Cru-chi-fix-oos at dusk

Antonio Lotti was an Italian composer who lived in the late 1600's early 1700's. He was music director at San Marco's, writing for the services there. While I don't know many of his compostions, I absolutely love his settings of the Crucifixus which he wrote for from 5 to 10 voices. I hadn't heard his stuff in awhile, but last night I went to pick up Drew from youth group and discovered that they had extended the time and I was going to have to wait a half hour before he was ready. This was after working both jobs. I was a bit irritated, but then I decided to spend some gas keeping the car cool and listening to music while I waited. It was a lovely evening, and I popped one of the CDs that floats about in my car into the deck.

It turned out to be a St Olaf recording. I think Anton Armstrong is one of the best contemporary choral directors, especially of sacred music. St Olaf has a strong religious tradition steeped in excellent music, and Anton brings that to a higher level with his insightful interpretations and instinctive grasp of the musics he conducts. It is another instance of someone who, like my amazing pianist friend, makes the music so effortless that you get wrapped up in it while at the same time realizing how unique and rare the talent and discipline that brings it forth in such a wonderful way.

I lay the back of my seat down and peered up into the heavens. It was dusk, and there were a handful of stars clear and bright, peeking over the dark shadow of trees across the street from the church's parking lot. At that moment, Lotti's Crucifixus a 8 came on. I immediately pressed repeat.

For the next 20 minutes, my car became a cathedral, filled with the swirling sounds of voices embracing the precious gift of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. The piece starts with the lowest voices entering one at a time with the simple word 'Crucified' in Latin. The pitches slide in and out of dissonance, creating an environment at once sad, filled with pain, yet comforting and secure. Every entrance was clear, every moving line transparent, every ounce of significance there for the taking.

Anton's choir is a college choir, and the bass voices are quite resonant, the soprano voices clear and untroubled by pitch problems, floating effortlessly above the pithy center voices. Lotti brings us in and out of thick lament, contrasted by quiet reflection. Armstrong gives us all the right breathing space, letting the music take its time to touch us, to make sense, to register before moving us further toward total awe.

Hearing this amazing performance juxtaposed against the height of the dusky star-sprinkled sky suddenly created an eerie awareness of how vast the world I cannot see, how close that unseen world, how small my perspective, my point of view. It was tremendously liberating! Our God is indeed an awesome God.

I highly recommend the Lotti Crucifixus a la st Olaf and Anton at dusk. Its far better than any outdoors performance I have experienced to date.