We had a very successful performance of the Mozart Requiem on Sunday. Because of Covid we could only fill the Linder 50% and we all, performers and audience alike, had to jump through a number of hoops to get in, but once there we had a wonderful afternoon. Just the joy of being together again in our common love of music set the tone. Despite having to sing wearing masks the choir was on top form and did a sterling job.
The concert started with Mozart’s beautiful Ave Verum sung by the choir. The soloists then took over with the trio Soave sia il vento from Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutte sung by soprano Magdalene Minnaar, alto Monica Mhangwana and bass William Berger, followed by tenor Siyabonga Maqungo’s beautiful rendition of JS Bach’s Bist du bei mir.
The concert was a remembrance concert for anyone who died during the past two years – of covid or of other causes -and Mozart’s Requiem was the ideal choice of music for this occasion, but before the Requiem started there was a very moving ‘Remembrance interlude’ with names, details and pictures of each person remembered accompanied by the haunting cello solo piece Sarabande from cello suite no 2 by JS Bach, played beautifully by Carel Henn.
For the Requiem the entire ensemble: choir, soloists and the Phoenix Orchestra joined forces under the baton of Richard Cock. If you were not able to join us on Sunday or if you want to listen to the concert again, we streamed it and the stream is still available for viewing HERE.
Our next concert will be equally beautiful:
[event id=”2358″]
G F Handel Messiah
Good Friday April 15 @ o:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Linder Auditorium, Parktown, Johannesburg
Soloists: Brittany Smith-soprano, Monica Mhangwana- alto, Martin Hundelt- tenor, Aubrey Lodewyk-bass The Phoenix Orchestra
Under the baton of Richard Cock, who on this occasion will conduct the Messiah for the 50th time!
Drawing from the Old and New Testaments, Handel designed the Messiah in three sweeping sections: Prophecy and Fulfilment, Suffering, and Redemption. Although religious, its message remains universal, and although theatrical in many respects Handel intended it for the concert hall rather than for the opera stage. It was composed in a matter of three to four weeks and today 280 years later it is still one of the most well-known and well-loved pieces of music in the world.
Messiah was originally an Easter offering although it now is performed at Christmas time in many countries. It burst onto the stage of Musick Hall in Dublin on April 13, 1742. The audience swelled to a record 700, as ladies had heeded pleas by management to wear dresses “without Hoops” in order to make “Room for more company.” Handel’s superstar status was not the only draw; many also came to glimpse the contralto, Susannah Cibber, then embroiled in a scandalous divorce.
The men and women in attendance sat mesmerized from the moment the tenor followed the mournful string overture with his piercing opening line: “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.” Soloists alternated with wave upon wave of chorus, until, near the midway point, Cibber intoned: “He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” So moved was the Rev. Patrick Delany that he leapt to his feet and cried out: “Woman, for this be all thy sins forgiven thee!”
Well, we might not see such a reaction at our concert, but the Messiah remains a magnificent work, still mesmerizing audiences the world over. This is a concert not to be missed! Book now to avoid disappointment!
Booking is through Computicket – just use this link
Yours sincerely, on behalf of the Symphony Choir of Johannesburg
Kate Pape