That stupendous noise you might have heard last night in the environs of Meyerhoff Hall came from a Baltimore Symphony Orchestra performance of Carl Orff's boldly hedonistic cantata "Carmina Burana" and the pandemonium in the audience that followed.
I had tired of Orff's dormitory classic before the end of my freshman year in college, but even I must admit that this exhilarating performance was mightily impressive on all counts: inspired leadership by conductor Christopher Seaman; superb playing by the BSO; heartbreakingly beautiful singing by the three distinguished soloists; and enthusiastic and eloquent singing by the BSO Chorus and the boy choirs of St. Paul's and St. David's.
Seaman led the piece with a strong sense of rhythm, an imaginative sense of color and an intelligence that made the work sound not merely boisterous and genial, but also witty and, occasionally, deeply moving. There was an unimpeded flow of energy as well as a finely calibrated sense of control that made the interplay between the divided choruses, the orchestra and the soloists all the more engaging.
The three soloists were equally outstanding. Tenor John Aler sang "The Song of the Roasted Swan" with his usual ease of delivery, subtle use of vocal coloring and ability to make a text come to vivid dramatic life. Baritone Haijing Fu was glorious -- this is a man with a million-dollar voice that recalls that of the young Sherill Milnes; his first solo, "Omnia Sol Temperat," made the Latin text operatically beautiful, reminding one of the poet John Milton's remark that the best Latin should be spoken as if it were Italian. And soprano Harolyn Blackwell sang with seductive innocence, making the heart stop with her final passionate upward leap of submission. The choristers -- all of whom seemed to enjoy themselves hugely -- sang with sharpness of detail and produced a beautiful choral sound.
One might have expected Seaman's success in the Orff work: The BSO's conductor-in-residence has always been at his best in Romantic and post-Romantic choral works. But what was less expected was his lovely performance of Haydn's Symphony No. 99, which opened the concert and which proved to be the conductor's finest showing here in a classical-era work. He caught the measure of the high spirits and the gravity of this work just about perfectly. There was grandeur in the symphony's opening; serene spaciousness in the slow movement; and a sparkling quality to the contrapuntal playfulness in the finale. The playing of the orchestra -- particularly its wind sections -- was a particular joy.