| Carnegie Hall Concert Sunday November 13th 2005 A review by Anthony S Burdge and Jessica Burke
If you have ever encountered the myths and legends of our world, and enjoy it in its various forms, through story, poetry or film,
until one is in attendance at a concert featuring mythological works, you cannot fully appreciate its power within the realm of music. We can enjoy a CD, cassette or
video of a musical performance but only a live performance can bring that delight to a fuller fruition. With that said, The Rings: Myth and Music opened various new
doorways for loving music, an art form which transcends the written word, which inspires greater creativity within the arts. Its "lush symphonic sound"(Robert Bass
Sept. 7th, 2005 Interview) invigorated every fiber of being and re-charged every neuron of soul.
The Wagner portion of the day's concert, which was performed first, summoned the ancient world of the Ring of the Nibelung, warring chieftains, jealous
brides, dawrves and Odin forbidding Valkyries. Christina Goerke was the featured Soprano. Being exposed to and listening avidly to the work of Joan Sutherland
and Luciano Pavarotti, one does not realize the depths these singers reach until seeing a live performance, as was evident in the incredibly moving efforts of Goerke
and Valentin Peitchinoff.
Goerke's emotional range varied throughout, whether it was a sword-maiden in the opening piece "The Ride of the Valkyries" or an obsessive bride in the
Wedding Music. The drama of each piece was in perfect balance with her vocal and physical portrayal to that of the chorus.
In comparison, Peithchioff brought life to the hard-nosed dwarves and warrior-chieftains preparing for battle. The supernatural forces of myth unfolded
through the efforts of these great shining stars; in combination with the illustrious chorus, all of which harkened back to the time of epic poetry when Beowulf was sung
in the mead-halls of Anglo-Saxon Europe, and when the Icelandic eddas were first blossoming.
Under the direction of Conductor Rober Bass, who is ultimately the painter of this concert's portrait of myth and legend, the orchestra and chorus radiated
the hall with various spherical colors of music, which set the mood of each piece. The accompanying text provided a portion of the picture in translation of Wagner's
original. Each listener may have a different picture in their mind's eye, drawn from the deep well of tones and music emanating from the concert, making this art unique
and multidimensional. The spirits of the Volsungasaga and Wagner's mythical ancestors accompanied us on the road to glory.
The inspiration and influence of Wagner upon Tolkien has been briefly explored, Tolkien claiming that the only resemblance is that the rings are round,
nonetheless Wagner's Ring cycle is undoubtedly a fore-runner to the Lord of the Rings. Howard Shore's composition for the Lord of the Rings films and Symphony
sounds darker at times, especially during times of conflict, i.e. "The Prophecy", which depicts the 1st age conflict with Sauron. Shore also captures perfectly the tone,
mood and ethereal nature of Tolkien's elves, one can almost picture Alan Lee's bittersweet illustrations.
As Mr. Bass stated in our September 7th interview: "...this evening is about the moods and colors of these composers," which was brought forth
unequivocally in each segment. In the case of Shore's composition for the Lord of the Ring's films , he captured the struggles and journey of each character
extraordinarily well. Each of these strands of music, depicting the Fellowship, were then carried through each piece, into each scene.
For some it may have been hard to separate the film images from the music and have the concert create new images and sensory vibrations for the listener's mind, but
Bass successfully puts these fears to rest as the power of music cleansed us all.
It is clear than each composer had a firm grasp on the source material they were interpreting from. The appeal of the sources, whether its Wagner, the
classic Icelandic texts, JRR Tolkien or Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films, these works, whether literary or musical, have universal themes that carry a universal
appeal to all. They have been loved by everyone and continue to make impressions upon all of our lives as we encounter them. As we hear the music in Carnegie
Hall, since it lives in the moment of performance, it has indeed left a mark, a moment in time where all of the characters, historical or fictional, and composers were
alive at once.
Howard Shore (left of podium), who was in the audience, comes to the stage post-concert. 
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