Autumn Concert: Assembly Hall – 15th November 2015

Mozart – Ave Verum Corpus
Mozart – Requiem
Movements from Mozart Symphony no 39
Beethoven – Concert Aria Ah! Perfido for Soprano

RTWCS Orchestra leader Jane Gomm
Susanna Fairbairn (soprano), Jeanette Ager (mezzo), Ben Thapa (tenor)*, Michael Pearce (bass)

*Ben Thapa took the place of Greg Tassell who was advertised but indisposed for the concert

Conducted by Rebecca Miller

Click on image to view programme.

The major work in Sunday’s concert was Mozart’s Requiem. In view of the terrorist attacks in Paris on the previous Friday, Rebecca Miller, the Conductor, dedicated it to those who had died and a minute’s silence was held. She quoted Leonard Bernstein: “This will be our response to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.”

The result was a deeply-felt performance of one of the most powerful works in the repertoire. Mozart’s Requiem was left unfinished at the composer’s death and his pupil Franz Süssmayr completed it. Controversy has raged ever since as to whether the completion was worthy of the great composer and some have even sought to improve it. However, in my view the work’s strength and unity stands out, implying that Süssmayr was following a careful briefing from Mozart before he died. The unity was fully demonstrated in this performance. Ms Miller was careful to avoid the lugubrious sluggishness of some conductors. Even in the magisterial introit she kept a good pace and the whole performance was characterised by energy and intensity.

The contrasts between the different parts of the sequence (from the Dies Irae to the Lacrimosa) were carefully balanced. The Dies Irae itself was exciting with excellent phrasing and I particularly liked the lightness and the quick tempo of the Domine Jesu, following the heartbreak of the Lacrimosa. Mozart proved in his last few works that he was a master of counterpoint and this presents challenges in performance, particularly when maintaining a good speed. However, the choir rose to the occasion and there was clear enunciation and no sense of rush or loss of control in the double fugue in the Kyrie Eleison or in the other fugal passages. Indeed, the choir performed brilliantly throughout, giving force to the loud passages and contrasting tenderness for sections like the opening of the Hostias.

Although the numbers were not well balanced – with the women outnumbering the men – the sound was generally carefully controlled. The one exception was in the Confutatis, where I felt that the men were not as powerful as I would like to make the contrast with the quiet passages for the women. The four soloists gave splendid performances. Particular mention must be made of Ben Thapa, who stepped in at the last moment to replace Greg Tassell, who was ill. He blended perfectly with the other voices, although there must have been little time for rehearsal. In the Benedictus, the blend was such that one was reminded that Mozart was also a major operatic composer.

The orchestra gave a tremendous performance, giving plenty of tone without ever overshadowing the choir. The trombones were notable in the Tuba Mirum accompanying the bass-baritone (Michael Pearce).

The other pieces in the concert were also most enjoyable. Mozart’s ever-popular Ave Verum Corpus opened, followed by the first movement of his 39th Symphony. Then, a brilliant performance of Ah! Perfido by Beethoven, in which the soprano Susanne Fairbairn made a dramatic contrast between the furious complaint of the Scena and the passionate plea of the Aria, ably supported by the orchestra. In conclusion, this was a masterful concert, worthy to honour the dead in the Parisian outrage.

©Quentin Rappaport