Showcasing sacred pieces in combination with Mozart’s writings and excerpts, the summer chorus from the Jacobs School of Music will perform this weekend. Betsy Burleigh, the conductor and chair of the choral department, will join them.
Their performance will feature Mozart’s Requiem Mass in D minor and other works.
The performances will be 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Auer Hall.
A concert drama, the Summer Chorus performance will be centered on the Requiem by Mozart, the Sü ßmayr completion.
“I’ve listened to Mozart quite often,” master’s student Chris Rice said. “And I would definitely want to go because it sounds good with a very special concept.”
The Requiem was a mystery at the end of Mozart’s career. The young composer, for the first time in his musical career, was asked anonymously through intermediaries to write a piece for Count Franz von Walsegg.
Mozart died at the age of 35 after he finished eight bars of the Requiem’s “Lacrimosa.” After Mozart’s death, the piece was completed by Franz Xaver Süßmayr .
The concert will also combine biblical and poetic readings chanting along with the works of Mozart and excerpts from his letters.
“We will present some of the most beloved and enchanting sacred works,” Conductor Betsy Burleigh said in a press release. “Mozart’s Requiem is the center, the torso of the performance, and other pieces will be portions sketched by himself.”
Conductor Burleigh has experience leading the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Akron Symphony, the Canton Symphony and the Rhode Island Philharmonic.
The Summer Chorus performance juxtaposes sacred readings from Biblical contexts, poetic writings and excerpts from Mozart’s letters and manuscripts.
“I’m excited to learn about very unique concerts like this,” IU Junior Kendall Chanley said. “But I find country music and acoustical performances more appealing in the summertime.”
“I think the combination of poetic readings, chant and alike would enhance the experience for people who are going for Mozart or classical music,” IU junior Taylor Sigler said. “However, it wouldn’t appeal too much for someone who is relatively new to classical.”
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