The Parksville and District Community Choir is joining forces with four professional soloists to take on Mozart’s Requiem and several other, more light-hearted, pieces for their Voices Together concert at Knox church on March 25.
Requiem is a piece that Mozart worked on until his death in 1791 but was later finished by Franz Sussmayr in 1792.Parksville choir musical director Ann Barber said she was excited to bring back soloists from the choir’s Christmas performance to do the piece.
Joining the choir will be soprano Andrea Rodall, tenor Adam Dyjach and bass Michael MacKinnon (all of whom participated in the Handel’s Messiah performance in December).
“We were all eager to do it again,” said Barber, adding that Rodall has sung with the choir many times, including when she first came to B.C.
They will be joined by mezzo-soprano Aaike Biglow to perform mostly in quartets for the piece, which is inspired — as many musical compositions were — by the Catholic Requiem Mass, or mass for the dead.
“This Requiem has some very dramatic parts, and some beautiful sort of angelic parts as well,” said Barber.
“It’s dramatic music because it’s talking about ‘rest in peace.’ But it’s sort of talking about the confusion and the darkness and the terrible mouth of the lion, and yet it’s also talking about ‘save me’ and ‘hear my voice’… so there are some very uplifting parts as well as the scary parts,” she said.
The choir will be accompanied by Margaret Nelson on piano and John Nelson playing Knox’s new organ.
The second half of the concert will feature more lighthearted pieces: River in Judea, Make and Break Harbour, You’ll Never Walk Alone, We Rise Again and Ol’ Man River.
The Voices Together concert takes place Sunday, March 25 at 2:30 p.m. at Knox United Church (345 Pym St., Parksville).
Tickets are $20 each at Mulberry Bookstores, or $22 at the door.
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