Coughing at the Concert

"Husten im Konzert" is the title of a short story by Heinrich Böll in which he describes various types of compulsive coughing at concerts, and I was reminded of this story at a recent performance of Handel's "Messiah" in Paris. Now, you would think that by April the coughing and sneezing season is over, but it seems the flu and bronchitis of winter simply give way to hayfever in spring! But as Böll and all enervated concert goers know this coughing has something of an obsessive-compulsive disorder for which science has yet to find a remedy. One thing Böll doesn't mention (because he didn't live to know them) are the ubiquitous cell phones, the bane of our time, that accompanied Händel's music all through the evening with their persistent bleeping - the announcement at the beginning of the concert to switch them off blissfully ignored by their owners! This irritating lack of discipline is unfortunately on the rise and I have of late seen conductors turn round to shush the audience or singers like Thomas Quasthoff interrupt their recitals to ask for silence - and rightly so, as this kind of misbehaviour shows a lack of respect for a work of art and its performers! And I am afraid this constant coughing, sneezing and bleeping seriously interfered with my enjoyment of Händel's masterpiece which should have people sitting on the edge of their seats holding their breath, especially with such a truly riveting performance as the combined forces of the Ensemble Matheus, the Arnold-Schoenberg-Chor and the soloists (in alphabetical order) Florian Boesch, Cornelia Horak, Jennifer Larmore and Topi Lehtipuu offered on this Good Friday night at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées! Händel has this effect on me that when I feel the least bit down in the mouth or put out a few bars of his music suffice to cheer me up! This music exudes some kind of positive energy and a performance of one of his oratorios, operas or concerti makes me come out of the concert floating several inches above the ground and feeling like a better human being! "Messiah" has this additional effect that the tunes are so catchy you have to force yourself to not sing along! Of course, I had gone because of JL in the first place, and whereas her first aria "But who may abide" suffered from Spinosi abruptly "running away" with the orchestra in the rapid passage of "And who shall stand when He appeareth?" which left her rather out of breath, "O thou that tellest" was infused with the spirit of the "good tidings" this aria proclaims, and the emphatic repetitions of "Behold your God" set the mood for the rest of the evening. "He was despised" is the centre and turning point of the whole piece and the most moving of arias. JL sang this with touching sincerity and poignant directness that went straight to the heart. Unfortunately it was during this aria that the assembled patients of the lung sanatorium conspired to "enliven" this plangent piece by unleashing and avalanche of coughs and sneezes into the auditorium! One or two cell-phones were roused into furious bleeping by this and the cacophony was perfect! In moments like these I envy mad King Ludwig of Bavaria who commanded separate performances only for himself! But I, poor mortal, alas, don't wield royal power and consequently must suffer!
The soprano Cornelia Horak delivered her arias with clarity of tone and simplicity ("Innigkeit"), which is of particular importance in the moving and uplifting "I know that my Redeemer liveth". Tenor Topi Lehtipuu is tried and tested in this kind of repertoire and sang stylishly and with clear articulation. Florian Boesch's gorgeous bass voice is fit for Wagner, but he never shouted or boomed, and he had the necessary agility for the quick passages of "Why do the nations", and the coloratura was neat throughout. His rendition of "The trumpet shall sound" brought the house down - and for once drowned out the assembled coughers, sneezers and cell-phones! The Arnold-Schönberg-Chor sang exquisitely and their smooth and plush sound was a joy to listen to. Spinosi and his band are known for fast-paced and energetic performances of Baroque music, notably Vivaldi, and their rendering of Händel's master score was at once vivid and animated, stressing the drama but also doing justice to the more reflective moments. The audience responded enthusiastically at the end which led to an encore of the Hallelujah chorus in which all the soloists joined. All in all an exhilarating, uplifting and truly inspired performance which made me float out of the hall as on a cloud and feeling in perfect accord with the universe.
N.B.: This Böll story should be made compulsory reading for any concert goer and should be read out to audiences before a concert via loudspeakers!