Even among the staggering output of masterpieces that flowed from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's pen in his tragically short lifetime, his Requiem in D minor has perhaps more than any other achieved legendary status.
By turns sublimely beautiful and viscerally thrilling, the work's extraordinary draw is only heightened by its status as Mozart's final, unfinished work. Peter Shaffer's Amadeus, popularised by an Academy Award-winning 1984 film, further increased the Requiem's mystique with its sensational account of a murderously jealous rival composer, a ghostly messenger delivering the Requiem commission, and Mozart feverishly scribbling the Requiem against the backdrop of his own impending doom before being cast into a pauper's grave.
If anything, the true story behind the Requiem's commissioning by a Walter Mitty-esque nobleman is more extraordinary even than Shaffer's version, while the murky circumstances surrounding its completion after Mozart's death is a fascinating detective story which unlocks the compositional genius underlying this astounding work.
Over the course of the workshop day, Aidan Oliver will piece together the jigsaw of this fascinating story and lead the choir in enjoyable preparations for an informal performance of selected movements at the end of the day, with professional soloists. Refreshments will be available throughout the day, and vocal scores available to hire for a deposit.
