Concert Review: The Place Where Time Stops

Johánn Johánnson's Drone Mass at the Temple of Dendur.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Brad Wells (center left) conducts the members of Roomful of Teeth (right) and the
American Contemporary Music Ensemble in Drone Mass at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 
Composer Johánn Johánnson is at the extreme left. Photo by Mark Shelby Perry

The Temple of Dendur was built in 15 B.C. in Egypt. Since 1978, it has stood in New York City. A gift from the Egyptian government, the Temple occupies the Sackler Wing at the north end of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Temple and its Gate are housed in an enormous glass-and-stone space, surrounded by a reflecting pool, Egyptian artworks and watchful museum guards. On Tuesday night, the Temple was the setting for the world premiere of Drone Mass, a new work by the Icelandic composer Johánn Johánnson commissioned by the American Contemporary Music Ensemble for its tenth anniversary.