Mozart's Requiem

Orchestra, choirs team for milestone Requiem

Joseph Pronechen, The Connecticut Post - Tuesday, April 27, 2004

In a word, Saturday's performance of Mozart's Requiem at The Klein in Bridgeport was magnificent.

Magnificent it was, from Mozart's work itself, to the world-class interpretation by the Greater Bridgeport Symphony, conductor Gustav Meier, chorale director Carole Ann Maxwell, as well as the combined Mendelssohn Choir of Connecticut and Fairfield University Chamber Singers, plus four professional soloists.

After a short curtain-raiser of almost lazy "incidental" music composed by Aaron Copeland and called "Quiet City," the powerful opening of the Requiem by more than 140 voices strong proved a stirring moment.  That moment lasted until well after the evening's thunderous final applause.

From the first of the 12 Requiem sections to the last, the chorus and orchestra achieved a sheer intensity not easily forgotten. Nearly 200 people on the stage, from musicians to singers, formed a flawless ensemble that brought to life this exceptional work's emotional and spiritual grandeur.

The Latin of the 12 sections following the parts of a Requiem Mass (now so familiar sounding, thanks to Mel Gibson's use of it in "The Passion of the Christ"), reached the balcony sections with sustained clarity.

At the start, the Kyrie Eleison (Lord have mercy) immediately overlaid any sad tones of what one thinks of in a requiem with a strong triumphal tone.  The men's and women's sections, equally powerful and charged with magnificence, filled The Klein with this stirring mood.

Several sections started at full tilt, like the Dies Irae (day of wrath), and then actually increased.

Here, everyone captured Mozart's mixture of musical beauty with religious majesty impeccably. And here, too, the four soloists — soprano Catherine Viscardi, mezzo-soprano Jane Dutton, tenor Daniel Weeks and bass-baritone Stephen Bryant — masterfully projected, whether individually or as a quartet, every syllable of their "prayer" with clarity and powerful emotion.

And so it went from section to section. The Rex Tremendae (King of Majesty) conveyed a powerful blend of confidence and awed reverence.

The chorus and orchestra infused the Lacrymosa (day of tears) with reverential, unmistakable hope, another underlying tone.

The "Domine Jesu" (Lord Jesus Christ) again saw chorus and soloists powerfully projecting a reverential, uncompromising triumphant mood.

Once the chorus go to the Sanctus and Benedictus (Holy, holy, holy Lord God of Hosts), it ended with a glorious Hosanna in excelsis.

Finally, with the "Agnus Dei" (Lamb of God), the chorus opened at full strength, the soloists joined in, and everyone took the Requiem to its stirring flawless conclusion.

Meier, Maxwell and the rest came together as a team that delivered concertgoers a milestone Requiem.