I don’t attend enough performances of classical choral music.

I’ve been fortunate to witness some amazing concerts; the two most memorable were almost 20 years ago when I was in England as an undergrad.  And probably what made those so memorable was that I was high on the architecture; I am certain that the performance sites deeply influenced my perception of the music.  The first was a boys’ choir festival in King’s College Chapel in Cambridge, which is an icon of Gothic architecture.  The other was a performance of The Messiah in London at St. Bartholomew (c. 1100), which is one of the city’s oldest churches.  Being in a 1000-year-old church and hearing that music performed live is basically like flying.

This past Sunday, I saw Gustav Mahler’s 8th Symphony (also known as “Symphony of a Thousand”) performed by Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony.  I had bought tickets to the concert as a birthday present for my friend M., who is a huge Mahler fan.  I’ve never warmed up to Mahler, but, in this instance, was blown away by the beauty of the work and how skillfully it was performed.  It had little to do with its setting – it was just stunning musicianship. 

This particular symphony is a major production; it involves a massive orchestra, a brass section situated in the balcony, seven vocal soloists, the symphony choir, a girls’ choir, and a boys’ choir.  And even with all that vocal and instrumental power, it was the during some of the “quietest” passages that I found there were tears streaming down my face (which is unsual – I don’t cry easily). 

It was an experience of a lifetime.