Stravinsky’s relationship to the Russian Orthodox faith of his childhood was complex. Having left Russia in 1914, he reconverted in 1926, not least because for him Russian would always be the language of prayer. In the third of an exceptional Stravinsky series, Myths & Rituals, the Philharmonia and Esa-Pekka Salonen turned to the composer’s faith, from the last decades of his long life, with performances of the Requiem Canticles, Mass, Introitus (T S Eliot In Memoriam), In Memoriam Dylan Thomas, Elegy for JFK and Cantata. These works, some of the most precious in the repertoire – Stravinsky’s or anyone else’s – are hardly heard in the concert hall.
In every respect this was imaginative programming. Without gimmick and using a few simple devices – low lighting, the sound of bells, a waft of incense – St John’s Smith Square had acquired the atmosphere of Orthodox St Petersburg. The point, perfectly achieved, was to allow the music to be performed without interruption. All lightly scored, these short pieces allowed the Philharmonia to shine as soloists, and the Philharmonia Voices too. In the Cantata (1951-52), a collaboration with WH Auden, the tenor Allan Clayton captured unforgettably every arcane glimmer and nuance of the Westron Wind lament. Esa-Pekka Salonen conducted with clarity, authority and conviction. He is one of the UK’s greatest musical assets – words not said lightly. The concert, essential listening, is on BBC Radio 3.
