New York Choral Society Presents The Mozart Requiem At Carnegie Hall 5/1

The New York Choral Society closes its 51st season with a performance of Mozart's Requiem, Leonard Bernstein's Chichester Psalms, and James DeMars' Tito's Say, on May 1, 2010 at Carnegie Hall, 8:00 PM. The esteemed chorus performs with the Brooklyn Philharmonic under the baton of NYCS Music Director John Daly Goodwin, alongside soloists Joyce El Khoury, soprano, Elizabeth Batton, mezzo-soprano, Michele Angelini, tenor, and Daniel Mobbs, bass-baritone.

Mozart's Requiem is one of the most popular and beloved works in the choral repertoire. The work was commissioned by Count Franz Walsegg zu Stuppach (who had the intention of passing it off as his own) to honor the memory of his wife. At the time of his death, Mozart had completed the "Introit" and "Kyrie," leaving only the chorus parts and a bass line with occasional remarks to indicate the orchestration for the rest of the movements up through the beginning of the "Lacrymosa." His student Franz Xaver Süssmayr assumed the task of realizing the sketches and completing the work. There have been many debates and discussions surrounding the piece ever since; and although Mozart may have died in poverty, his musical legacy - and particularly his Requiem - has brought outstanding beauty and richness to Western culture like few other composers.

Described by The New York Times as "one of Mr. Bernstein's most irresistible works", Chichester Psalms is a piece of great strength and beauty. Commissioned in 1965 by the Dean of Chichester in England, the vibrant Chichester Psalms is one of the composer's most successful and accessible works on religious texts, contrasting spiritual austerity with impulsive rhythms in a contemplation of peace. Each of the three movements features a setting, in Hebrew, of one complete psalm, along with a verse or more of a second. Leonard Bernstein conducted the work's world premiere in Philharmonic Hall (now Avery Fisher Hall) on July 15, 1965; it was followed by a performance in the Chichester Festival later the same month. The New York Choral Society performed the first movement of this piece under the baton of Bernstein himself at the opening of the New York City Ballet's American Music Festival in 1988.

James DeMars' Tito's Say is a four-movement cantata set to texts by Alberto "Tito" Rios. This engaging work was commissioned by the Arizona Choral Arts Society and received its world premiere in 1989 under the baton of New York Choral Society's Music Director, John Daly Goodwin. The final movement, "Ventura and Clemente," is a rollicking account of the courtship of two young Mexican lovers and is representative of the entire piece.

TICKETS: $30 - $80; Visit the Carnegie Hall Box Office at 57th St & 7th Ave, call 212-247-7800 or visit www.carnegiehall.org

PROGRAM

MAY 1, 2010 8:00 PM AT Carnegie Hall
New York Choral Society
Brooklyn Philharmonic
John Daly Goodwin, conductor
Joyce El Khoury, soprano
Elizabeth Batton, mezzo-soprano
Michele Angelini, tenor
Daniel Mobbs, bass-baritone

MOZART: Requiem
BERNSTEIN: Chichester Psalms
JAMES DEMARS: Tito's Say