An Unforgettable Workshop to sing Mozart's Requiem

On a Saturday morning, a group of around 40 people gathered in St Mary’s Church. Some were seasoned members of the Church choir or regulars on the choral workshop “circuit”; others, including your author, had mostly exercised their vocal cords in the privacy of their bathrooms.

Sopranos and altos were in abundance, together with a small but determined group of basses. One brave tenor, assisted by a few equally brave ladies singing outside their natural range, completed the chorus.

After debunking the myths surrounding the composition of the Requiem (no, Mozart was not poisoned by Salieri), Peter Allwood took up his baton, and we started with the first movement, Requiem Aeternam.

Your author had been wondering what he had let himself in for, but nothing too alarming so far. On then, to Kyrie Eleison. Oh dear. Lots of semiquavers here. Now, where did I put those reading glasses?

One of Mozart’s greatest operas was reportedly dismissed by the Emperor Joseph because there were “too many notes”. The Requiem certainly contains a lot of notes, but, as Mozart retorted to the Emperor, only as many notes as are needed. Happily, Peter’s energetic and enthusiastic direction led us safely over all the bumps in the road.

Towards late afternoon, the soloists from the Chantry Quire arrived: Sarah Russell, Valerie Lintott, Charlie Wood and Simon Madge. Peter had described them as his “Requiem Dream Team”. As they quickly went over their parts, we could see (or rather, hear) what he meant. Then the audience made its way in and settled down for the final run-through. It all went surprisingly well and sounded much more impressive than anyone had expected.

Finally, tribute must be paid to the accompanist, Jonathan Lee. As if playing all the parts for an entire orchestra wasn’t enough of a challenge, he also switched halfway through from a piano to the Church’s three-manual organ.

This event raised over £1,000 for the Friends.