Choir sings Mozart and Haydn at cathedral
The Dunblane-based Rosnethe Singers will give a concert the Cathedral this Sunday, November 26 at 7.30pm.
It will feature two of the greatest choral works of the late eighteenth century, Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor and Haydn’s Missa in Angustiis ‘Nelson Mass’ performed by soloists from Austria, England and Scotland in Mozart died before he could complete the Requiem but it is unclear why the Great Mass was incomplete. Scored for soloists, double
High notes at Dunblane
choir and large orchestra, the Great Mass in C minor contains some truly sublime music encompassing a huge emotional range.
The upper solo parts are particularly demanding.
The Mass was used most effectively as the accompaniment for the television drama A Very British Coup.
Although Haydn was the senior composer, his Missa in Angustiis (Mass for troubled times) was written some nine years after Mozart’s death.
Europe was in turmoil with Napoleon’s forces threatening to overwhelm Austria, but Nelson scored a significant victory at the Battle of the Nile at around the time of the first performance, resulting in the work’s suffix.
With no woodwind players available, Haydn scored it for the dark combination of string, trumpets, timpani and organ.
The choral and instrumental textures are highly integrated, featuring some virtuosic solo writing.
The Rosenethe Singers will be ably joined by professionals, Belinda Evans (coloratura soprano), Ulrike Wutscher (mezzo soprano), Liam Bonthrone(tenor) and Jacob Phillips (bass) - providing the accompaniment, Scottish Bach Players, led by Angus Ramsay, all conducted by the choir’s musical director Kevin Duggan.
Tickets priced £15 and £12 concessions are now available from Smallprint, Dunblane, Strathallan Pharmacy, Bridge of Allan and the Smith Art Gallery, Dumbarton, Stirling, on the door or by emailing info@rosenethesingers.co.uk