Concert to feature Beethoven

It was not the first time that an artist commissioned to do an important piece was beset by a client who disdained the result.

But this was no ordinary artist. It was Ludwig van Beethoven.

Melissa Haneline
The Post and Courier

Dr. Joseph Flummerfelt conducts a rehearsal of the Haydn/Brahms/Beethoven concert at Gaillard Auditorium, which will be performed at 8 tonight.

The composer wrote his "Mass in C major," Op. 86, specifically for Prince Nikolaus Esterhazy II of Hungary in 1807. Esterhazy, remembered as the principal employer of the composer Joseph Haydn, did not seem to care that in accepting and fulfilling this commission, Beethoven was carrying on a tradition established by Haydn himself, who had composed one mass per year for the Esterhazy family.

Haydn, in failing health, relinquished the tradition in 1802.

Prince Nikolaus did not enjoy the mass, precipitating a Beethoven rage. The composer felt humiliated as well as insulted. But if history panned this princely judgment, and critics still admire the piece, it remains one of the less-often performed of Beethoven's larger works.

Tonight at 8, this potent-if-underrated masterwork will be the centerpiece of a distinctive program at Gaillard Municipal Auditorium. Under the baton of the conductor Dr. Joseph Flummerfelt, Spoleto Festival USA artistic director for choral activities, the Westminster Choir and Charleston Symphony Orchestra Chorus will perform in tandem with the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra in a program also featuring Brahms' rarely performed "Nanie," which suggests the ephemeral beauty of youth, and Haydn's "Te Deum."

"Beethoven's Mass in C is a masterpiece that is not so often performed, but it is not quite a full evening in itself," said Flummerfelt. "For the first half of the performance I chose the 12-minute Brahms piece, one of his most beautiful orchestral works, and also the festive and celebrative Haydn to open the concert. That's how it evolved — three different composers and three different styles."

It is no simple matter to coordinate and mount such a large production. "The Westminster Choir, which I conducted for many years now is directed by my successor, Dr. Joe Miller. When I come to Charleston in mid-May, I work with the Charleston Symphony Chorus, which is prepared by its director, Robert Taylor. Last Tuesday was my third rehearsal with the Charleston Symphony Chorus and the second with the Westminster Choir. Friday there was a rehearsal with the soloists. Then Sunday I had a combined rehearsal with the chorus. Meantime, on Saturday and Sunday, there were three rehearsals with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra alone on this repertoire. Then Monday and Tuesday afternoon at the Gaillard, we put all the pieces together for the concert this evening."

Flummerfelt agrees that for some, these performance are emblematic of much of what Spoleto represents. "For certain people, yes. For those who love that repertoire, it is one of the main things they want to experience during Spoleto. I've often had people say to me they have been to an event where they find a certain spiritual meaning because of the nature of the repertoire."

Reach Bill Thompson at bthompson@postandcourier.com or 937-5707.