I'm part of the Manassas Chorale (full disclosure: my wife is the director) and we are doing Mozart's Requiem this Friday evening. A children's honor chorus composed of some of the best elementary school singers in the area will sing during the second half of the program. I hope you'll be able to come hear what should be a rewarding concert. Here's some more information about the evening:
The Manassas Chorale presents “Mozart and More,” for their spring concert, showcasing 100 auditioned chorale singers, orchestra, guest soloists, and a children’s honor chorus of area youth. Join us for an unforgettable evening of musical entertainment featuring Mozart’s Requiem. at the Hylton Performing Arts Center, 10960 George Mason Circle on the Prince William Campus of George Mason University in Manassas.
http://hyltoncenter.org/calendar/188/
Notes on the Requiem by Manassas Chorale Artistic Director, Becky Verner: Mozart's Requiem, K 626 (Mass in D Minor) was the
last composition of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and one of his most popular
works. Mozart was commissioned to write
the Requiem in 1791 (the same year
that the U. S. Bill of Rights was ratified) by Count Franz von Walsegg through
a messenger. It was to be performed on
the first anniversary of the Count’s wife’s death. Half of the commission was paid in advance
with the other half to be paid upon completion.
That fall, Mozart worked feverishly on the Requiem, even when he was ill and confined to bed. He died on December 5, 1791,at the age of
thirty-five, leaving an unfinished manuscript of 92 pages. His widow, Constanze, not wanting to return
the deposit and desperate for funds, asked Mozart’s pupil, Franz Süssmayr, to
complete the work using Mozart’s musical notes and verbal instructions. It is also possible that there were now-lost
“scraps of paper” which conveyed details about how the rest of the Requiem was to be composed. Süssmayr worked diligently on the remaining
movements (there are 14 total) and finished the work in early 1792. In late 1793, a copy of the completed
composition, with a counterfeit signature of Mozart, was given to the Count. It was performed twice in memory of his wife
shortly thereafter: on December 14, 1793 and on February 14, 1794. Published in 1799 and loved the world-over
ever since, few musical compositions have aroused as much awe and sense of
mystery as Mozart’s Requiem. The Manassas Chorale is honored to
perform this great masterwork joined by an outstanding orchestra and
guest soloists.
DV: I should note that the action and conflict of the play and movie Amadeus is a dramatic fiction. Salieri and Mozart probably knew each other, but they were not mortal enemies, nor did Salieri take down Mozart's dictation of the last parts of the Requiem. The movie is, however, an interesting if unhistorical look at the genius of the great composer.
As part of the Chorale's continuing Concert with a Cause series, please help
support Caton Merchant House by donating office supplies (pens, pencils,
notepads), packages of candy, crackers, and cookies (regular and
sugar-free), small bags of chips, trial or small sized lotions, body
washes, shampoos, toothpastes, and toothbrushes.
Partial funding for the Manassas Chorale is
provided by the Prince William County Park Authority, Virginia
Commission for the Arts, and the City of Manassas.
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