the tenderness of Haydn’s string writing.
A few rough attacks were of no consequence in a performance that brought out the wondrous mystery and grace of a masterpiece absolutely unique in the canon of classical liturgical music.
Also: At the CSO subscription concert scheduled for Saturday night at Symphony Center, Muti was to present pianist Mary Sauer with the orchestra’s highest honor, the Theodore Thomas Medallion for Distinguished Service. Sauer retired in November as the orchestra’s principal piano, a position she held for an unprecedented 57 years. She was the orchestra’s only full-time principal keyboardist since its founding in 1891.
John von Rhein is a Tribune critic.
jvonrhein@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @jvonrhein
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