Bucks
Blind Singers at Mahler’s Eighth Symphony – Part I
Dear Friends,
Several weeks ago, Mighty Betsy and I were among nearly 500 musicians who played and sang the famous Mahler Eighth Symphony, the so-called Symphony of a Thousand, with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Sell out crowds heard four performances at the Kimmel Center and one in Carnegie Hall. It was good to have Lisa and Bob Landley from Solebury in the chorus.
The thrill of participating in this drama is obvious but not the main reason for this column. Of course, we’ll never forget the performances. But equally important, we met three excellent singers who are blind. Here’s an interview with Daniel and David Simpson, identical twins who are baritones, and John Luttenberg, a first tenor. They were blind at birth.
But first, let me set the stage.
The Mahler 8th is so expensive to rehearse and perform, that it’s seldom done. Dave Simpson told me that the last time The Philadelphia Orchestra (TPO) performed it was in the 1970’s. We heard a back stage rumor that several patrons had traveled from San Francisco just to hear it. Many of us think that a Mahler cult exists…music lovers from all over the world who’ll follow orchestras when they choose Mahler on their schedule.
To finance it, here’s what TPO was up against. There were 150 in the huge orchestra, about one third more than a Wagnerian orchestra. That required extending the stage out over the first ten rows of the seats that are normally filled with patrons.
Fifty seats in the left and right balcony held chorus altos and sopranos, instead of customers, so those seats couldn’t be sold either. An antiphonal brass choir and the Verizon Hall pipe organ joined us for the climax of the 90-minute symphony. Can you imagine! On stage were four harps, two separate choruses, plus a boy choir of 50. Verizon Hall was stuffed full of musicians. It was a tidal wave of sound.
In 1910, the Mahler 8th debuted with 1,000 musicians. To duplicate those numbers today, you’d need the likes of a Yankee Stadium.
MB, the Langleys and I sing in the Philadelphia Singers Chorale, TPO’s resident chorus. There were about 100 of us. But our Music Director needed 250 additional singers plus a boy choir. The American Boy Choir, the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia and the Westminster Choir School filled out the chorus.
Dan, Dave, and John sing with Mendelssohn. I noticed them right away because the Simpson twins had guide dogs, while John used a bright white cane. I was surprised to see blind singers in our midst but shouldn’t have.
It reminded me of seeing a blind man with a guide dog turn into the University Barge Club on boathouse row 30 years ago. It turned out to be David Rawle who rowed four days each week in doubles and quads. He knew where he was on the Schuylkill River by the number of strokes he’d rowed. I remember Dave Rawle telling me that we were about to pass under the Girard Avenue Bridge and he was exactly right.
So why wouldn’t it be perfectly normal to have blind singers in a chorus? I kick myself for thinking otherwise.
Dan Simpson lives in Lansdowne in Delaware County; his brother in Glenside, Montgomery County; and John in West Mt. Airy, Philadelphia. The twins are 56 and John’s a few years older. They met as toddlers at the Overbrook School for the Blind when they were 4 ½…as boarders!!
“I was frantic about being yanked away from my parents [at such a tender age],” John began, “but I made friends quickly so I was OK.” Today, he’s a board member for the Overbrook school, which is located near St. Joseph University and has about 200 students from newborn to age 21. “I’ve sung from high school to the present,” John continued. “I don’t feel complete unless I’m singing.”
The three singers found their Mahler scores in Braille in England. John must have thought that he could absorb the music and text by taking it to bed and sleeping on it. That’s how he lost the first page of music.
Dave explained that he reads Braille in the following way: the first line is the text; the second line is indented and contains the musical notes; the fourth line is text; the fifth line, music, etc. The three singers memorized the music (text and notes) and listened to recordings of the Mahler 8th to find orchestral clues which would lead them to chorus entrances correctly.
When they go to orchestra rehearsals, they record them so they can memorize a conductor’s tempo and volume changes. We sighted singers didn’t have complete orchestral scores which made our preparations more difficult.
Next week, I’ll share why the twins were so popular in high school. Here’s a clue: they both play piano by ear. In addition, they’ll tell why blind singers have an advantage over us sighted mortals. By the way, Dan and Dave are poet laureates. Stay tuned.
Sincerely,
Charles Meredith