They don’t entirely depend on the irreproducible magic of Ellington’s own musicians: they include gospel choirs, recitation and here and there some fairly mundane music that doesn’t require a great band. They’re modern in the creole of their musical style and lyric diction; they have a sense of wonder and a sense of humor.
Humor isn’t really Jessye Norman’s thing. But her operatic voice conveys pride, training, tradition, supreme staginess: we can all admire some part of it. On Saturday night, as part of her series Honor!: A Celebration of the African American Cultural Legacy, produced by Carnegie Hall, Ms. Norman presented a program of music from the three “Sacred Concerts” at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine.
The evening’s context had its own imposing power: the Gothic vastness of the church, where some of this music was first performed and where Ellington’s funeral took place. If you were in the right psychological place, looking at the forest but not the trees, it could make you feel small and grateful.
But let’s look at the trees for a minute. There was some over- reaching and some underreaching. Arrayed onstage were a 16-piece jazz group, a choir and the Flux string quartet. (The tap-dancer Maurice Chestnut performed in “David Danced Before the Lord,” and the ballet dancer Margie Gillis in “Meditation” and “Praise God and Dance.”) Mark Markham, a frequent recital partner of Ms. Norman’s, played piano, and the arrangements for strings and choir were written by Bruce Saylor; both of them have worked with Ms. Norman for some years, performing various edited versions of the “Sacred Concerts.”
