Performing the Schumann Requiem with the Masterwork Festival Chorus and New York City Chamber Orchestra
In our third trip to Carnegie Hall, 30 Hopewell Valley Chorus singers joined the 100-member Manhattan Concert Productions's (MCP) Masterwork Festival Chorus and NYC Chamber Orchestra to perform Robert Schumann’s Requiem, Op. 148, described by one writer as elegiac, elegant, and otherworldly. A vastly unfamiliar and rarely performed masterpiece, the Requiem presents challenges to those who undertake it, but our singers found every stage of preparation and practice, practice, practice to be completely worthwhile.
"Robert Schumann is most notable for his vocal, piano, and symphonic compositions. He's certainly not known for his choral works even though he wrote 19 of them. While some of his pieces have made it onto our list of favorites, like Dichterliebe, Carnaval, or Symphony No. 3, he's often thought of as having many flops. So it's no wonder that we've not taken his choral writing seriously! Requiem, Op. 148 (1852) is the second requiem that he wrote, and similar to many other composers, I believe he wrote it for himself. The work very beautifully weaves the sentiments of earthly finality, the grace and calmness of acceptance, and the frenzy of mental illness from which he suffered. This is not a piece to be ignored but is one to add to your list of favorites." - Heather Mitchell
Singing at Carnegie Hall never gets old, but this year’s concert, on June 17, topped the previous two, because we performed under the baton of our artistic director, Heather Mitchell, conductor-in-residence, MCP.
Some photos taken by Synthia Steinman.