Mozart ‘Requiem’ & Mass in C major ‘Coronation’
This concert will take place in Sunderland Minster (doors open at 6.45 p.m.). Conducted by David Murray, the soloists will be Alison Pearce – Soprano, Catherine King – Alto, Michael Bracegirdle – Tenor and Paul Reeves – Bass.
Tickets are £10 (£8 concessions) for the Nave or £5 in the Gallery or Transepts and are obtainable from Society members or Sunderland Minster, or requested through the Contact Us section of this website.
While writing the Requiem, Mozart became convinced that it was in some way intended for his own funeral, as by then he was a very sick man. Under almost impossible circumstances he somehow managed to sketch out most of the work in full score, leaving indications for the orchestral parts, and proceeded as far as the eight bar of the ‘Lacrimosa’ before his creative pen was laid eternally to rest. The Mass in C major was completed much earlier, shortly after his appointment in 1779 as court organist. Quite why it acquired the nickname “Coronation Mass” remains unclear.