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Santa Fe Pro Musica to perform Mozart's 'Requiem'
Santa Fe conductor laureate Thomas O鈥機onnor will conduct the Mozart 鈥淩equiem.鈥�
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart鈥檚 鈥淩equiem鈥� is a choral masterpiece whose genesis is shrouded in mystery.
The composer was not in the best state of body or mind when he received an anonymous commission to compose a requiem Mass. Despite rumors of poisoning fueled by the 1984 movie 鈥淎madeus,鈥� today experts believe he died of a strep infection then sweeping across Vienna. He died in 1791 before finishing his choral masterpiece. Portions of it were performed five days after his death.
Santa Fe Pro Musica to perform Mozart's 'Requiem'
鈥淗e did have premonitions of death,鈥� said Thomas O鈥機onnor, Santa Fe Pro Musica conductor laureate. 鈥淚 think he imagined he was writing the 鈥楻equiem鈥� for himself.
鈥淭he piece was recognized right away as an incredible masterpiece,鈥� he added.
O鈥機onnor will lead the Santa Fe Pro Musica orchestra, Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico and four soloists through the composer鈥檚 final triumph on Saturday, April 27, and Sunday, April 28, at the Lensic Performing Arts Center.
The musicians will perform a version of the 鈥淩equiem鈥� completed by Harvard University musicologist Robert Levin.
鈥淗e鈥檚 one of the world authorities on Mozart鈥檚 compositional technique,鈥� O鈥機onnor said. 鈥淗is goal was to do as little as possible.鈥�
The piece consists of five-minute sections comprised of 14 movements.
鈥淭hey are extremely compatible,鈥� O鈥機onnor said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e all in the three-to-four minute range. The text is reflected in the music.
鈥淗e starts with very simple themes,鈥� he continued. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not long; they don鈥檛 move around a lot. There鈥檚 an integrity to the thematic development. That is a hallmark of the greatest composers.鈥�
The choral work opens with four vocal lines supplemented by organ and bass notes.
Its clarity may have been influenced by the Emperor Franz Joseph, who declared that church music had become too flashy and needed to be simplified.
鈥淭he soloists are very well-known, particularly in the period instrument movement,鈥� O鈥機onnor said.
The singers include soprano Sherezade Panthaki, originally from India, who taught at the Yale School of Music. Alto Meg Bragle is artist-in-residence at the University of Pennsylvania. Tenor Thomas Cooley is in demand as an interpreter of J.S. Bach and George Frideric Handel. Bass-baritone Douglas Williams has performed with the Berlin and Munich philharmonics, in France, at the Dutch National Opera and the Salzburg Mozarteum, as well as symphonies and orchestras in Philadelphia, St. Louis, Detroit, Houston and Washington, D.C.
The concert will open with Anna Clyne鈥檚 鈥淲ithin Her Arms,鈥� a tribute to her late mother.
O鈥機onnor is the co-founder, interim executive director and former principal oboist of Santa Fe Pro Musica.
