Mozart's Requiem and Bach's Magnificat

About

Mozart's Requiem is undoubtedly one of the most outstanding and poignant choral works ever written. It was commissioned by a mysterious nobleman in 1791; however, the count's plans to pass the work off as his own were to be thwarted by fate when Mozart died, aged 35, leaving the Requiem incomplete. After his death the instrumentation of the Kyrie was supplied by Freystädtler with trumpet and drum parts by Süssmayr who also added three more movements to bring the work to an effective conclusion. From the very opening we are plunged into a dark and sombre world, yet one with moments of thrilling drama and serene beauty. Mozart used the woodwind section to convey a keen sadness, and the brass and timpani for the more forceful sections.

Bach's exuberant Magnificat was first performed in St Nicholas's Church, Leipzig, at Christmas in 1723, shortly after he moved there. Some six or more years later he reworked the piece and removed the four interpolated Christmas movements that had been included in the original version. This left a splendid setting of the Latin Magnificat, Mary's song of thanksgiving after the vision of the angel announcing the birth of Jesus, as described in St Luke's Gospel, Chapter 1.

John Challenger, conductor
Invited orchestra
Rebecca Hardwick, soprano
Jessica Gillingwater, mezzo soprano
Michael Bell, tenor
James Geidt, baritone