American Symphony Orchestra Presents Requiem And Revelation at St. Bartholomew’s Church on November 13 at St. Bartholomew's Church

American Symphony Orchestra Presents Requiem And Revelation at St. Bartholomew’s Church on November 13

U.S. Premiere of Peter Cornelius’ Stabat Mater and Rare Performance of Cherubini’s Requiem in C Minor

Soloists Are Soprano Wendy Bryn Harmer, Mezzo-Soprano Krysty Swann, Tenor Eric Taylor, and Bass Harold Wilson

Music Director Leon Botstein conducts the American Symphony Orchestra (ASO) in a program of sacred works at St. Bartholomew’s Church—the venue where ASO founder and conductor Leopold Stokowski began his U.S. music career—on Thursday, November 13 at 8 PM. Maestro Botstein will give an illuminating pre-concert talk at 7 PM. The second of five full-orchestra performances this season, the evening presents seldom-heard scores of sacred music by Peter Cornelius (a U.S. premiere) and Luigi Cherubini, two composers who were mostly known for their stage and opera works. 

The four vocal soloists—all featuring credentials with The Metropolitan Opera—include soprano Wendy Bryn Harmer, who appears in Turandot at the Met this season, and mezzo-soprano Krysty Swann, with a voice described by the Washington Post as “an instrument of immense power, natural beauty of tone and luscious legato line.” Also in the spotlight is tenor Eric Taylor, making his Met Opera stage debut in The Magic Flute; and bass Harold Wilson, a performer of more than 30 major roles at Deutsche Oper Berlin, who recently sang in Aida at the Met.

Requiem and Revelation

Thursday, November 13, 2025 at St. Bartholomew’s Church, 325 Park Ave.

Pre-concert Talk at 7PM

Concert at 8PM

American Symphony Orchestra

Leon Botstein, conductor

Wendy Bryn Harmer, soprano 

Krysty Swann, mezzo-soprano

Eric Taylor, tenor

Harold Wilson, bass

Bard Festival Chorale

James Bagwell, Music Director of the Bard Festival Chorale

Peter Cornelius: Stabat Mater (U.S. Premiere)

Luigi Cherubini: Requiem in C minor

Peter Cornelius, known primarily for his comic opera Der Barber von Bagdad, devoted his early career almost entirely to sacred and chamber music writing. His 1849 setting of the Stabat Mater—performed here in its U.S. premiere—is a score of stunning originality: its bold harmonic language, unusual formal design, and dramatic flair make the work a standout in the composer’s oeuvre. Luigi Cherubini, long associated with opera, was lauded for works like his famous opera Medea, which Maria Callas widely recorded and performed at La Scala, worldwide, and on the silver screen to electric acclaim. In addition to dramatic stage works, and like Cornelius, Cherubini left behind an impressive sacred music catalogue, including his Requiem in C minor. Written in 1816 to commemorate the twenty-fourth anniversary of the execution of King Louis XVI, Cherubini’s first of two requiem settings blends a dark, somber tone, with astonishing orchestral effects, tender moments of reflective beauty, and profound expressivity. Since its creation, the score—one of striking freshness and innovation—has been regarded highly by some of classical music’s most influential figures, from legendary conductor Arturo Toscanini, to Schumann, Beethoven, and Brahms.

Tickets, priced at $25-$65, are available at americansymphony.org.

The ASO’s next performance will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence with a concert showcasing American composers and Wagner’s rarely performed American Centennial March, at Carnegie Hall on January 30.