Mozart: Requiem - Pergolesi: Stabat Mater

7:30pm, Sat, 15 Apr 2023

Type of event:	Concert
Start time:	7:30pm
Venue:	Chingford Parish Church The Green, Chingford Green, E4 7EN
Description:	Both the Requiem and Stabat Mater were written by composers in the last weeks of their lives giving an added poignancy to the works. The powerful mediaeval hymn Stabat Mater meditates on the suffering of Jesus’ mother as she stood at the foot of the cross. Pergolesi was known for his comic operas and indeed one contemporary critic complained about his Stabat Mater’s light operatic style. However, the emotional melodic lines come straight from Pergolesi’s operatic work and take the listener through darkness and grief to a final prayer of hope. The Requiem, which had to be completed after Mozart’s death by his assistant Süssmayr, is so well known that it needs little introduction for some. Others less familiar with this thrilling choral masterpiece will nevertheless recognise excerpts in the soundtracks of numerous screen productions including The Crown, Peaky Blinders, Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut and the Mozart biopic, Amadeus. An additional piece:"The Nazarene" will be heard for the first time. Composed by our Musical Director Edward-Rhys Harry, it takes verses from St John’s gospel telling the crucifixion story and a poem, Christ the Nazarene, by Victorian writer/philosopher Constance Naden. This is a change to the programme previously advertised. The Ethel Smyth Mass in D will be rescheduled to a future date.