Mozart's Requiem--the composer's last and unfinished work--is greatly beloved but still cloaked in mystery. (Perhaps you remember one version of the story from the film Amadeus.)
After Mozart's death, his widow, Costanze, ordered the work completed in secrecy by Mozart's assistant, Sussmayr, hoping to collect a handsome commission fee. Other contemporaries tried their hands at parts of the work. However, since the recent discovery of certain "scraps" or sketches for the work by Mozart himself, scholars and musicians have attempted to remove from the work both actual errors and stylistic discrepancies. A new edition of Requiem, introduced by Robert Levin in 1996, will be used for the MHC performance on April 18.
Levin's edition retains much of the "traditional" version, while including an "Amen" fugue missing from Sussmayr's completion and retouching other movements. Levin's orchestration is sparser in string texture, with greater use of trombones and basset horns. The Arcadia Players will accompany with period instruments and at "low pitch."
The combined Glee Clubs of Harvard and MHC--some 120 voices--will be joined by professional soloists. These include two with MHC connections: soprano Mara Bonde '91 (daughter of composer Allen Bonde) and mezzo-soprano Marjorie Melnick '72 (daughter of professor emeritus Jackie Melnick). Tenor Christopher Aspaas, associate choral director, and bass Julian Rodescu are the other soloists. The singers will be directed by Catharine Melhorn, professor of music, and Kevin Leong, acting director of the Harvard group.
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