Musical Moments: Two for One Friday
“A phenomenon like Mozart remains an inexplicable thing.”
—Goethe
Mozart, an artist with unparalleled prodigious talents, is considered by many as the most innate musician to ever live. This excerpt, from his Requiem, is the lovely “Lacrymosa” movement believed to be the last one Mozart actually wrote.
Rather than focus on the text that can be rather daunting, please listen to the elegance of the music and the powerful Amen. Thinking about how Mozart expressed himself in a time of personal distress provides a window to his soul and a mirror for us to explore ours.
John V. Sinclair, Artistic Director and Conductor
“Nor do I hear in my imagination the parts successively, I hear them all at once. What a delight this is! All this inventing, this producing takes place in a pleasing, lively dream."
—Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Requiem Mass in d Minor, K. 626: VIII. Lacrymosa
Mozart: Requiem (2015)
Bach Festival Society of Winter Park
“Without music, life would be a mistake.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche
The gifted Italian, Baroque Era composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi was quite remarkable and left a significant mark on the world of music for a person who lived such a short life, dying at age 26. Composers from J.S. Bach to Igor Stravinsky have adapted his music and film makers have often used it, most recently being heard in the documentary by Anderson Cooper on his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt.
This medieval Latin text, Stabat Mater, about Mary grieving at the cross has been a source of inspiration for composers, and this setting is a favorite for female soloists for centuries. The movement presented is, “Quae moerebat et dolebat.” While the subject is dark, the music is light and emphasizes the last word of the aria sung as Mary describes Jesus as “incliti” (translated as “beautiful” or “glorious”). Plan on hearing another excerpt of this great piece in weeks to come as well as excerpts from the Stabat Maters of Rossini, Poulenc, and Dvořák.
The soloist on this aria is mezzo-soprano Meg Bragle who sings it complete with elegant Baroque ornamentation. (By the way, you will hear Meg again this coming season.)
John V. Sinclair, Artistic Director and Conductor
“If music be the food of love, play on…”
—William Shakespeare
Stabat Mater, P. 77: IV. Quae moerebat et dolebat
Giovanni Pergolesi: Stabat Mater, P. 77 (2019)
Bach Festival Society of Winter Park
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