"There is distance enough from the events of that time," Alsop says. "Mass doesn't seem to have so much of a political agenda now, but it is still apropos today. Iraq comes to mind, of course. And what's happening on Wall Street."
Adds Kevin Newbury, who is directing the BSO presentation: "A crisis of faith is always interesting - and relevant."
"In mercy and love unite all your children. ... Remember those who take part in this offering ... and all who seek you with a sincere heart."
- from Eucharistic Prayers III and IV, Roman Catholic Mass
The sheer dimensions of Mass help to explain, perhaps more than any lingering doubts as to its quality, why it is so infrequently produced.
"One of the biggest challenges is the amount of space we have to move the masses - no pun intended," says Newbury, who is staging Mass for the first time. "It is not meant to be a stand-and-sing concert. It would be fun to have a set, but there's something nice about the economy of this. And there will be lighting."
The 1971 premiere at the Kennedy Center Opera House was quite theatrical; having an orchestra pit freed up the stage for a lot of action, including choreography. There won't be room for dancing at Meyerhoff, but "there will be so many bodies onstage that it will feel like there's a choreographic dimension to it," Alsop says. "You'll have a sense of motion."
Gathering the performers has been "like casting for a Broadway show," Alsop says. The vocal soloists and singers for one of the several choruses involved were auditioned and rehearsed initially in New York.
Sykes has already sung the Celebrant for two productions led by Alsop in Los Angeles and London.
"Personally, there are certain things I think are great about Mass, including the whole idea of it, and some things I don't," he says. "After the performances I've done, I've heard everything from 'What in the world was that?' to 'That was the most beautiful thing I ever heard,' and everything in the middle."
Newbury, too, has harbored some reservations.
"The first time I heard it, there were things I couldn't wrap my head around," the director says. "But I've completely fallen in love with it. I think the way to approach it is to embrace the hybrid nature of the piece, to embrace the many different styles."
Neither Newbury nor Sykes is Catholic; both have attended Catholic services for research. For her part, Alsop can draw on a closer connection.
"My father is from a large Mormon family and my mother is from a large Roman Catholic family," she says, adding with a laugh, "so I'm still trying to recover from everything."
Alsop is "not big on organized religion" today. "I don't find Mass a particularly religious piece, but maybe I'm projecting my own feelings," she says.
"I'm happy when people see their own personal beliefs in it, or when they disagree with certain aspects. You can end up feeling hopeful or questioning, with a sense of possibility or trepidation. It depends on where you are in your life," Alsop says. "Great art is not prescriptive; it offers possibility."
if you go
Mass will be performed at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St. Remaining tickets $42 to $75. Call 410-783-8000 or go to bsomusic.org.
