The 69th Annual Bach Festival Week begins with a performance of Mozart's Requiem, his final, unfinished masterpiece, Saturday night. It brings together the Kalamazoo Bach Festival Chorus, led by James Turner, and the Arcato Ensemble, a group founded by conductor Andrew Koehler.
Musicologist Zaide Pixley will present a pre-concert talk about the Requiem and the circumstances under which it was written. In an interview with Cara Lieurance, she attempts to dispel some of the fabrications and exaggerations which were attached to the final days of Mozart's life. Even so, Andrew Koehler says there is a quality of urgency and dread in the work that does suggest he was grappling with his own mortality. James Turner describes the process of preparing the chorus for the performance, and introduces the soloists for the concert.
The concert is set for 8 pm on Saturday, April 9 in Chenery Auditorium, with a pre-concert talk at 7 pm.
