Distinguished Concerts International New York
Concert for Peace
Celebrating the Spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center
January 18, 2010

This Martin Luther King, Jr. Day concert was presented by Distinguished Concerts International of New York (DCINY) and featured choirs from the United States and Canada, six vocal soloists, a large orchestra, all under the expert direction of DCINY’s artistic director and principal conductor, Jonathan Griffith. In bringing church, college and community musical organizations to New York to perform in major concert halls, DCINY is doing a valuable service. The performers participate in a musical experience which they could never have had at home, and their parents, relatives and friends, who appeared to make up a large part of this afternoon’s enthusiast audience, have a good reason to become tourists in New York City. Also benefiting are New York concert halls, who gain another source of rentals. And let’s not forget the tax dollars which these new tourists bring to the City of New York. It’s a win-win-win-win situation.

And if this “Concert for Peace” was a good example of the quality of a DCINY performance, New York concertgoers are also winners. From beginning to end the music making was of a very high quality, and both of the major works by the Welsh composer Karl Jenkins were performed with skill and fervor. Pride of place goes to the choristers, members of fourteen different choirs (four for Mr. Jenkins’ “Requiem.” and ten (!) for his “The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace.”) They made a glorious sound, and sang with precision and fine intonation. The vocal soloists had a lesser role, but fulfilled it admirably. Maestro Griffith exhibited total control over this huge ensemble and presented well paced performances of these two long works.

Would that the music was worthy of the many performers’ talent and hard work. But, for this listener, both pieces were banal, derivative, and musically uninteresting. And what is there to say about the films which, as the program stated, “accompanied” each piece? Here are the images which went with the opening movement of “Requiem” – sunset, birds, bell tower, a cross, sunset, water, wind, sunset, tower, cross, sunset, birds…We weren’t hearing movie-music, nor were we seeing music-images. The connection between music and film was stronger during “The Armed Man,” but the images were still trite and obvious. However, at the close of this “Mass for Peace,” the audience appeared to be deeply moved. My musical reservations not withstanding, DCINY should consider this concert a resounding success.

-Harry Saltzman; New York Concert Review; New York, NY