A glorious work, infrequently heard in the concert hall, will grace the airwaves this Sunday, July 23rd at 1 pm, as the Philadelphia Orchestra, soloists, and the Westminster Symphonic Choir perform Mozart's Great Mass in C minor at the Kimmel Center's Verizon Hall. Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts.
Looking back to the tradition of Bach’s great Mass in B minor, Mozart's C minor mass is filled with extraordinary fugal writing, and was left unfinished by the composer in 1783.
Soloists for the performance are British soprano Lucy Crowe, who made her Philadelphia Orchestra debut in 2011; American mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey, who makes her Philadelphia Orchestra debut with this performance; American tenor Nicholas Phan, who made his debut in 2011; and French-Canadian bass-baritone Philippe Sly, who made his debut with the Philadelphians in 2014.
Our second Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert re-broadcast of the 206-2017 season also brings us one of the most celebrated works of the 19th century, Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 8, probably the most famous of all unfinished compositions.
And, to complete the concert, a composition that combines a fascination with the music of the 12th-century German writer, composer, and abbess Hildegard von Bingen with the Tibetan Buddhist attainment of “rainbow body," the concept that when an enlightened being dies physically, the body is absorbed back into the universe as energy or light.
And there is certainly a rainbow of color to be heard in Christopher Theofanidis’s work for large orchestra, Rainbow Body. Filled with soaring melodies that Theofanidis has described as “very sensual and intimate, a kind of communication with the divine,” it’s a work you won’t want to miss.
During intermission, WRTI’s Debra Lew Harder speaks with composer Christopher Theofanidis, and Susan Lewis talks about Mozart’s great choral work with Joe Miller, the Westminster Symphonic Choir’s director of choral activities.
That’s this Sunday, July 23rd at 1 pm. Don’t miss it!
Detailed program notes from the concert at Verizon Hall
Program:
THEOFANIDIS: Rainbow Body
SCHUBERT: Symphony No. 8 in B minor ("Unfinished")
Intermission
MOZART: Mass in C minor
Lucy Crowe, Soprano
Kate Lindsey, Mezzo-Soprano
Nicholas Phan, Tenor
Philippe Sly, Bass-baritone
Westminster Symphonic Choir
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Conductor
Gregg Whiteside is producer and host of the Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert broadcasts on WRTI, every Sunday at 1 pm on WRTI 90.1 FM, online at WRTI.org, and on the WRTI mobile app! Enjoy a rebroadcast of Sunday concerts on Mondays at 7 pm on WRTI HD-2, as part of our new "Symphony at 7" lineup!
